6 weeks in hell -Abu Dhabi to Conn via Donadea

pgibbo

Best of luck this weekend. :cool:

shotgunmcos

Count down the miles on this one. Last step of the mad 6 weeks. Good luck

DustyBin

Nearly there now, best of luck tomorrow

big mce

Best of luck.

RacoonQueen

5:57 for Izoard. Awesome stuff, enjoy the beers and the rest.

griffin100

Awesome is right. I am very very impressed. Well done Fearghal Fergal.

Izoard

griffin100 wrote: »

Awesome is right. I am very very impressed. Well done Fergal.

Cheers P - fixed that for ya:D

Izoard

After a mental week and still feeling under the weather, this was beginning to fill me with dread.

I’d completely lost focus after Abu Dhabi, so I was sure the chickens were going to come home to roost.

Anyways, with 3 of us in the car covering half, full and Ultra, I was putting on a brave face.

After manfully tackling the “porridge” in the hotel, I bumped into Aimman, who spun us down to the Oughterard bus.

Briefing at Peacock’s was touching – focusing on the human side of the race, rather than the race details…(keep turning right – easy).

Was not really sure what to do with the nutrition and ultimately put my gel belt and a packet of hard gums into the 16m bin for pick up later.

On the fly, I went with the plan of no nutrition until mile 16 and then do standard marathon nutrition from there.

At the start line a Boards group was formed, with the aim of sub 6, including myself, Aimman, claralara, MarthaStew, Digger, Frank (does he really go by Oisin on Boards?) and a few others.

I was pushing on ahead at the start, so was sitting off the front for a while, but ultimately felt it would be better to be in the group than trying to gain time in the early stage of the race.

Conditions were great, warm with little wind – perfect for me.

We passed the 13.1 in 1.56, and I started to get a little concerned that I wasn’t banking enough time for the horrors ahead.

As the miles ticked by, the group got smaller, leaving CL, MS, Frank and myself heading down towards Leenane.

At this point the girls were flying and I was hanging on – CL realized that she could probably set a marathon PB by stepping on the gas for the run in to Leenane – that was the death knell for me, as I couldn’t respond to her acceleration, while the others were able to keep on track.

Through the marathon in ~3.54 – very worried now that I’d blown the sub 6, particularly as my group mates were disappearing up the road.

I was a bit dispirited hitting the Leenane hill, but agreed with myself that I would only stop to pick up water and consume a gel – no way I was stopping on the hills, if there was even a remote chance of hitting the sub-6.

This gave me more confidence as I was picking off quite a few who were walking the hill.

Once over the hill the marathon dead-zone (miles 13-17) kicked in where you feel you are too far away from the finish to get excited and there is nothing much going on around you.

Kept plugging away and eventually caught Frank about mile 16, where he was struggling a bit. I reckoned the girls could not be too far ahead and they would come into view soon.

While I was feeling good, I was still too close to the 6 hour projected finish for comfort. Quads were beginning to protest, but while the cramp twinges were coming, they never arrived.

HotW required “running” all the way, but once over the top, I felt that the sub 6 was within reach if I could keep the pace ticking over.

Although only 2 miles to the finish, Peacockes never seems to get any closer, and with the wind carrying the announcers voice, I began to panic that the finish was a bit further away.

The crowds started building and sure enough the Finish gantry appeared into view – sub-6 excellent (5.57.24 on the Garmin)!

Very happy with that, as it required a big effort in the final 1/3 to keep it together.

Met CL at the finish, where she and MS had put a whopping 10 mins into me by the finish – huge respect for their efforts and they made it look pi$$ easy.

So, the “6 weeks in hell” is complete and I’m pretty happy with the overall results.

Will go into the freezer for a while, starting with a 2 week stint in Orlando from Tuesday, getting Disney-fied:)

Will hopefully reappear at IM70.3 Galway…

Thanks for reading and I’ll be busy stalking a bunch of logs – (particularly those first time IMers J), with a beer in my hand.

belcarra

Good report izoard!
I was one of the few ye burned around mile 18. Strange that over that distance I didn't actually get to say hello...?!
Great time by you!

snack_ie

Well done chief. That's one well deserved holiday.
Make sure to check out Universal & Wet & Wild, and even one over by Tampa if you like your rollercoasters - it's been a while since I have been there but I am sure they are still awesome.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Great going Ferg, that was one busy 6 weeks of racing. Fair play for keeping it together and nailing your target time. Enjoy Disney, +1 for Universal i found it much better than the Disney parks.

Enjoy the well deserved beers...i have had a few this week but need to get back to it:)

handangeo

Well done my friend, I met Simon in Paulstown [our kids were playing against each other on Saturday morning in a u-11 cup match ] we were discussing your mental few weeks. Well deserved rest - are you and your legs on speaking terms ?:D

Abhainn

Fair play to you. You are one determined athlete. Great going and superbly well done on getting that sub 6. Enjoy the break

LCD

Cracking effort over the 3 weeks.

Liam

pgibbo

Cracking effort. Congrats. Enjoy the hols and the beers! Well earned :cool:

Marthastew

Fantastic finish for you F, don't know how you managed to be so disciplined after your last few weeks. Thanks for the good company, I'm sure Mrs Izoard and the young uns will be delighted to have you all to themselves for the next couple of weeks. Have a super break:)

shotgunmcos

That was a jam packed few weeks. Enjoy the Laurels and pig out dude Entertaining report as usual and well done on achieving your goal. Way to end a journey with a high!!

catweazle

The way you travel I would have thought a holiday would have been a week at home, well done on the race!

Dory Dory

Yes, well done on your ultra. I think you jammed just about everything challenging that you could into the last few months. Bravo. Enjoy your holiday here in the states...and if you and the family get a wild hair to head north to my neck of the woods, give me a shout!

Izoard

Thanks all - still walking downstairs backwards - haven't had to do that since my first marathon:)

Krusty_Clown

Super stuff Izzard. You made the ultra sound all too easy. Enjoy the break and the beers. Perfect timing for a holiday!

TFBubendorfer

You've had quite the program over the last few weeks. Well done and congratulations! Take it easy for a while.

claralara

Well done again on Sunday Izoard. It was lovely to meet you and chat about all your wonderful adventures! I thought my bucket list would get shorter once I completed the Ultra, not double in length!! Hope the recovery is going well. Have a great holiday. You certainly deserve it!

Izoard

Right...

Nothing since April 1st, but I've "3 weeks in hell" quickly approaching, so I reckon it is time to bring this back to life.

26 Aug Oylegate Half Marathon (pacing)
02 Sept Galway 70.3
08 Sept Brittas Bay Olympic Distance

Will come up with a more appropriate moniker for the log, once I've figured out what the plan is for next year...

Good to be back!

Kurt Godel

Izoard wrote: »

08 Sept Brittas Bay Olympic Distance

Hope to join you at this. From the looks of previous photo's, they let the swim go ahead when its a bit choppy. Handy and local too.

Izoard

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Hope to join you at this. From the looks of previous photo's, they let the swim go ahead when its a bit choppy. Handy and local too.

Great - definitely a hidden treasure and must be the longest running tri in Ireland.

Swim can be hit and miss, 7 years in a row, no problem, then 2 out of 3 had to be cancelled.

Also, in recent years, the swim has gotten tougher* - current and wind has meant that I've come out with times in the mid-high 40's in the past couple of years (usually 1,500m in ~30min in the pool).

* Given it is straight line and parallel to the shore, I've had the embarrasment of seeing people walk the swim in a quicker time:)

Abhainn

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Hope to join you at this. From the looks of previous photo's, they let the swim go ahead when its a bit choppy. Handy and local too.

Good to see you back. Probably lazing about for the last 4 months?

I try and be there to support you 2

Izoard

Abhainn wrote: »

Good to see you back. Probably lazing about for the last 4 months?

I try and be there to support you 2

Older, lazier and fatter - the perfect mix for a wannabe triathlete.

Are you doing any races before Barca?

griffin100

You any loose plans for next year? A certain French mountain is calling me........

Izoard

griffin100 wrote: »

You any loose plans for next year? A certain French mountain is calling me........

Yeah, that is definitely on the bucket list - great distances over tough terrain and unfinished business on that mountain.

I'll be putting the feelers out soon - IM South Africa is something I can probaby get done mostly under the radar, so that is the early favourite....