Gaelforce West 21/8/10

2 Wheels Good

Wonkagirl wrote: »

6.01 for me. Gutted to not break below 6 hrs, and tortured myself about the various times i couldve picked up the 61 seconds!

feet are in bits today. blisters everywhere. binned my horrible trail shoes, met a girl who had a fab pair of INNOV8s, gonna try and get a pair, anyone know where they're stocked in dublin? she got hers in the edge in cork. where did you get yours pat?

out of interest, do the elite top few chat to each other as youre going around>? i really enjoyed the comraderie and chat as we went around.. the people with iPods miss out on that imo, altho there were times during the cycle i wouldve loved a few tunes.. opinions on that- ipod or no ipod?

Hard luck on not beating 6hrs, next year, still a great time, congrats!
Got them off Wiggle but had tried them on in London earlier in the year, found they had more give than the Salomons.
Think 53 Degrees North do them in Dublin.
As for music, ran without but put it on for the cycle/CP, just in one ear for safety plus still able to talk.

2 Wheels Good

Wonkagirl wrote: »

i discovered the best bloody things ever- they're called 'power shots' by power bar. basically, gels in sweet form. they're like wine gums, and do the same job as the gels, but are so much more pallatable. Definitely got me up CP, and would use them again for sure. Mine were lemon flavoured, but apparenlty the cola flavoured ones are identical to cola bottles, they were sold out of them in Great Outdoors last week tho

Cola ones are great, same as cola bottles alright
Was going to get a pack but stayed with the sport beans in the end, very sweet but a nice pick me up

2 Wheels Good

Fi H wrote: »

At many times during the race I wanted to give up but I kept seeing people I knew or meeting people who were really encouraging and I have to say the people outside their houses were fantastic. I also enjoyed the crack along the way with fellow competitors...at one stage I ended up waist deep in the bog and flat on my face up to my shoulders in it so many thanks to the girl who came back and hauled me out ::

I had the mortifying experience of being the last competitor over the finish line with the Civil Defence following me on the last cycle with the flashers on :rolleyes: I finished at 20.51 last night at a time of 10 hours 27 minutes (my mates had to put our dinner reservation back 2 times!!) and I have to say that given the way I felt at times I am delighted to have finished at all!! I agree that the powershot cola sweets are fantastic as i scoffed a handful of them on the last cycle and was somehow miraculously overcome with the ability to jog the last 800m despite not really being able to jog at all....

I may have been slow but you know at the end of the day -3200 people signed up and only 2301 finished the race according to my print out- 61 people didnt do Croke Patrick and 38 didnt finish so just under 800 didnt even make it to the start line.... and sure doesnt 10.27 give me a great target to beat next year....looking forward to seeing next years tips already!

Congrats Fi on finishing, you deserve as much credit as the elites for sticking it out, would have been easy to pull over and stop so well done! Like you said quite a few didn't make it to CP and all so now you know what to expect there'll be no stopping you next year

greenplain

Had a ball doing this event. Found it hard going in places, near the top of Croagh Patrick my legs were on fire. The toughest part for me was the off road section coming up to Croagh Patrick the incline seemed ro go on forever. I was mentally tired and I was nervous that was a going to to a flat tyre (but I didn't!!).

Can't wait to do it again next year with some really good training behind me.

Since this is my first adventure race, I am just wondering is it normal not to have distance makers along the route ?

Wonkagirl

pat_hurley@yaho wrote: »

Congrats Fi on finishing, you deserve as much credit as the elites for sticking it out, would have been easy to pull over and stop so well done! Like you said quite a few didn't make it to CP and all so now you know what to expect there'll be no stopping you next year

+1 to all of that, i have massive admiration for your perseverence Fi! unreal. It must be so mentally draining to keep going for that long. Hats off to you.

c montgomery

pat_hurley@yaho wrote: »

Hard luck on not beating 6hrs, next year, still a great time, congrats!
Got them off Wiggle but had tried them on in London earlier in the year, found they had more give than the Salomons.
Think 53 Degrees North do them in Dublin.
As for music, ran without but put it on for the cycle/CP, just in one ear for safety plus still able to talk.

I have a pair of inov8 flyroc 310s and they are an excellent trail shoe. Off road and on CP i think they would be hard to beat but running on road is a bit taxing on the legs and running downhill on the road is tough as there is zero cushioning.

I have worn them for the last 2 GF but i may look at something with a bit more give in them for next year.

2 Wheels Good

Any tips on cleaning CP off my shoes? There's a fair bit of bog attached to them

Fi H

Cheers Guys..i think i reached a point where i was so wrecked and had gone so far that there was no way in hell i was going to give up I think its stubborness really! Was really impressed with the pay it forward attitude with walking sticks on CP by the way. I was lucky enough to meet my friend who had been given one by a lady from our hotel - dont think I would have made it up without it! Will definitely be bringing one next year myself.

Anyone got any tips on how to get my legs back? I am in agony :D I suppose its to be expected haha!

Mr Freeze

greenplain wrote: »

Can't wait to do it again next year with some really good training behind me.

Since this is my first adventure race, I am just wondering is it normal not to have distance makers along the route ?

Good on ya, thats the spirit, get stuck into training for next year, and do some of the smaller adventure races too, can't beat them for good training, probably the best preparation you can do for GF.

Never seen distance markers in any adventure races! Adventure races don't seem to measured as accurately as road runs,etc, probably cause its not possible to get an accurate distance, as people may take different routes on a section, like the reek, some go straight up and down, other use the path.

My garmin said the race was 67.27km, but someone's posted here had under 67km, so different routes used on the reek is probably the cause of the difference there.

bold_defender

First off well done to everyone who finished and even those who didn't, training and getting to the start line is a challenge in itself. I was doing a wimpy 10 mile run instead.

I done the GF connemara in May and was wondering how the off road cycling section on Sat compared to the section in it? About the same surface? Will be doing FG connemara again and all being well GFW next year. Buying bike in mean time (i hope).

c montgomery

Fi H wrote: »

Hi Guys
Sounds like you all ran really good races. This has been a really great thread and I've learned a lot from it. My race was completely different from what you guys experienced. I knew I was going to be slow but didnt quite expect it to be as tough as it was. It started with the fact that despite the fact I was only a few yards off the back of the group they let the next wave down to the beach before I hit the corner so I was stampeded by everyone trying to get to the start

At many times during the race I wanted to give up but I kept seeing people I knew or meeting people who were really encouraging and I have to say the people outside their houses were fantastic. I also enjoyed the crack along the way with fellow competitors...at one stage I ended up waist deep in the bog and flat on my face up to my shoulders in it so many thanks to the girl who came back and hauled me out ::

I had the mortifying experience of being the last competitor over the finish line with the Civil Defence following me on the last cycle with the flashers on :rolleyes: I finished at 20.51 last night at a time of 10 hours 27 minutes (my mates had to put our dinner reservation back 2 times!!) and I have to say that given the way I felt at times I am delighted to have finished at all!! I agree that the powershot cola sweets are fantastic as i scoffed a handful of them on the last cycle and was somehow miraculously overcome with the ability to jog the last 800m despite not really being able to jog at all....

What a day & lots of excitement! I think it was really well done with the exception of the lack of afterparty. i think it would have been a lot better if this had been organised as we were hoping to meet up with people we had met on the route but didnt see them.

I may have been slow but you know at the end of the day -3200 people signed up and only 2301 finished the race according to my print out- 61 people didnt do Croke Patrick and 38 didnt finish so just under 800 didnt even make it to the start line.... and sure doesnt 10.27 give me a great target to beat next year....looking forward to seeing next years tips already!

Legend:)
Well done, i hope there was some support there for you when you crossed the line.

nerraw1111

Basecamp on middle abbey St sell innov8s. They can order any model in for you too.

Those power rides are great for a quick pick me up. Cola bottles are v tasty. Some great results from boardsies.

Sounds like it was a great battle up front. The splits are v interesting when you compare times to those around you. I lost time on bike butndelighted with a top 140 finish.

I saw a few discarded pumps at side of the road. I met a nurse from
local hospital on sat night. She said they only had one admittance and that was for a laceration to the knee. Wasn't that serious. No broken bones. As of 6pm, there were no serious accidents.

Fi H

Yeah... the advantage in being actually last is that all the marshalls know they can go home when you come through so they were very enthusiastic also my really impressive friends who finished hours before me went home showered changed and drove the car down to support me and to drive me back to the hotel.... i LOVE them so much!!

I do think the cycle back into town at that hour of the night would have killed me....esp cause people would have been...where the hell have you been til now :D

thehamo

the best thing to come out of GFW for me is that for the first time in 4 weeks the constant pain in my back has been over shadowed by the immense pain in my legs! :P

@Bold_Defender: THe off-road section was quite different in a lot of parts and quite similar in others. Its hard to compare them really because the off road section in the conemara made up half the bike section where as it made up only a relatively small(ish) bit of the bike section in the GFW

Wonkagirl

bold_defender wrote: »

I done the GF connemara in May and was wondering how the off road cycling section on Sat compared to the section in it? About the same surface?

Much much worse than connemara.
The skelp bit (how long is that officallY? seemed to go on forever) is pretty much uncycleable on a racer imo. Certainly you'd jog it faster than you'd cycle it, you'd be cycling so slowly.

A cyclocross is the bike of choice for this event.

I lived in fear of punctures (even on my fully inflated gatorskins) for all the offroad bits, it really took from the enjoyment of the event for me.

Trotter

Excuse my ignorance but is the skelp the mucky bit straight after Croagh Patrick?

Wonkagirl

Fi H wrote: »

Anyone got any tips on how to get my legs back? I am in agony :D I suppose its to be expected haha!

Me too. There's a hill down into my office, my right knee gave way coming in this am- there was a fella coming against me and he caught me!

I'm starting to worry about my physiological make up. I get stiff after any major long workout, if it's >2hours i'll be in bits the next day. I'm not sure it's normal. I did everything right on saturday- stretched, took whey protein, had a jacuzzi.. only thing i did wrong was have 10 glasses of wine and eat pure sh*t yesterday... i went for a 20min walk yest and the muscles eased out a bit, but they're worse again today!

thehamo

thats just the DOMS WonkaGirl, very normal wouldnt be worried about that

Fi H

Eecks ! thats not good! I took the day off work so am finding if i lie on the sofa and only move my fingers i dont hurt as much :D other than that I am useless!

Cant believe I told the lads from bootcamp I would see them for a run session tonight....ahhahahahah! Little did I know................

helimachoptor

peter500 wrote: »

heres a link to some albums of photos taken near leenane, on croagh patrick and at the finish. about 2000 photos in total. more to come as well

http://picasaweb.google.com/105607389607058020528

Any idea where i can find the pics from the top of CP, there was a foreign guy taking them up there??

did it in 7h,48m. Happy enough, did it with a friend and he struggled badly with the run after first 2/3km he told me to go on but i was happy enough to stick together. ended up taking 2 hours. Kayak was fine, left my friend behind on the bog run as i knew he'd catch me on the bike.

Easily passed 70 odd people on the bike, my friend caught up with me as we approached the rough section. We decided to walk this part then back onto the bike about 1.5k before CP, CP killed us though, i had no idea how tough it was going to be, had laughed at the people using walking poles but my back was killing me and really slowed me down but next year i'll be using them. Was much quicker down than my friend so headed off with him and got chatting to a very nice girl from Longford . The last cycle again no idea how rough it was going to be, walked most of it, got caught by the Longford girl as she was on a MTB but ended up cycling in and running to the finish line with her.


My only gripes... no doing enough research on the route and the terrain. Will be using a MTB next year. Not doing enough hill walking/climbing.

And finally after i swiped off they had no soup left

c montgomery

Wonkagirl wrote: »

Much much worse than connemara.
The skelp bit (how long is that officallY? seemed to go on forever) is pretty much uncycleable on a racer imo. Certainly you'd jog it faster than you'd cycle it, you'd be cycling so slowly.

A cyclocross is the bike of choice for this event.

I lived in fear of punctures (even on my fully inflated gatorskins) for all the offroad bits, it really took from the enjoyment of the event for me.

Have to disagree here. I flew down it on my racer with standard tyres as my gatorskins never arrived. I had the advantage of being in the second wave so there was not many people on the skelp as i was descending so i could pick my line easily.
Its not easy and takes a bit of bottle but it can be done:)Real bone shaking stuff tho.

yop

Wonkagirl wrote: »

Me too. There's a hill down into my office, my right knee gave way coming in this am- there was a fella coming against me and he caught me!

I'm starting to worry about my physiological make up. I get stiff after any major long workout, if it's >2hours i'll be in bits the next day. I'm not sure it's normal. I did everything right on saturday- stretched, took whey protein, had a jacuzzi.. only thing i did wrong was have 10 glasses of wine and eat pure sh*t yesterday... i went for a 20min walk yest and the muscles eased out a bit, but they're worse again today!

Same as you, I was sound last year. Went a did the lawns yesterday after to try and loosen and today I am even worse!
Had to drive up to work from Mayo to Dublin at 6am and I nearly cramped in the car

Had plans to do our "Wed spin" but i don't think I will be in shape!

Mr Freeze

bold_defender wrote: »

First off well done to everyone who finished and even those who didn't, training and getting to the start line is a challenge in itself. I was doing a wimpy 10 mile run instead.

I done the GF connemara in May and was wondering how the off road cycling section on Sat compared to the section in it? About the same surface? Will be doing FG connemara again and all being well GFW next year. Buying bike in mean time (i hope).

For GF, as the offroad section is so small compared to the road section, a racer is the best choice.

For Connemara, since its 50/50 offroad/onroad, I went with a MTB with slicks on it, a lot of the elites still went with racers, dunno what kind of tire choice they made. But the MTB with slicks worked out well for me, was able to keep a good quick pace going on the offroad, and when I got on the road it was a breeze passing all the other MTBs with their big knobbly tires.

Mr Freeze

yop wrote: »

Had plans to do our "Wed spin" but i don't think I will be in shape!

You should try and make that spin, It will do a world of good, you will be sound after it, my legs are bad too, and that spin will sort them out.

Wonkagirl

thehamo wrote: »

thats just the DOMS WonkaGirl, very normal wouldnt be worried about that

yeah, but i had it pretty badly after tulfarris10 as well, and if i do a pretty savage bootcamp session i'll have it the next day too. i seem to get affected worse than others- for eg the 2 girls who did GF with me (in a slower time) and would be slightly less fit than me are both fine today?

after connemara adv challenge i couldnt walk for a week!

yop

c montgomery wrote: »

Have to disagree here. I flew down it on my racer with standard tyres as my gatorskins never arrived. I had the advantage of being in the second wave so there was not many people on the skelp as i was descending so i could pick my line easily.
Its not easy and takes a bit of bottle but it can be done:)Real bone shaking stuff tho.

Cycled all but 200m of it and that was down to cramp in my inner thigh

It takes a bit of nerve, but they could have thrown a few trailors of gravel into them holes to make it nicer lol. Nah feck that dig bigger holes next year :P

helimachoptor

Anyone know when registration is open for next year!?

yop

CKWPORT wrote: »

You should try and make that spin, It will do a world of good, you will be sound after it, my legs are bad too, and that spin will sort them out.

I know what u are saying, I currently couldn't even push the pedals lol

Could be up here yet for a 3rd day so that might take of the spin anyway!

Fi H

Maybe they are fine today cause they didnt push themselves as hard!

Was also told by someone that salt intake can be a major factor in recovery. met a girl at a different race who gave me a salt pill after a race and told me to drink lots! that could be part of it!

Wonkagirl

Fi H wrote: »

Maybe they are fine today cause they didnt push themselves as hard!

Was also told by someone that salt intake can be a major factor in recovery. met a girl at a different race who gave me a salt pill after a race and told me to drink lots! that could be part of it!

yeah i 2 packets of S&V crisps in the helm after the race tho!

jesus, the amt of salt on my face at the finishline i licked my lips and it was like like having a tequila slammer!