Everest Marathon

Rusty Cogs 08

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

That's a very impressive pace for a 15 mile run. I'd say that if you were targetting a flat (standard format) marathon, you'd knock a sub-3 out of the park. Any regrets?

My decision to move from beer to double gin and Pepsi at my Xmas party in 1993. Violently ill out the window of the 84 bus all the way home.

That's not what you were asking though methinks ?

Rusty Cogs 08

RacoonQueen wrote: »

A sexy maids outfit?

"Excuse me good sir, we'd just like to check your luggage if you have a moment, erm, ahem, riiiight....Nepal is a deeply spiritual country you understand"

Ah yeah, that could be good craic. Have you got one spare ? (or are you a 6'2" maid ?)

Rusty Cogs 08

If you ever retrieved that 4 season sleeping bag out of storage, give me a holler.

RacoonQueen

Rusty Cogs 08 wrote: »

Ah yeah, that could be good craic. Have you got one spare ? (or are you a 6'2" maid ?)

Afraid not, I'm sure you can get one in Ann Summers though You could always go for the sexy nun to stick with their religious traditions. I just want you to do it in a skirt.

Rusty Cogs 08

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Afraid not, I'm sure you can get one in Ann Summers though You could always go for the sexy nun to stick with their religious traditions. I just want you to do it in a skirt.

I'm sensing a 'Nuns on the Run' title coming on. I'll keep my eyes open tomorrow night and see if anything looks run-in-able (dresses included).

scottreynolds

Rusty Cogs 08 wrote: »

If you ever retrieved that 4 season sleeping bag out of storage, give me a holler.

I get it tomorrow .

poskantor

Fair play to you Rusty thats some undertaking. How are you planning to acclimatize? I've climbed up to around 6000m and believe me, any kind of excerise is really tough after 4000m or so I'd say, so running a marathon at 5000m+ sounds like torture, but sure if it didnt hurt it wouldnt be worth doing!:D

Rusty Cogs 08

poskantor wrote: »

Fair play to you Rusty thats some undertaking. How are you planning to acclimatize? I've climbed up to around 6000m and believe me, any kind of excerise is really tough after 4000m or so I'd say, so running a marathon at 5000m+ sounds like torture, but sure if it didnt hurt it wouldnt be worth doing!:D

Rusty 'Torture' Cogs, bring it on !!

paulocon

What an amazing undertaking.. I'm struggling to run 10+ miles on level ground!! Brilliant read and keep us all updated, can't wait to read about how you get on!

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 35 / Friday / 6m Flat / 43'46" / AvP 7'17" / AvHR 127

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/17577863

Charity Goal 72%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

A prework recovery run after the 15m the night before. I think the intriguing thing about these runs (apart from how I force myself out of bed) is my heart rate. As the Garmin records me as clinically dead for the first 400 meters I don't think you can take the first mile too seriously. It's like an engine ticking over until eventually, a mile in it jumps to around 140, tbh it felt like less and I was one tired bunny all day yesterday.

Spend the arvo' in work pushing the charity side of things and some upward movement on the goal resultant.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 34 / Saturday / 12.04m Hills / 2'14'16" / AvP 11'09" / AvHR 142

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/17672236

Charity Goal 73%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

As a friend was over last night (Sat) I pushed my schedule forward a day so it was back up to Glendalough and the Spink/lakes route. This meant a 3 hour round trip on the old (and it was old) St. Kevins bus so I'd say that will be my last time up there for a while. As I was travelling solo it also meant a bag on my back which made for a tougher day.

The Garmin didn't 'find' me until after about a mile and a half in. Yet another run record corrupted by what I'd now call a tempremental watch. Anyway, I figured I'd make the most of my time up there so once I came down into the Miner's Village I decided rather than running back the way I came I'd just do a full loop and then a second one. It was funny to pass the same faces when they'd realise that you were on your second lap. A mixuture of encouragement and disbelief.

The descent into the Miner's village really is fun once you build up a bit of confidence. My mountain goatedness is improving and at one stage what I thought might have been an ankle twisting moment was run off. So basically, I think I'm getting what I want out of these runs, strength and speed on the descents.

Day off today. Matching my hangover with the day's weather, very thankful.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 33 / Sunday / Day of Rest

And the Lord sayath, 'go out into the night and drink many pints of Guinness a Thai Green Curry and an Indian and you shall return as sick as a dog'

And it was so.

mithril

Good stuff. Building up strength in your stomach is just as important as in your legs for where you are going. Next time try having the curry just before your long run.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 32 / Monday / 9.01m Flat / 61'13" / AvP 6'47" / AvHR 144

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/17834898

Charity Goal 82%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

I didn't realise, but last week was the peak of my P&D training intensity so tonights V02 max session had 600m splits rather than 1,200m. Although a bit tired from the weekend, covering 600m distance at 5k pace is a lot easier than 1,200m (which doesn't say much for the realism of running a sub 18' 5k). To compensate for the shorter intervals I ran my warm up/down at a faster pace bringing the lot in at a decent clip.

Went out to a gig in town afterwards so there'll be no heroics for tonight's 11 miles.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 31 / Monday / 11m Flat / 76'02" / AvP 6'54" / AvHR 147

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/17935344

Charity Goal 83%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Tonights was meant to be 11m at a relatively easy pace. A few things conspired against that. First, it was cooold, and I always run faster in the cold (to begin with). Then, after a mile I realised I was running with a very strong tail wind. I let myself get pushed along so much so that mile 2 to 6 averaged at 6'29". This was never going to last and as I made my way back the wind took it's revenge. Add an ill advised bowl of cornflakes with full fat milk 10 minutes before leaving and I was stopped in my tracks by stomach cramps. The remainder of the run was not enjoyable as I had lost my rhythm, the wind was a pain and mother nature wasn't so much calling as yelling. Put that one down to experience.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 30 / Wednesday / 6m Flat / 41'59" / AvP 6'59" / AvHR 134

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18014713

Charity Goal 84%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

November is making up for the mild October we had. A dirty dark six miles that won't get in any promotional video. Listened to Sigur Ros as well with gave my jaunt down by the power station an otherworldliness. Made a big bowl of dinner last night so was looking forward to digging into that straight away.

Met woundedknee today who imparted chattles & wisdom from his time at Everest. Feeling that bit more prepared after our meet (cheers WK).

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 29 / Thursday / 5m Flat / 36'56" / AvP 7'23" / AvHR 146

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/18051779

Charity Goal 84%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Big little debate in bed this morning as to how much I needed this run. It's really just 5m P&D stuck in there to keep the high milers happy in their schedule. Decided that with a week to go in training I didn't want the 'guilts' of skipping runs (irrespective of what they do or don't do for me) so I went out. Glad I did in the end, can head off to the shops after work in search of those last few checklist items.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 28 / Friday / 8m Flat / 49'55" / AvP 6'14" / AvHR 152

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/18164768

Charity Goal 93%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Today's run was meant to be a 8 - 15k race but they're thin on the ground of a Friday evening in the city centre. I figured I'd do an 8m stint at a fair clip and see how I faired. Not too bad, you can see by the splits that the first half had the tail wind, mile 5, 6 & 7 being tougher with a push for 'the line'. Pity there wasn't a real race to be had.

Rusty Cogs 08

So since last night I've completed my trekking/race checklist of stuff and it all comes in at a good bit over the 12kg max your allowed dump on a sherpa's back. I figured I'd carry the excess myself on the way up but what to do then. I'll be running with the minimum of gear (which will still come in at a couple of kgs) but unless I eat my boots and clothes at base camp (I'm sure I've seen that in a movie) I'll have too much stuff to be brought back down. So it looks like I'm going to have to lay everything out and then start jettisoning gear before I even leave my apt. Fark sake. I don't fancy leaving any sleeping gear behind as that's one area I want to be well covered for. Looks like I could be Smelly Cogs by the time I reach the start (never mind the finish).

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 27 / Saturday / 17.07m Hills / 49'55" / AvP 8'37" / AvHR 139

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18218306

Charity Goal 93%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Well today was my last hill run (I've one more long run next Saturday but I'm not going to tempt fate so I'll do it on the flat). I went back up to the Dublin mountains and not getting lost cycling to the start (Killasogue Woods) was a good start. The forecast was poor but although windy, the rain kept at bay. My previous hill runs have all been shorter than the training schedule, a concession I put down to the fact that the schedule is not put together with hills in mind. But then again, the marathon is not conventional so I figured 17m meant 17m so I knowing the route I knew I'd have four big climbs (and descents) ahead of me.

Familiarity certainly makes things seem easier. The first two mile climb seemed shorter and the first descent also which brought me to the Glencullen road. I tipped along here at a happy clip and then dropped down into the valley to start the long slog up to Prince Williams Seat (?). The top was my turning point last time but today I went down the far side all the way to Curtlestown Woods and without a breather started back up again. This 3rd climb wasn't actually so bad and I had energy to turn on the taps on my 3rd descent, so much so that I clocked a 6'16" mile. My fast descents are akin to falling on a horizontal with arms doing cartwheels. All that energy spent and my fourth ascent was a tempered affair. Very much counting down the miles now. A turn in the weather made me push the final descent to come in at well under 2 & half hours for the 17 which I was pretty happy with. All downhill for the cycle home and Smelly Cogs went straight for a hot shower.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 26 & 25 / Sunday & Monday / Rest Days

Well Sunday was a scheduled rest day and as I was down with friends and family in Wicklow over the weekend I didn't make it back home until Monday. Saturday's efforts plus a weekend away resulted in me feeling a bit run down, thus I skipped Monday's 6m recovery run. I figured I'd recover more on the couch than running in the rain.

I got a text early Monday morning slagging me about my bit in the Metro freesheet newspaper. I picked it up getting on the Dart in Greystones and it was surreal to see people around me reading it. When I got off the Dart you could see a pile of discarded Metro's. My 15 stops of fame finished.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 24 / Tuesday / 11.06m Flat / 79'29" / AvP 7'11" / AvHR 145

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/18446960

Charity Goal 101%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Feeling a bit better today, can't decide if my body is putting up a good fight against a cold or if a cold is putting up a good fight to get into my body. Anyway, 6 x 1,000m @ 5k race pace would force the question. As 1km intervals are a bit on the long side, I didn't pay any attention to the watch and just ran them at a pace that felt spritly without killing myself. It's funny to look at the download and see four of the six at 5'50" (+ 5'41" & 5'46"). Also for the first time, my intervals didn't have that desperate feel about them. I'm guessing I could run a 5k at sub 6' pace (but that's another matter).

Happy to see my charity goal reached. With a bit of luck I might make that 110% everyone wants from you.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 23 / Wednesday / 15m Flat / 1'51''27" / AvP 7'25" / AvHR 142

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/18539193

Charity Goal 74%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Well I don't think training runs come much harder than that. I was in a meeting 'till 8pm so I didn't get out until almost 9pm. By that stage it was raining and a serious wind a blowin'. A full laundry basket meant I was in an assortment of tops and leggings (15m in recovery tights, oi veah) plus the iPod and a head torch. It started tough and just got tougher. At times I had to run around the waves breaking over the sea wall in Clontarf, my torch power wasn't lightening up the puddles I was not missing, my glasses were too wet to see through so I took them off and grimaces through rain, wind and more rain. Stopped for a minute on the way back to change music and take my one gulp of water (not much sweating on a night like that) and then pressed on for home. I bypassed the stretching and went straight for the shower. Woke myself up a few times in the night with leg cramps as a result (always stretch boys and girls).

In other news, I re-set my charity goal. I had collected some money 'offline' so my original goal was going to be well met. I then figure that with three weeks to go, why stop fund raising ? When you run a marathon, you don't run through 26.2 and then decide, hey, I feel OK, I've time to spare, lets keep running. But as this is for charity, I thought it would be a bit lame to decide, I've met my target, that's me done. So I've raised it to something really substantial (imo) and if I don't make it, well, in this case, it's the attempt that matters.

Finally, whether you're donating or not, have a click on the charity link to see a pic of the mountain / airport we're flying into.

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 22 / Thursday / 9m Flat / 61''19" / AvP 6'48" / AvHR 143

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/18589717

Charity Goal 74%

http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Barrett/

Very metronomic running tonight. The first mile felt tough as last night's 15m were still in the muscles so to speak. By about mile 3 I was beginning to motor, wanted to get this one out of the way as I'm packing and cleaning tonight (and trying to fit in the last episode of The Wire Season 2). Dinner scoffed, time to turn 16kg of 'stuff' into a 12kg kitbag.

gigglybits

...and he's away...Marathon Man sets off on the first leg of his journey to Everest. Go get 'em tiger...ooga booga

Krusty_Clown

You're probably a long way from internet access at this stage, but maybe someone can pass on my best wishes. I hope you have a fantastic (and healthy) trek up to the start, and a thunderous run back down again.

scottreynolds

Have a great time -- Don't ruin my sleeping bag....

Rusty Cogs 08

The wilds of Heathrow at the moment, leaving for Kathmandu via Dehli in an hour. Not sure what 'net access is like over there so a quick thanks for all the support.

(and Scott, I've been sleeping in your bag since you gave it too me, mmm... personalised).

Rusty Cogs 08

T - 13 Acclimatisation Day

Charty Goal 77%

Short mail as a long one just written was lost (grrr).

Going well
In Namche Bazarr (3,440m)
A few pro runners arriving (Anna Frost & Matt Gilbert) plus previous champs.
V. cold up at start this year, -20c already and snow line earlier and lower this year.
3rd in the fun run (for what it's worth).
2nd training run tomorrow, then it's up up and up.

Frost Cogs

(will post more if I get a better connection)

Fantastic part of the world by the way.

Blueskye

Best of luck with it all and have a fantastic time!!!