Mentored thread for Conn Ultra training

Magnet

I`d be up for that Connemara training run on the 19th, although I`ll have to wait and see what state my feet will be in and how work pans out

hot to trot

Will you be running up from Athenry before it ?;)
Good to see you back. Recovering well is your main target right now.

Aimman

Wally Runs wrote: »

I usually do my last long run for marathons from Howth to Killiney along the coast, I reckon if I push it out to Bray it will give me the 30 miles (I live in Bray). The route is quite flat until you hit Dalkey and you have Killiney Hill and some more hills in parts of Bray. I have yet to set a date but I was thinking early March. The reason I like it is because it is a point to point, shops and toilets along the way, great views and if all else fails the Dart to take you home.

If anybody is interested we can set a date and sort out logistics (promise of a dip in the sea and or hot shower at the end). My pace will be slow (going for time on feet) but the route is easy to follow.

I did that run a couple of times in training too. Parked in Bray, Dart to Howth and run back, but as far as I can remember it was short of 26M, you might need to go to Greystones to get the full 30M. It is a lovely run when the weather is good, Strange to start in Howth and try to look for Bray in the distance before heading off. The Killiney Hill is a tough one, I think I once headed from Dun Laoghire to the Graduate then into Bray via sBallybrack to avoid it. I was thinking of doing it this year for Conn too if you want some company

Aimman

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Propose a few dates Aimann. I cant make paddys day and would be interested in a lng group run

Fancy Howth to Greystones on 12thMarch?

Oisin11178

Aimman wrote: »

Fancy Howth to Greystones on 12thMarch?

How far is that and how would i get back to howth:D
Ahh nevermind i saw your last post, if im off work im on for it.

RacoonQueen

Awww I can't make the 19th

Aimman

If anyone is interested in running Howth to Greystones on the 12th March, here's the route I was planning for myself. Most likely have to stop into shops along the way for drinks, but if I park the car in Greystones, we might be able to have a few things in the boot for when we get there.

RacoonQueen

I wish I was training for an Ultra so I could join you. A 30 mile run sounds smashing right now.

sarsfieldsrock

Hmm, 12th March is the Saturday after the Barca marathon so it might be a bit ambithous but I do plan to do at least 2 30 mile runs before Conn to see how the legs are.
What sort of pace are ye planning on?

Aimman

sarsfieldsrock wrote: »

Hmm, 12th March is the Saturday after the Barca marathon so it might be a bit ambithous but I do plan to do at least 2 30 mile runs before Conn to see how the legs are.
What sort of pace are ye planning on?

Well, its an LSR, so probably 9:30ish and take it from there.

Oisin11178

Aimman wrote: »

Well, its an LSR, so probably 9:30ish and take it from there.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo:D

menoscemo

sarsfieldsrock wrote: »

Hmm, 12th March is the Saturday after the Barca marathon so it might be a bit ambithous but I do plan to do at least 2 30 mile runs before Conn to see how the legs are.
What sort of pace are ye planning on?

How are you fixed for paddy's day?

sarsfieldsrock

menoscemo wrote: »

How are you fixed for paddy's day?

I'll be in Croke Park at the club finals on 17th March.

Wally Runs

I have been away for a few days, 30 miles, if you throw in the two piers and a loop of Shanganah! 12 the 12 sounds goods. Logistics is the key. There used to be a Mr. Whippy in Killiney but good ice cream to be had in Bray!

Aimman

Wally Runs wrote: »

I have been away for a few days, 30 miles, if you throw in the two piers and a loop of Shanganah! 12 the 12 sounds goods. Logistics is the key. There used to be a Mr. Whippy in Killiney but good ice cream to be had in Bray!

If there's an Ice Cream van at the top of the Killiney hill, it will make a fortune out of us. Then again... there's always Henry & Rose Fish and Chips in Bray or the Hungry Monk in Greystones.... Aghh, have to stop thinking about food, I'll pack an extra gel :-)

Only thing to worry about is getting to the nearest dart station and head for Howth for a certain time. there's a great running track in Greystones, if I can get people's gear, then I could leave it in the car and we could finish the run on the track and grab a shower there before hitting the Burnaby for some refreshments

claralara

Hey guys, just wondering does anyone have a map of the marathon course? I can only see the interactive one on the website and I was looking for one to print off. Cheers.

hot to trot

Mapmyrun has a few versions. search under connemara ireland and you should get them all , i ncluding the elevations

aigster

I decided a while back I'd try a mini mini ultra ... 50 k...to be honest I didn't think I could do Connemara ultra... Or to be more accurate ...do the work needed!!!.
So I set off for the 50 k London ultra...( fancy name and yes I don't know is 50 k really ultra) I'll leave that there!!!...
I aimed at 5.30....hours not per k !! N ( yes I'm no greyhound!)...took 5hr 45 but I had a great dAy... Mud mud mud hills woods golf course .. Streets Even a farmyard!....
Not being a mapreader .. I've only ran on road ... I lost time but ... Wasn't really botherd...just wanted to see if I could do it..
So I guess I'll just keep going for Connemara...I am aiming at a ten minute mile so no records ....
After Connemara I hope to look at getting quicker...As a new years resolution!..

TFBubendorfer

aigster wrote: »

... and yes I don't know is 50 k really ultra ...

Well done aigster, sounds like you managed a perfect training run for Connemara.

Now, just to be clear and only because this has been mentioned a few times recently on this board:

I did not mean to belittle the Connemara Ultra by saying that it's more a long marathon than a "real" ultra. I would never do that, and in fact I have stated dozens of times that Connemara is my favourite race of all times and I'm very much looking forward to being there again one year.

What I meant was that the TRAINING required is basically marathon training with a few longer long runs, rather than some fancy ultra training program. That's all.

Apologies for the rambling. Well done to aigster once more.

aigster

Not such a good week, I think I got spooked by the small numbers who do ultra.... Was on my mind a lot.
Head removed from ass....onwards slowly!.
A 26 and a 30 left planned, and main aim now taper properly ... Still tryin to get the hang of tapering...
A few random questions still to ask .... Drop boxes.. For the slower amongst us are they reliable?....
Getting closer now.....

RacoonQueen

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Now, just to be clear and only because this has been mentioned a few times recently on this board:

I think it's a great line. I'm having fun winding people up with it.

Aimman

aigster wrote: »

Not such a good week, I think I got spooked by the small numbers who do ultra.... Was on my mind a lot.
Head removed from ass....onwards slowly!.
A 26 and a 30 left planned, and main aim now taper properly ... Still tryin to get the hang of tapering...
A few random questions still to ask .... Drop boxes.. For the slower amongst us are they reliable?....
Getting closer now.....

There are no guarantees with the drop boxes, but couple of things to keep in mind:

1: The busiest stations will be the ones where the Ultra, Full and Half marathon are running along together (last 13M). The organisers have a table specifically for the Ultra supplies and someone to look after it. But a surge of runners can be difficult to cope with and some runners might go for the wrong table and grab your supplies, be it accidentally or the bottle of lucozade Sport will do the job better then water. Either way, make your pack unattractive. Don't just tape a mars bar to a Club Energiser, thats asking for trouble. Wrap it up, label it and put your name on it. Just make sure it's easy for you to identify and unwrap quickly.

2: You are allowed 3 drop offs, you can decide where you leave them. Think its 5M, 10M, 13M then every 3 miles from there. You could have 1 drop just before the Full Start, One just before the Half start and then the final one within the last 13M, you'll have less chance of having your stuff liberated by someone else.

TFBubendorfer

aigster wrote: »

A few random questions still to ask .... Drop boxes.. For the slower amongst us are they reliable?....

I don't think being slower has much of an impact. If anecdotes are to be believed, it's the half-marathon runners that cause the biggest problem in regards to raiding your provisions.

Because of that, I always had my drop-offs BEFORE the 26 mile mark. Last year I broke that rule and had my last one right at 26. When I collected it the bag had been ripped open and some pond scum had taken about a quarter of my drink and left the bottle standing on its own and unmarked on the table (I found it straight away and it didn't have any impact on my race though).

TFBubendorfer

One more thing, because it has confused many an ultra runner over the years:

The 13-mile drop-off box is actually located close to the 12 mile point. I have heard lots of stories of people running past their own provisions without realising.

In general I think the set-up is fairly reliable, but don't rely solely on the drop-offs, things can and do happen (the RD states as much during the briefing).

menoscemo

I'm thinking of printing off some poison stickers to stick to my bottles for the dropoffs :pac: That should keep the green fingers away from my Flat coke.

aigster

Excellent...great to get the advice..it's great that the races merge but man to nick food from somebody doin 39.... There's karma out there waitng!...

Wally Runs

Just wondering by the same token can you leave stuff at the drops? Jackets etc. I imagine it will be very cold (wet) at the start and you may want a jacket for a good few miles. Can you drop them off at the stations?

TFBubendorfer

Wally Runs wrote: »

Just wondering by the same token can you leave stuff at the drops? Jackets etc. I imagine it will be very cold (wet) at the start and you may want a jacket for a good few miles. Can you drop them off at the stations?

No.

You're only at the start for about 2 minutes. No need for a jacket.

RacoonQueen

Wally Runs wrote: »

Just wondering by the same token can you leave stuff at the drops? Jackets etc. I imagine it will be very cold (wet) at the start and you may want a jacket for a good few miles. Can you drop them off at the stations?

Leave anything you don't want to run with at the hotel bag drop. You'll be put on a bus from the hotel and driven 1 mile up the road to the start line, jump off do a quick dance about/stretch so people don't realise you haven't a clue what you're doing there and then you'll be off. It's been fairly warm in Connemara the last 2 years...

Edit: On drop offs;

• Think carefully about where you want your fuel and more importantly REMEMBER what boxes you've put them in - write it on your hand or number if you need to, it is easy to forget where you put it. I usually put one at around 30-33 miles to get me over that last hurdle, at my pace it would be effective but for faster runners having a drop with 6 miles to go probably wouldn't do much for you. For my first ultra I put a drop at around mile 28, this was in case I was struggling after marathon distance so that I knew the drop was coming it would help push me to the next station for my rations. You should know how far you can go on just your breakfast/whatever fuel you have on you, so put your first drop as early as you think you'll need it. My first is usually at about 20 miles, I dumped my gel belt last year at 21 miles as I wasn't using it - used it the year before, if you're a girl and find the gels rub against your arms a lot - in my first year 30 miles of the arms banging against the gels left me with burst gels and sticky arms...

• Take your sports drink etc out of their original bottle and into your own plastic bottle, preferably not a see through one. If they don't know whats in the bottle they're less likely to rob it. Label it with your number in BIG writing, several times. Again, once your race number is visible, people are less likely to mistake it as a free for all and snatch it.

• If you plan on racing through the aid stations and eating on the go as opposed to walking through/stopping/slowing down make sure you can easily access your stuff. I don't use sellotape, I attach stuff to my bottles with rubber bands then the foodstuff just has to be snapped out and it's secure enough that it doesn't fall out in transit.

Got my email today confirming I pulled out. Will be gutted to be only running 10k that day...

Wally Runs

Many thanks, I am down with a nasty cold at the moment, so I have not been out too much of late. I was up to 25 miles but nothing in the last week. I have my 30 miles and some shorter back to backs and then that will be it.