Gaelforce West 2010

Blondie86

Hi,
I am thinking of doing Gaelforce West in August 2010, however I am a complete beginner when it comes to running, cycling etc (basically anyform of intense exercise). I have just recently given up smoking and I wanted to do this as an incentive to get fit and as a personal challenge. Has anyone any advice how to get started training etc. or if you think it is completely unrealistic to get my fitness levels up in time to complete GF in August?! I did try running before but I found I got severe pains in my shins although I done stretching/warm up before hand!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys

GoHardOrGoHome

Hey Blondie,

There's already a thread on Gaelforce 2010 in the events sub-forum. (Did have to dig to find it!).

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055766251

Also see the thread from last year.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055556483

There were lots of people who trained up from scratch to do it.
Go for it!

toomuchdetail

+1 on the go for it :

All sorts of levels from the diehards to those that died hard on the day ! Did my first last year and it wont be my last , started from almost nothing last year and got it in with a few others .You only compete against yourself and these events are very welcoming and have no barriers or high expectations.
Not sure where your based but if you can get together with a group or 1-2 people it will be easier to keep motivated , also keep it simple to start with as you could get bored/injured or both very easily .
There are some great easy runs to aim for (5k) early in april/may and you could build from there .

There are also a few other races that you could take a look at (even if you dont take part) like Wicklow roar ,that do a "sport" version that would allow you test yourself out before you commit on a smaller version of the course ,should also think about a triathlon, try these 2 sites :for events http://www.sleepmonsters.com/calendar.php?visual_year=2010&event_location=Ireland

http://www.triathlonireland-server.com/Events/EventCalendar/2010

You should also stay around these threads as the like of gohard and a few others are great for advice and support .

L.Jenkins

I say go for it. I gave up drink and ciggerettes last year and ran the Dublin Marathon. So this year to keep up momentum I may train for DCM, GealForce and a Sprint Triathlon (But I have to learn how to swim).

babystrawberry

Definitley go for it. I am in the same boat, set myself the goal of doing it, friend from college will be doing it too. Dont know if the boyfriend is doing it tho! Have myself signed up for 2 duathlons in March to give myself an idea of fitness and how much to step up the fitness (which will be a lot methinks lol :eek:)!
I am hoping to do the Cork Marathon as well this year but I havent made mind up yet!

Generally i would try get a run done about 3-4 times week. I odered racer bike at weekend so looking forward to getting the cycling fitness up

Apparently the cycle course is rougher terrain this year so will have to have good tyres on and be prepared to fix a puncture lol I had good MTB but i would have thought that would b too heavy a frame for GF?

Anyway, best of luck with your training, I'm sure there will be plently of times between now and August when everyone will get disillusioned and loose motivation but I'm gonna look at it as a goal and what an achievement it would actually be to complete!!

o_thom

i signed up for the first time this year, do any of ye old hands have any tips on what targest i should be hitting training wise?

nerraw1111

I'd recommend been able to run at least 10k comfortably. The run is a hard slog.

Just go for it. It's a great day and you have plenty of time