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If this is a Mid Life Crisis Im loving it......
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Sunday 10th...Conn Ultra...5.11.06....
Pre Race
Myself and Mrs L took the scenic route to Cliften , from Ratoath via Bunboy in Cavan so after 5.5 hrs of driving we were shattered.. After picking up my number we had bite to eat and went to bed early... Next morning I grabbed some breakfast and headed 2 pick up the bus which was departing at 7.20am. I arrived bang on time to discover the bus had gone without me and 2 other runners..Great start 2 the day:pac:... After making a few enquiries it was decided that one of the lads would drive to Peacock's so thankfully we got there in plenty of time...
At Peacocks I met up with Memoscemo, Oisin11178, Aimman and Sarsfieldsrock and after a quick briefing we made out was to the start...
Race
When the race commenced I immediately got running with Ray from Waterford. Little did I know we would b spending the next 27.5 miles running side by side... After about 2 miles we caught up with 2 ladies from Athenry A/c, Magnet and Ruthann both of whom had run so well in a recent 24hr race...At this stage we were running about 7.45 minute miles..We were soon accompanied by a runner from Eagle A/c...Magnet took the lead and picked up the pace a bit as she was determined to keep the lead female within eye shot and I was happy to tag along( she is one tough lady )...Ruthann eased off at this stage... At about 6 miles I needed to take a P so despite Magnets advice that I should P as I go
I briefly stopped and soon rejoined the group.. The Eagle A/c runner then moved ahead and I was tempted to go with him but decided against it and considering how I struggled later on it was a wise move.. At mile 5 I took my 1st gel and at mile 10 picked up my bag with contained 500mils of Hi5 sports drink a banana and a powerbar..I had never eaten this type of powerbar before and it was horrible but I forced it down anyway..
At about mile 11 myself and Ray moved ahead of Magnet and at this stage our pace was approx 7.30 minute pm...We soon caught up with the tail end of the marathon runners and at mile 14 we passed the lead female... At mile 15 I took another gel and 19 I got my 2nd drop off bag. This time a did'nt go near the powerbar.... Im usually more than happy to run alone but I have to say it was great to have company and the miles flew by as myself and Ray chatted away and admired the beautiful landscape...
At about mile 20 we passed another Ultra runner and at mile 22 we were passed ourselves by Paul another of the Eagle A/c runners.. Our paths were to cross on many occasions between now and the finish... At mile 25 I took another gel and got to marathon distance at 3.18.30 approx feeling ok.. I found the hill out of Leenane tough and it was this stage I knew Ray was stronger than me and told him to push on as I needed to p again... I told him I'd catch up but knew we were not going to meet again until the finish line...
Between mile 28 and the finish it was all about myself and Paul... We both went through bad patches and passed each other at least 5 times... At mile 29 I got the last of my drop off bags but was in no mood to eat so only took the Hi5 drink.. Shortly after the next hill arrived and it tore me to shreds.. I struggled to get up it and at this stage decided to walk for a while ( about 1 minute ).. Looking back i took the easy way out.. Ive never walked before in any marathon and if there were more spectators around and I had my Ipod I would have fought on but I was physically exhausted but more importantly mentally fu!ked... Mile times were now about 10min pace and when I got to the base of the Hell of the West I walked again for about 30secs.. I ran as hard as I could up that final hill almost catching up with Paul but just could'nt reel him in..... pushed hard on the downhill to the finish getting home in 5.11.06 good enough for 11th place.. I was so relieved to finish and it was great to c Mrs L waiting for me...At the finish I met up and congratulated Ray who came in under 5hrs....
I then had the nicest cup of soup and tuna sambo I've ever tasted
Looking Back
With about 8 miles to go I swore I'd never return to Conn but now off course I've changed my oponion...The Ultra was a great experience and Im proud of my achievement... I know with the proper training I could go quicker ( if only running was that simple )....I will sign up for Conn 2012....I've never done any hill training for the simple reason that all the marathons I've raced did'nt have hills to contend with.. This had to change... Im going to rest up for a couple of weeks and then get back on the horse..... Next up for me is Berlin in September which I think will b the last marathon I race.... Then if I stay fit, healthy, motivated and finally kick that stupid habbit of mine I will focus on Conn '12.....
BTW... Magnet has assured me her report from the 24hr race is almost complete and will b posted in the near future:eek:
Milage For Week : 71.3
Milage For Year : 662.800 -
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Wednesday 20th....5.5 miles....42.36...
For once Im going to follow a specific training plan and as my Pb's for the shorter distances are crap where better to start than with the Runnersworld 8 Week 10k Schedule....
Session : 1 mile warmup then 8 by 80secs flat out ( i think!) with 2 mins slow jog recovery between reps and 1 mile cooldown.... Im not used to this type of hardship
and struggled for the last 2 reps but got through it all the same....
Thursday 21st....7.5 miles slow...59.48...
During this run I worked hard to keep the pace at 8min mile...Ive a habbit of doing my slow runs too fast so from now on slow means slow!!
This afternoon I heard about the sad passsing away of Eddie.. I first came across Sarsfieldrock on the Barcelona Marathon 2011 thread. Eddie's main concern pre marathon was to find a pub that would show the GAA which he indeed found...I was fortunate to meet him in the George Payne after the marathon and a nicer man u could'nt meet... It didnt take me long to realise he was passionate about running, Tipp hurling and GAA in general ( and was a good darts player aswell!!).. I also met him before the Conn Ultra and I along with the other Boardies gave him a right slagging about bringing his Ipod on the run but it was water off a ducks back to Eddie!!... Boards A/R/T will sadly miss Eddie's informed input... RIP Sarsfieldrock...0 -
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Yeah, kids seem to have an urge to embrace mother Earth once in a while. My eldest girl did the same, and we had the usual "stay awake" sessions...helmets are fine, but when you faceplant, they're not great.
"Mrs L stayed with her overnight and thankfully she was a different girl this morning"... I must try that with my wife - 0 -
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Yeah, kids seem to have an urge to embrace mother Earth once in a while. My eldest girl did the same, and we had the usual "stay awake" sessions...helmets are fine, but when you faceplant, they're not great.
"Mrs L stayed with her overnight and thankfully she was a different girl this morning"... I must try that with my wife -theboyblunder wrote: »glad the little one is ok liam
Tks lads... She's fine now and took pleasure in showing her teacher and class mates her few small war wounds:)... Valuable lesson learned by all in my family from this....0 -
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Sunday 9th through to Monday 23th I ran the grand total of 32 miles due to work commitments so was delighted to get back on the horse....
Tuesday 24th..... 9 miles....1.07.01.... Plan for this week is to get some milage back in the legs and from next monday focus on Berlin in Sept.. All sorts happening weather wise..
Wednesday 25th... as above....1.05.21
Thursday 26th... As above... 1.07.14... weather unreal.. always windy but one minute its sunny the next its pissing down..0 -
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