IMRA season 2012

Kurt Godel

3 of them finished the Round in just under 21 hours, including Surewhynot and dapope of this parish. Awesome achievement lads- be great if you could share a report here (after a few days sleep!)

Rogue Runner

Well done lads. Tough conditions towards the end. Definitely something to tell the grandkids.

Mothman

Great evening at Scarr. Dry and hardly any midges and underfoot I thought was quite reasonable as well.

Found myself in unfamiliar territory. :eek:

Was in pack for first quarter of climb, but found myself in 4th place! half way up. Summitted in 5th. I generally don't race the downhill, but only lost 2 places, so finished in a comfortable 7th.

I had rest day yesterday which definitely helped, though I had competitive races the previous 3 days. Giving the uphill next week a miss due to competition the following weekend but I expect I'll be helping at the finish

Ar Strae

Fair play Mothman! Enjoyed the race, tried to stay with a nemesis I hadn't been near in years. Beat him on the up but he snuck past me on the downs and finished a few places ahead of me at the end as i couldn't keep with him on the last section. Still, happy with it.

In the pub though I started shaking, couldn't stop..felt really rough. Took a guess and devoured a kit-kat which seemed to make things better but still feeling rough today. Not definite why, it's never happened after any run before. I reckon a combination of pushing it a bit to catch the nemesis, not eating my usual pre-race banana (30 minutes before the race) or bar (60 mins before race) as I usually do in that anal way I have :-) Or maybe there was just less in the tank after Carrauntoohil on the weekend.

Anyway, either way, another race in the bag and a beautiful night to be out running!

Ro

P.S. It was Paparazzi night out there. I think I counted 4 photographers? None of whom were IMRA regular Mr. Shiels.

paulocon2

Just looking at the pics and it seems that you guys got a great night for it.
Meanwhile I was getting absolutely soaked on the Cooley Mountains!

Will hopefully make Powerscourt Uphill next week - I'm useless on the ascents so it's a race I'm pretty much dreading!

Mebuccaneers

I didn't run last night due to an injury but I tagged along with a friend of mine at the last minute and took a few photos.
They are not great photos due to been taken on a compact and due to constant attack from about a million midges!!

Here's a link to them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3082971247812.105118.1669783945&type=1

Tag anyone you know if you like.

Is there a way for me to post the photos on the IMRA web site??
Paul

earlyevening

Runforrestrun wrote: »

Is there a way for me to post the photos on the IMRA web site??
Paul

PM me your email address and I'll invite you to the MyIMRA area where you can upload those pics.

Always nice to see that someone took a few pics. Thanks!

nerraw1111

How did people find this week's race? I thought the mist made it into a great race. That and you couldn't see the pain that awaited you!

It's a tough route. Did better than I expected which I think might be due in part to not being able to see up ahead. Interesting psychological effect (if there was one). May need to HTFU in future races.

Micilin Muc

Yes, in a way I think the mist made it more difficult for me as I didn't know how long was left to the finish. I was still holding back until 20 metres to go! Very enjoyable!

Peterx

good racing, plenty of surging and closing and opening and elastic snapping and pulling and comings and goings. A nice rhythm to it with the steady start eventually leading to the balls out effort from the river to the summit.
Steady as she goes up the fireroad kept me in touching distance of the leaders with notable mentions to Torben going hard from the gun and Greg Byrne going hard for a section after the ride and then when the lads in front of me started walking coming up from the river I allowed myself an evil chuckle but Tristan was merely biding his time and from point Rachel to the finish he opened up his stride and put about 45 seconds into the rest of us.
A 6km cooldown jog and a grand oul chat with Bernard Fortune was nearly as good as the race!

paulocon2

Another very enjoyable race - amazing how different the conditions were at the summit compared to the race a few weeks ago.

Read advice somewhere to eat a banana 30 minutes before the start of the race. Tried it and ended up with a stitch early into the race so won't be trying that again!

The midgets left their mark on me, I'm like a lad with chickenpox today. I really don't know how the marshalls stood in that cloud of midgets at the start/end for so long!

Going to miss these Wednesday evening races when they are finished, finding them a really great incentive to get out and do a bit of training.

ThisRegard

Try half, or a full, mars bar. If I don't manage to get a big lunch in I usually pick one up on the way and have a munch of it before hand and it works for me. I find that unless the banana is almost black it doesn't sit well.

Regarding the midgets, strangely despite standing around at the start/finish all evening and having a cloud of them around my head I didn't get nibbled once. I must smell or something.

PaulieC

clouds of midgets ? Really ?

earlyevening

cambo_gueno wrote: »

clouds of midgets ? Really ?

Think they mean midges - but its funnier imagining flying midgets eating people.

ThisRegard

cambo_gueno wrote: »

clouds of midgets ? Really ?

You had to be there man.









I'd really like to blame the auto correct on my phone but it really was probably just me.

SureWhyNot!

Are these the same midgets?

jeffontour

Smashing route in Glendalough yesterday. Couldn't open up properly on the descents and was tiring badly for the last 20 minutes. But a smashing day for it.

That could become a favourite training route very easily, has it all really. And the lake, ah the lake. A wash of the legs and a chat. You wouldn't get it in the most exclusive spa in the country(cos they wouldn't let us in mucked up to the armpits!).

nerraw1111

Couldn't agree more. Fantastic course. My first foray into the championship races, some introduction.

As you said, had it all. The first two climbs were suffer fests. Didn't feel right until after Lugduf. Descent off Camaderry was great. Felt ok to Derrydawn where I think I nipped by you on last descent. Tough day but what a great course. Will be revisiting for sure

ocnoc

jeffontour wrote: »

Smashing route in Glendalough yesterday. Couldn't open up properly on the descents and was tiring badly for the last 20 minutes. But a smashing day for it.

Tends to happen when you do an hour in the hills before hand! Quality stuff

Peterx

just got a burst of happyhappyjoyjoy thinking about the descent into the valley after Camaderry:)
Even the climb to Lugduff was kinda cool, the view down the valley was very picturesque and on the other side I had the privilege of watching Bernard walk up the hill quicker on all fours than I was jogging it!

jeffontour

I wasn't really in the shape to enjoy the descent but I agree, Peter. Once you find the big wide, wet, grassy motorway down from Camaderry you're laughing.

And if you do fall you can laugh as you do so as there's little fear of doing much damage. As for Bernard walking uphills, it's like watching Terminator walking through walls, unstopable.

jeffontour

ocnoc wrote: »

Tends to happen when you do an hour in the hills before hand! Quality stuff

Might have had less of an effect if it was only an hour. I'm here for a good time, not a long time so may as well enjoy them hills while I can!

Gringo78

Was thinking about running Seefingen 12k next week. On the IMRA website its described as very tough & not for beginners. I haven't run an IMRA race before but am fit and most of my training is on hills at the moment, my normal lunchtime run is 300m of climb. So is Seefingen not recommended for beginners from the point of view of being long (12k) with a lot of climb or because its quite a technical course? I would expect to be within 120% of the winning time.

Ar Strae

Gringo78 wrote: »

Was thinking about running Seefingen 12k next week. On the IMRA website its described as very tough & not for beginners. I haven't run an IMRA race before but am fit and most of my training is on hills at the moment, my normal lunchtime run is 300m of climb. So is Seefingen not recommended for beginners from the point of view of being long (12k) with a lot of climb or because its quite a technical course? I would expect to be within 120% of the winning time.

Do it. If you think you will be around 120% you'll be grand! I don't think I've EVER got 120% in an IMRA race..although it's difficult to know of course when they don't put your percentages on your runner's results page...did I mention that before? :rolleyes: You will be absolutely fine.

It's tough for a Leinster League race, that's why the dire warnings. It looks kind of like a fully marked Leinster Champs level race maybe? The other guys here would give you a better picture but I reckon you'll be grand.

You've got to start somewhere and sometime! Come on in, the water (in the post-race dips) is lovely.

Ran Sorrell hill last night for the first time. I'd run hard (for me) in the Docklands 8k the nigth before so I just thought I'd take it handy. Turned off the watch, stopped obsessing about the number of people who overtook me on the downhills and just ran it comfortably taking in what must be some of the best views in an IMRA race. Great fun.

It's my safety in case I end up missing races and not getting my 7 in! I'm hoping to do enough that it won't count in the end.

But what a beautiful course, springy, runnable, open mountain. Definitely want to hit that at pace next year!

Ronan

Stark

Ar Strae wrote: »

although it's difficult to know of course when they don't put your percentages on your runner's results page...did I mention that before? :rolleyes:

I'm sure they'll add it back in when they find a way to normalise the percentages to account for different winners in each race.

Anyway, back to race topic. Depends how comfortable you are with doing 12km with your legs stuck in bog.

Gringo78

Stark wrote: »

Anyway, back to race topic. Depends how comfortable you are with doing 12km with your legs stuck in bog.

I think you also have to be prepared to potentially lose a shoe to the bog for good

nerraw1111

Gringo78 wrote: »

Was thinking about running Seefingen 12k next week. On the IMRA website its described as very tough & not for beginners. I haven't run an IMRA race before but am fit and most of my training is on hills at the moment, my normal lunchtime run is 300m of climb. So is Seefingen not recommended for beginners from the point of view of being long (12k) with a lot of climb or because its quite a technical course? I would expect to be within 120% of the winning time.

It's across open mountain, with no real trail to speak of, and very boggy in places. It's really energy sapping as it can be hard to pick a decent line without your leg disappearing into mud and there's no real opportunity to recover.

That and the distance and climb make it not beginner friendly. But as the race notes say, don't attempt it unless you're confident you can do complete the distance and profile. It's a tough 12km but the winner's will do it in around an hour to give you an idea of times.

It's different than the other Wednesday races where there's usually a clear trail to follow.

nerraw1111

Also, a great report of the Wicklow Round by (i think?) DaPope.

http://getnosleep-ar.com/archives/602

jeffontour

Gringo78 wrote: »

Was thinking about running Seefingen 12k next week.

Once you don't run with your eyes closed you will be fine! The fact that there's no clearly defined trail for a bit is more than made up for by the stream of people around you.

It may have a section on open mountain but it's as safe as you'll get in that it's mostly boggy goodness as opposed to knee high heather from what I can remember. Give it a lash would be my view. Just don't wear your best dancing shoes.

ThisRegard

Gringo78 wrote: »

I think you also have to be prepared to potentially lose a shoe to the bog for good

A guy beside me last night was heading that way ! Took a few tugs to retrieve and the schloop noise when it eventually came out was impressive.