Time for a New Adventure

aquinn

Ah, how amazing.

Delighted for you both.

Best wishes.

FYI, Wedding planning is a PITA.

xx

PS I know Alicia, we had a chat about you in October I think it was. She's my friends neighbour.

Neady83

denis b wrote: »

S, let me be the first to congratulate you....on a great holiday choice BOLZANO. And if you are going to say YES, then all the better. A great place to share a memory and plan your future.

Thank you so much Denis, indeed we have some great memories from there and we're already looking forward to going back and doing some more exploring.

Annie get your Run wrote: »

How beautiful!!! go Kie :cool:. Many congratulations to you both and here's to a lifetime of happiness and running together in beautiful locations

Thank you A, he's an old romantic after all

Baby75 wrote: »

Massive congratulations to you both that is wonderful news

Thank you N

pgibbo wrote: »

Congrats. Great news.

Cheers Gibbo ... a Castlegar AC wedding

Bungy Girl wrote: »

I can't believe you just put that in there casually in the middle of your training !!!

CONGRATULATIONS !!

Wishing you both every happiness for your future together.

Ha ha Thank you G, I was just checking to see if anyone reads my log

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Congratulations

That's very nice of you thank you

diego_b wrote: »

Haha loving the casual drop this in the middle of a log update, that is great news S. Big congrats to you both!

Cheers D, you'd have been proud of how I dropped it into the conversation during lunch at work the day I came back, they couldn't believe it took me half a day to tell them. I'm really not good with this kinda stuff

Neady83

snailsong wrote: »

Congratulations to you both. Fantastic news. He did well, so did you!
K seems to have fully embraced racing, I've run in to him at a few races recently. Kilmovee Saturday? That race has a very romantic tradition, two friends of mine met there, married now.

Thats so sweet of you P, thank you

He's really loving it, he's doing sessions with the club now so he'll be passing me out very soon. Yup, he's heading to Kilmovee after parkrun volunteering in Claremorris, it's his favourite race of the year. I'll be in Clare but he'll fly the flag for both of us

aquinn wrote: »

Ah, how amazing.

Delighted for you both.

Best wishes.

FYI, Wedding planning is a PITA.

xx

PS I know Alicia, we had a chat about you in October I think it was. She's my friends neighbour.

Awh thanks so much A. Hee hee we haven't even gone and gotten a ring yet so I don't know how we'll organise a wedding. I'm much better at race planning. I think we'll probably go abroad and get hitched, just the two of us, and take all the frills out of it. Frank ARSE got married in Hawaii after an ironman so we might follow his lead

Ahhhh small world, Alicia is an inspiration and such a kind person, love her and her attitude.

Neady83

March 19th to 25th

Monday:
7miles @ 8:19/mi (58mins) + 2miles @ 9:39/mi (15mins)
Back from holidays and back to reality with a thud.
Have decided that the Wicklow Way is firmly on the agenda so I downloaded the Connemarathon ultra training plan to use as a reference mileage wise. 12 weeks to Wicklow so time to ramp it up.

Headed out for a trot with fresh legs today and pushed the pace a bit to see what was in the legs, happy to see 7 miles under HM pace without busting a gut and cooled down after with 2 easy miles.

Tuesday:
AM: 1.3miles warm up on the treadmill (13mins)
AM: Circuits
PM: Club session: 2x (2x400m) off 90 secs + 3mins between sets & 4x200m with jog back.
Paces for the 400s were something like 6:47, 6:35, 6:49, 6:48, 6:53, 6:54, 7:10, 6:25.
Michelle led the third group out – I find the 400s really tough, I’m much better at sticking to Michelle on the 1kms. Tough lung busting session and 6ish miles for the evening.

Wednesday:
AM: Brick session: 30mins Wattbike (15km) + 3.2miles @ 9:18/mi on the treadmill
Feeling the stiffness from circuits yesterday & the session last night.
PM: 5miles @ 9:27/mi (47mins): Up and over circular road hill – felt a bit ropey on the way up. I probably didn’t eat enough at lunch.
PM: 90mins yoga: ooohhhhhh stiffness has well and truly set in. I missed three classes in the gym and I’m bate after just one class.

Thursday:
AM:1.5miles @ 9:13/mi on the treadmill (13mins).
AM: Circuits, lots of cardio so I was loving it.
PM: 8.6miles @ 9:02/mi (1hr18 & 300m)
Picked Lonan up after work and we headed out to the trails around the turbines just past Moycullen. It was fairly miserable weather with sheeting rain but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I’ve never been to these trails before but Lonan has been raving about the sharpish hills in around the man made trails so we drove right in so as to get straight onto the hills. Parked up and off we went.

I was labouring from the off, my legs were stiff as hell and my breathing was all over the place but Lonan was happy to stay with me. He’s moving to Bristol in May so I need to squeeze as much buddy training out of him as I can before he leaves & I also need to import all the trails and routes from his head into mine.

We did a bit of exploring and found some cracking hills with turbines at the top of them before we turned around to head back the way we came. It turns out, we were going uphill from the off so I had good reason to be in trouble from the off. Looking forward to getting back out here.

Friday:
AM: 30mins on the wattbike (15km)
Easy on the legs today in preparation for tomorrows long run,

Saturday:
28miles @ 10:00/mi (4hrs 37mins) along the Western Way.
Lonan has christened this loop the Marathon de Connemara (the MDC) and I think we might be onto something with this route. Check out his account (and pictures) of the route here. My watch had autopause on so with a quick stop in Leenane to refill the water bottles and change socks, it was probably closer to 5 hours for the whole route.

I’ve been going on about doing this loop for I don’t know how long and so I was delighted to finally have four other souls with me to do this with. It’s a cracking route with not too much elevation gain and a nice mixture of road and trail and the most beautiful views. What a way to spend a day with friends - this would be a great route for a boardsie meet up and there are some route shortening options like getting a lift from a farmer from Maumean to the trail at Lough Inagh lodge and from Leenane back to Joe Keans pub like P did ☺ The sun shone on us for the whole day and my legs were fairly toasted by the time we got to Maam.

Nothing for it but to take off the shoes and get into the ice cold water to help with recovery. The people on the Paddy Wagon got some sight as they passed and saw five sets of naked legs sticking up in the air down by the river as we let the blood drain down from the feet

Into Keanes for the best toasted sandwiches and a huge pot of tea with a stag from Wicklow at one side of the bar and a funeral crowd at the other side of the bar in the middle of a sunny day in March – only in Connemara.

Sunday:
Craughwell 10 mile road race: 10miles @ 8:10/mi (1:22:28)
Had signed up for this with Kie so headed out in the AM with no idea how the legs would respond. Did a bit of a warm up and thankfully not too much stiffness in the legs from yesterday (I’m putting that down to the river). Lined up at the back of the field and off we went.

I was feeling good after the first 600m so started to push the pace a bit, targeting a person in front and pushing on, target another person, push on. I didn’t check the watch as I was afraid to look at the pace – I knew that I was starting to push it and I was worried that I’d blow up, really worried I’d blow but I took a chance. Coming up to 5 miles, I knew I was going well and kept targeting and pushing, for the first time in a long time, I was racing a race. It’s been a long time since I raced a race and I’d forgotten just how tough this racing business is both mentally and physically.

Mile 5 was the toughest and I really began to wonder if I’d be doing the walk of shame home and all these people I was passing would be going by me again. At mile 6, I reset my head and started the new mile with a fresh approach. Keep pushing and hold my place which I did but I didn’t catch anyone again until mile 8 where I was tooing and froing with a guy. Mile 9 finally approached and it gave me a new lease of life so I pushed on again, not really feeling my legs turning under me, 500m and I’m starting to think I went a bit early, 200m, thank god that’s the finish line. Saw 1:22 on the clock as I passed and I’m pretty chuffed with that. There’s pace in these legs after all.

Totals for the week
Running: 11hrs 16 (72miles)
Circuits: 2hrs
Wattbike: 1hr
S&C: 1hr 30mins

diego_b

Just the 28 miles on a Saturday, followed by a 10 mile road race on a Sunday (raced nicely too!). Some going!!

El Director

Congrats Neady! Great news Enjoyed catching up on your epic log too

ultrawoman

Super training, S!!! And racing!!! Great to see things going for you. You are flying!

Dilbert75

Neady83 wrote: »

We walked lots and Kie popped the question while we were out for a walk and the sun was setting. Totally shocked but managed to say yes.

Awwww congratulations S! Delighted for you.

zico10

Congrats on the engagement. Great news.

RacoonQueen

Congrats on the engagement!

Annie get your Run

Neady83 wrote: »

Saturday:
28miles @ 10:00/mi (4hrs 37mins) along the Western Way.
Lonan has christened this loop the Marathon de Connemara (the MDC) and I think we might be onto something with this route. Check out his account (and pictures) of the route here. My watch had autopause on so with a quick stop in Leenane to refill the water bottles and change socks, it was probably closer to 5 hours for the whole route.

I’ve been going on about doing this loop for I don’t know how long and so I was delighted to finally have four other souls with me to do this with. It’s a cracking route with not too much elevation gain and a nice mixture of road and trail and the most beautiful views. What a way to spend a day with friends - this would be a great route for a boardsie meet up and there are some route shortening options like getting a lift from a farmer from Maumean to the trail at Lough Inagh lodge and from Leenane back to Joe Keans pub like P did ☺ The sun shone on us for the whole day and my legs were fairly toasted by the time we got to Maam.

Nothing for it but to take off the shoes and get into the ice cold water to help with recovery. The people on the Paddy Wagon got some sight as they passed and saw five sets of naked legs sticking up in the air down by the river as we let the blood drain down from the feet

Into Keanes for the best toasted sandwiches and a huge pot of tea with a stag from Wicklow at one side of the bar and a funeral crowd at the other side of the bar in the middle of a sunny day in March – only in Connemara.

Sold

Well done on the 10 miler!! Is that a pb?

Neady83

diego_b wrote: »

Just the 28 miles on a Saturday, followed by a 10 mile road race on a Sunday (raced nicely too!). Some going!!

Cheers D, I finally feel like I'm getting my mojo back for running a little bit competitively. I enjoyed the thrill of race (even at the back end of the pack)

El Director wrote: »

Congrats Neady! Great news Enjoyed catching up on your epic log too

Thanks ED, hopefully we can get a few out on the Connemara loop over the summer.

ultrawoman wrote: »

Super training, S!!! And racing!!! Great to see things going for you. You are flying!

Thank you A, I'm patiently awaiting an update on your Iten adventures

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Awwww congratulations S! Delighted for you.

zico10 wrote: »

Congrats on the engagement. Great news.

Cheers Zico, it's great. It would be even better if fairies magically arranged everything and found a ring and all that jazz.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Congrats on the engagement!

Thanks M, I hope it doesn't mean that I'll have to start settling down a bit

Neady83

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Sold

Well done on the 10 miler!! Is that a pb?

Done deal, there's some really nice loops off the section from Leenane (that I haven't explored yet) so it could be an option to start and finish in Leenane to suit everyone. I can vouch for the chowder and toasties in the Leenane hotel as much as the ones in Joe Keans

Not suite a Pb on the 10mile, I'm was 90second off but wouldn't mind having a crack at it again.

Baby75

Are you all set for the weekend I am wishing the rain would go away so the ground can dry a little it is going to be very slippy around Djouce

My hubby Paul is going to be at Crone woods manning the water/food station any special requests

Neady83

Baby75 wrote: »

Are you all set for the weekend I am wishing the rain would go away so the ground can dry a little it is going to be very slippy around Djouce

My hubby Paul is going to be at Crone woods manning the water/food station any special requests

I was just looking at the map there now. It will be interesting to see Djouce during daylight hours Looks like it will be wet for the week but at least Saturday is looking promising so far

Awh thank you, I think I'll stick to tailwind for this one and I've some jellies packed away in my bag just in case. 3.5 hours to the half way mark will be tight enough I think.

Looking forward to it?

Baby75

Neady83 wrote: »

I was just looking at the map there now. It will be interesting to see Djouce during daylight hours Looks like it will be wet for the week but at least Saturday is looking promising so far

Awh thank you, I think I'll stick to tailwind for this one and I've some jellies packed away in my bag just in case. 3.5 hours to the half way mark will be tight enough I think.

Looking forward to it?

I hope the sky is clear enough to take in the full view, it will still be beautiful

I am sticking with my tailwind as well, still debating if I will bring my hydration pack or just a small bottle in a waist belt thing I am thinking if I hydrate well enough over the next few days I should only need a little!

So for the 3.5 hours cut off will mean you have to reach Crone woods on your way back to the finish line! That wont be a problem for you at all and once you reach Ballinstoe and pass Lough Tay on towards Djouce you have finished the climbing and it is all down hill to Crone woods well with a few steep bits so you can push on

Annie get your Run

Baby75 wrote: »

I hope the sky is clear enough to take in the full view, it will still be beautiful

I am sticking with my tailwind as well, still debating if I will bring my hydration pack or just a small bottle in a waist belt thing I am thinking if I hydrate well enough over the next few days I should only need a little!

So for the 3.5 hours cut off will mean you have to reach Crone woods on your way back to the finish line! That wont be a problem for you at all and once you reach Ballinstoe and pass Lough Tay on towards Djouce you have finished the climbing and it is all down hill to Crone woods well with a few steep bits so you can push on

Ladies if you have a rough idea what time you might be at the aid stations let me know. I think the half starts from Balinastoe Baby is that right? What is the start time for that?

1. Balinastoe (halfway): 13:00
2. Crone Woods Car Park (return): 14:45
3. Curtlestown Car Park (return): 15:30

Will hopefully catch you both at various points, it looks absolutely awesome, the very best of luck!!!

Baby75

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Ladies if you have a rough idea what time you might be at the aid stations let me know. I think the half starts from Balinastoe Baby is that right? What is the start time for that?

1. Balinastoe (halfway): 13:00
2. Crone Woods Car Park (return): 14:45
3. Curtlestown Car Park (return): 15:30

Will hopefully catch you both at various points, it looks absolutely awesome, the very best of luck!!!

Yep, it starts at 12 noon I think well hope I am in crone woods for 1.10 ish LOL that's 10 minutes quicker than my recce but I was not pushing myself at all and aiming for to be in cuttlestown an hour later I am not sure exactly how long that will take me as we took a wrong turn and ended up adding 2km on to that section oops

I am wearing the base layer and last year frank Duffy 10 miler t-shirt and a pink buff as a head band !

looking forward to catching up with you both on the day

Neady83

I've no idea how long this will take me as I don't know the route but I had a look over my splits from the WW last year and I did Glencullen to Ballinastoe in about 3:20 ... mostly in the dark and the lashing rain so I'm hoping I can improve on that by about 10 minutes so I should be in Ballinastoe by 12:40ish

Neady83

March 26th to April 1st

Monday:
AM: 35mins Wattbike (17km) with 5x30 second sprints to try and flush out any lactic acid.
AM: 20mins S&C and 15mins in the sauna.
The Achilles tendon in my right foot is slightly swollen after yesterdays 10mile. It’s the inside of the tendon and it was very creakey yesterday but there was/is no pain. I’m putting it down to crepitus and I’ve been taking every precaution since yesterday to make sure that I don’t aggravate it and cause it to pop. Yesterday I RICED it and the creaking is gone this morning so I’ve been stretching the calf and massaging it really deeply as well as popping a couple of ibuprofen to take down the swelling.
PM: 30mins S&C & 4miles on the cross trainer (35mins)

Tuesday:
AM: 1.4miles warm up on the cross trainer (13mins)
AM: Circuits
Had to head to Dublin to give a presentation of a report that we’re just about to launch so I wasn’t able to go to the club session and I was preparing for the launch tomorrow in the evening.

Wednesday:
Rest and recovery. Research report finally launched.

Thursday:
AM:1.8miles @ 8:35/mi on the treadmill (16mins).
AM: Circuits.
PM: 9.6miles @ 9:49/mi (1hr20 & 300m)
My Achilles seems to be back to normal so I tentatively agree to do hill repeats with Lonan out on Tonabrocky hill (the city side). We trotted out together and after 4 reps, he’d lapped me. I managed 6 and a bit to his 8. I didn’t hit the lap button on them so no idea of the paces but I was definitely slowing down and I was walking the last section of the sixth one. Not sre how to describe Tonabrocky, it’s quite long and fairly pointy.

Friday:
AM: Blachhead trail loop: 14.3miles @ 12:19/mi (2hrs 56 & 600m)
I headed to Ballyvoughn in the AM to meet up with Owen to do this one. This loops takes in a nice chunk of the Burren marathon but gets quite narrow after you leave the marathon track as you head to Ballyvaughan and it gets less runnable. Saw some really hardy but cute calves who hadn’t been born long and we stopped to pat a really friendly horse. The views across Fanore beech and out across the Atlantic, as always, were spectacular. We met a nice French lady who was out walking but was misplaced and heading for Fanore instead of Ballyvoughan – she had a road map with no trails marked on it and we bumped into a friendly bunch of hikers from Dublin. I stopped into Lahinch for some sustenance on my way home and the surf was thronged with surfers. What a day to be out and about.

PM:3.12miles (5km) @ 7:19/mi (22mins50 for the 5km: Pb)
I arrived home to my brother cajoling me into taking part in a local 5km in Kilrush to raise funds for the Up the Creek triathlon (the course followed the up the Creek 5km route). He convinced me to go and support even though I was really wrecked from the hills last night and this mornings trail run. It was lovely to meet the tri peeps and all the locals who were out to support. I did about 1km of a warm up and 3 or 4 100m strides and lined up. The field wasn’t very deep so I found myself on the second row from the front …. A very different vantage point for me.

Had no plan heading out, only to do whatever my body told me to. Very quickly I could see top two girls ahead of me, one girl on my shoulder and two more just a little back. I hadn’t planned it but my legs decided they were going to race and so that’s what I did. I dropped the girl on my shoulder after about 500m as we started into the steep section of the climb, the first km is all uphill. I could see the top two girls ahead but knew that unless they blew up, there was no chance of me reeling them in but I figured that if I could hold my pace, I could hold onto third place. I didn’t look at my watch for the race, I just concentrated on pushing on and digging in (all the while praying to god that I wouldn’t blow).

After 2km I was on my own, there was a guy in blue about 400m from me but I wasn’t making any inroads into catching him. The hills kept coming as we faced back into Kilrush and with about 1km to go, I started to reel the guy in front in. With 600m to go, I over took him. He shouted encouragement but I could hardly breath let alone say something back. I can see the girl who’s in second place about 400m down the road but there’s not enough road left to catch her. Crossed the finish line in third with a time of 22:50, finally breaking 23mins for the 5km and walking home with a pb and a nice plaque. Splits: 7:25, 7:15, 7:20, (7:13)

Saturday:
7.3miles @ 8:47/mi (1hr 4mins)
Was absolutely shattered this morning, wrecked tired and freezing cold. Maybe yesterday was a bit too much for the body. No pains or stiffness but proper tiredness. Headed out for a reluctant recovery run with the brother. Had planned on taking off my jumper but I was so cold I ran with a t-shirt and a nice warm jumper on. Legs up for the rest of the day.

Sunday:
6.1miles @ 8:40/mi (53mins)
Did this in the AM before a trip to Kerry with the folks. It was absolutely Baltic in West Clare and I unwittingly headed West for an out and back route. Felt grand on the out but turned into an ice cold headwind on the way back to make for a really tough run home.

Had planned to fit in a slightly warmer recovery run when I got back from Kerry however there was a calf missing so I popped on the trail runners and rain gear and headed out in search of the little rascal. I probably covered about 10/15km walk/trotting around the ditches but had no luck finding him. He came out of hiding the following morning when he was hungry so all good in the end.

Totals for the week
Running: 7hrs (48miles)
Circuits: 2hrs
Wattbike: 35mins
S&C: 50mins
Cross trainer: 50mins

Bungy Girl

So, after a long trail run in the morning, you rock up to a hilly 5K and podium as well as a PB....? Wowzers ! Imagine what you could do with a bit of a taper...on a flat course...

Baby75

Bungy Girl wrote: »

So, after a long trail run in the morning, you rock up to a hilly 5K and podium as well as a PB....? Wowzers ! Imagine what you could do with a bit of a taper...on a flat course...

Totally agree ! nice going Neady

hillsiderunner

Well done on the sub-23, Neady, quite envious. And of course all the other stuff!

Good luck with the Wicklow trails. IMRA page is showing some nice pottery coming your way

diego_b

Flying it, long and short distance!

peter kern

congrats on getting married

one little point while tyrol was brielfly occupied by the germans in 2n ww the reason they speak austrian german in south tyrol is that this used to be a part of austria even up today aobut 2 thirds of people in south tyrol speak austrian german.

Neady83

Bungy Girl wrote: »

So, after a long trail run in the morning, you rock up to a hilly 5K and podium as well as a PB....? Wowzers ! Imagine what you could do with a bit of a taper...on a flat course...

Cheers G, I'm begining to think that I race better on tired legs, there's no pressure on me and my legs just don't know what's going on

Baby75 wrote: »

Totally agree ! nice going Neady

Thanks N

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Well done on the sub-23, Neady, quite envious. And of course all the other stuff!

Good luck with the Wicklow trails. IMRA page is showing some nice pottery coming your way

Cheers HSR, I got the second last mug, phew. It's a really nice momento to have.

diego_b wrote: »

Flying it, long and short distance!

Thanks D, I think the speed sessions are definitely helping the cause this year.

Neady83

peter kern wrote: »

congrats on getting married

one little point while tyrol was brielfly occupied by the germans in 2n ww the reason they speak austrian german in south tyrol is that this used to be a part of austria even up today aobut 2 thirds of people in south tyrol speak austrian german.

Thanks Peter, not quite married yet but July won't be long coming around and we're heading back to Bolzano for our honeymoon which coincides with a trail race in the Dolomites wouldn't you know.

Tyrol is a beautiful area in Italy and I like the mix of cultures, it's quite unique.

Neady83

April 2nd to April 8th

Monday:
Rest

Tuesday:
AM: 2miles warm up on the treadmill (17mins)
AM: Circuits
PM: Club session: WU, drills, 5/6x800m off 2mins, WD, drills
Paces: ??, 7:16, 7:13, 7:27, 7:25
Coach said to do 5 to 6 x 800m and I had in my head that with the racing at the weekend and a 50km next weekend, 4x800s would do me just fine so I headed out after Michelle for the 800s. I can’t stick with her, she’s just too fast but I kept the gap to about 50m and tried to close. Gave these socks and thanked her each time for leading out. She was doing a fifth so I decided to stick around and do it with her though I was fading terribly. Gawd 800s are so hard.

Wednesday:
AM: 30mins Wattbike & 2miles on the treadmill @ 10:00 for recovery
AM: 20mins S&C
PM: Yoga
All done in an effort to flush the lactic acid out of the legs

Thursday:
AM:2miles @ 8:30/mi on the treadmill (17mins).
AM: Circuits.
PM: Picked up the engagement ring (it couldn’t be anything but a Claddagh ring) and went for celebratory dinner with friends. Wine, lots of food and desert ☺

Friday:
AM: 30mins on the Wattbike (15km) including 5x30sec all our sprints
AM: 3miles @ 9:18 off the bikes on the treadmill (28mins)
PM: Another celebratory dinner with friends. Only had the one glass of wine this evening and managed to get into bed by 11:30pm with the alarm set for 5:15am.

Saturday: Maurice Mullins Ultra
32.2miles @ 12:19/mi +circa 2,000m (6hrs 37mins)
Picked up Lonan and John S and headed for Wicklow in the AM. The Ultra didn’t start until 9:30am so it was great to get to sleep in my own bed before heading to Johnny Foxes for this one. There was an option of an 8:30am early start but I was fairly sure that I’d make the cut-offs on the 9:30am start.

We arrived at Johnny Foxes and checked in at Glencullen just as the early starters were heading off and a nice bunch of them there were too (at least 40). There was a hand thrown mug by Hilary from Crannmor pottery on offer for the first 100 people to register on Saturday morning and I was lucky enough to get the second last one. It’s a beautiful keepsake so I was dead chuffed to be early enough to get one.

The Maurice Mullins Ultra follows the Wicklow Way from Johnny Foxes, over Djouce, through Curtlestown woods, Crone woods and into Ballinastoe before we turn around and head back the same way. The cut off at Ballinastoe is at 13:00 giving us 3hrs30mins to cover the 25km from Johnny Foxes. The Maurice Mullins is one of the biggest races in the IMRA calendar and it runs concurrently with the half which starts at Ballinastoe at around lunch.

Dermot, the RD, was very quick to send us on our way and wouldn’t ya know it, my buddy Lar, from the Clover, was right beside me. Nuff said, I had my running buddy for the day. It wasn’t long before we were climbing and we kept a nice steady jog, I’d usually walk these section in long race but for a 50km, jogging is ok.

Before I knew it we were heading for Powerscourt waterfall, I really felt we were were pushing the pace but was quite enjoying the challenge. It was breath-taking to see the views today as I tried to recall this section last year in the dark. Next up the stony track at the start of Djouce, we hiked this super fast. I was without poles today as they’re not allowed in Scotland for the Highland Fling so I was getting used to going without. I was surprising myself at how fast I was hiking this, I wouldn’t have been any faster at a jog.

Over Djouce at a nice trot and onto the boardwalks where, before long, we started to meet the front runners on the half and the Ultras. This section was slow as I was hopping on and off the boardwalks as much as I could to give the faster guys the chance to keep momentum. Lots of people out walking were incredibly kind and wishing us well. Down down down and we meet the bulk of the half runners and I say hello to Denis_b and high 5 a few other runners. Everyone is in incredibly good form.

We get to the turn around in 3 hours, I top up with water and pop a Tailwind into one bottle and off with me. Lar is a little slower to get going but I know if I keep moving, he’ll catch me. I’m powering up the hill and before long I meet the one and only AGYR who comes to jog some of this incline with me. It’s perfect timing too as Owen had told me to try to get up this quickly as it can drag on. Had a great catch up with AM, discussing doggie school and wedding plans. Thank you AM, as always, you are a legend and I’m beginning to think, my good luck charm too. We’ll hike these hills together very soon.

The rain started to come down now and I’m debating putting on my jacket, Lonan said we’d get some shower while another guy this morning said it’d start bucketing at lunch and be down for the day. I’m heading up the sleepers and it’s milling and I’m starting to get cold. Onto the single track at Djouce and it’s muddy, slippery and has a few inches of water on it.
I’m not close to the top yet and I decide to take the time penalty and stop to put on the jacket or I could be facing hypothermia as my hands are freezing. It was a good call as I instantly warmed up. In front of me I see people, slipping left right and centre so I take my time. I’ve a long summer of racing ahead of me and I ain’t letting a 50km take me out. I wait up for Lar so we can negotiate this together and we stick by the heather.

We meet a guy searching for his dog around Powerscourt waterfall, he’s been there since we headed out. We tell me that we saw his dog at the top of the waterfall on our way out but haven’t seen him on the track since. Poor man is beside himself but I read later that he found his dog.

Down to Crone woods and I’m surprised to see Owen at the checkpoint. He fell and hit his hip on a rock so he’s calling it a day to avoid further injury. It’s still raining but I’m really enjoying this race. On we go, the rain stops and the sun comes out, we have the banter with a few other peeps. I’m passing people out now on the ascents and I feel my climbing has improved from the Clover. Lar is getting cramps so I make him drink my Tailwind and either the Tailwind worked or it’s a mental thing but the cramping stops.

We’re labouring up the last climb of the day and I’m wondering where the hell it ends but it does and some nice stone stops. Nice section of technical flat and we’re heading for home. We come across a runner sitting on a rock, he’s knackered but in good spirits so we stop for a minute to make sure he has enough of everything. He’s nearly there and we know he’ll finish it off.

Trotting down the hill and we’re loving it, one last b**ch of a climb on the road to the GAA pitch, where I think the race ends, but it doesn’t so we power on. Neither of us talking as we’re really motoring and we cross the line together. What a race. 37 minutes slower on the return leg – can put some of it down to the mudfest on Djouce as I didn’t think we slowed that much on the return but definitely room for improvement. I catch up with Baby75 from around these parts who played a blinder on the half and the IMRA crew from Wicklow that I’m beginning to get to know very well.

Hop into the car and away home with us. I took a sachet of Tailwind rebuild as soon as I finished the race and I feel like it’s helped the recovery. 17th lady out of 29 ladies on the Ultra and 108 out of 165 finishers (9 DNFd).

Sunday
Sonny Murphy 10mile road race in Kilnaboy @ 8:17/mi (1:23:37)
Kieran was travelling down to this and I’d pre registered for the series so I figured I’d make it a recovery run (and this is one of my favourite races of the year). It wasn’t until lunch time either so I’m the bones of 24 hours recovery at that stage and after some initial trouble getting my heels to touch the ground when I woke up, my calves loosened out.

Off we went on this lumpy but very pretty course on a stunning day and after 2 miles of easy running (8:41, 8:36), my legs started turning and I moved up the field. I wasn’t looking at the watch but picking people out in front and closing the gap, not putting too much pressure on myself but enjoying the thrill of the chase. (8:17, 8:13, 8:10, 8:11). I feel like I’m slowing a little coming into Corofin village before we turn right for Kilnaboy (8:21) as there are some long drags coming into the village and mentally I’m preparing for the slow down after Corofin as the last two miles are mostly uphill.

I see two ladies about 300m ahead of me, Ennis track and Kilmurray-Ibrickan AC and I wonder if I’ll push on, tough call as if I go for them, they might have more left in the tank for the last two miles but I decide to gamble. I pass them just before the 8mile sign, they tell me to go for it and I start to push and hope they don’t bridge the gap. Mile 9 is 8:17, I’m pushing as hard as I can now and I see two people on the last climb, I catch them as we cross the 500m mark, another guy is slowing at the 400m mark. The final 400m feel like the longest 400ms ever (7:56) and finally I cross the line and collapse. I think I’m getting addicted to racing. 17th lady home.

Totals for the week
Running: 10hrs 30mins (58.5miles)
Circuits: 2hrs
Wattbike: 1hr
S&C: 1hr 50mins

Annie get your Run

Ah here, you raced a 10 miler the day after the 50k Mountain Run??!!! :eek::eek: that's incredible. How you do those ultras with the accents as steep as they are I do not know. Massive well done on Maurice Mullins and tons of extra kudos on the 10 miler!!! Lovely as always to catch up on Saturday, I had lots of fun getting lost otherwise I'd have made it to more locations .

What's involved in the highland fling?

hillsiderunner

Annie get your Run wrote: »

What's involved in the highland fling?

53miles along the West Highland Way iirc (#jealous)

Well done on the racing Neady but you're mad to be doing two races in a row!