EOI Marathon Lusk!

Today I ran my 11th marathon distance race and my 5th so far this year. It was a good day! Having learned a valuable lesson in the Dublin half I decided to have a strict plan and to stick to it adherently. 

The plan

Run very conservatively, bearing in mind I had the Dublin marathon 2 weeks later. Finish strong, this is something I'd never done before in a marathon. And run a negative split, which means run the second half faster than the first half. 

How did it go? 

Very well, I managed to achieve all three aspects of the plan!

How did I do it?

I set my Garmin to only display pace per kilometre. The race was a four lap route and I had ran the same course 5 months earlier. I knew I could run a very comfortable sub 3:30 marathon so I set to posting slightly below 5mins per kilometre as a ran. 

I ran a very steady first 3 laps and really felt good beginning the fourth and final lap. I had identified areas where I could inject a little bit of extra pace and began posting quicker and quicker kilometres as the race grew longer. 

The last 5 kilometres were the fastest consecutive 5k I ran in the race and as I finished I knew I had ran sub 3:30. I sat and drank some water before checking my official time. I had ran 3hrs23mins without entering into the red zone or feeling any real pain. I was more than surprised with the result and was happy that, I had finally ran a full marathon without walking one single step, I had finished strong and I had ran a negative split. 

Now I need to rest and get ready to do it all again in 2 weeks on the streets of Dublin!

Run far, run fast but most of all RunSensible!

Neil

@RunSensible

Stone mad Ultra race report!

Last weekend I ran the Stone mad ultra. It is a 2 day back to back ultra marathon, day 1 was 62km river run and day 2 was a 55km mountain run.

Preparation started in early January, increasing my weekly distance gradually and running an odd marathon here and there. I managed to stay injury free throughout my preparation and healthy too. 

Day 1: 63km, river course, very flat.

Myself and Alan Murphy

I had never raced an ultra before and had no way of knowing how my body would feel after passing the marathon distance. I had ran a marathon distance in training a couple of times and I had ran two official marathons as part of my training. I was very confident that I could hold a steady pace of 5.30 - 5.45mins per kilometre for at least 50km, after that I would be in new territory and was excited to see how it would all pan out. I hoped that I could average just under 6.00mins per kilometre which was the pace the winner had run last year. 

The race started and as usual I was feeling a little eager to get going. I always like a good strong start and I set off running faster than what I knew I could average. After about 3-4km I got sense and settled into a nice easy and steady pace. I was running with @headchefalan (Alan Murphy) we had been twitter friends for about a year and knew bits and pieces about each other's life. It took us about 25km to fill in all the blanks and I honestly didn't notice the kilometres clicking past. Both myself and Alan were conscious of our elevated pace and had began to slow up a bit, now averaging 5.50min per kilometre. As we approached a feed station another competitor passed us, I tucked in behind this guy and tried to keep in his shadow. I followed him and passed him, only to be passed again a few kilometres later. We continued this leap frogging for the remainder of the race. 

I walked across an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand, I felt the earth beneath my feet, sat by the river and it made me complete -

62km of this on day 1

Running behind this guy was great his pace was just about all I could manage and we passed quite a few competitors along the way. Sitting at the race briefing my self doubt had managed to compile a list of all the guys with really cool gear, these, I had decided would be good runners. My ego then got to rub it in the face of my self doubt when we passed those guys later in the day. It felt good. 

I reached the marathon point and waited (just like we all did on New Years Eve 1999) to see what would happen when I kept running,,,,, nothing different,,,, I kept running,,, I felt good,, and that guy was still in my sights, I was also just about to over take another guy in 'all the gear.'

I came across a fallen tree, I felt the branches of it looking at me, Is this the place we used to love? Is this the place that I've been dreaming of? -

The kilometres from 42km to 50km seemed to drag a bit, I kept looking and my watch and calculating how my pace would change. Finally my watch 'Beeped' and I had reached 50km, I was feeling strong and ran on. The kilometres clicked by easy again and I was at 60km before I knew it, I was tired and had made a school boy error. I was running with a CamelPak. It held about 2 litres of weather but I was only carrying about 1 litre since there were feed stations roughly every 10km. I had refilled the camelback at the third station which was around 30km. The final feed station was at 52km and I should have refilled there too. I didn't!

My strategy for the day was to walk through the feed stations after gulping some water and grabbing 2 fig roll biscuits. This worked quite well. Most guys were stopping to drink, eat, stretch and pee. I drank and ate while walking gaining 200-300 meters on the guys I was hoping to pass or stay ahead of. When I reached the last feed station I knew I was either 10 or 11th overall. They only publish the top 10 results over night and I was hoping my name would be on the list. I pushed through the final aid station and forgot to refill my camelpak. 

When I reached 60km I was hot, tired and really thirsty. I was sucking on an empty water bladder and was super paranoid that somebody was going to come thundering past me. I kept running, albeit at a slower pace 6.10-6.30mins per kilometre. I could still see the guy ahead of me. The run traversed the whole way alongside the river Barrow and it meandered along at a slow pace just like me. I caught glimpses of the guy ahead and saw he was looking over his shoulder to see where I was. I, in turn was also looking over my shoulder to see who had me in their sights. The last 2-3km were tough but I managed to keep running and finished without being passed in the last 20km. I was happy but I was also empty,,, I got a clap on the back and a reminder that "we've got to do it all again tomorrow, with mountains" from the guy I had been chasing for 32km. 

I struggle to remove my shoes, my lips were dry and my sweat had dried to leave a layer of  salt over my face, my legs hurt and I shuffled down the gangway into the river. I walked in and the cool water felt therapeutic on my aching muscles, somebody handed me an Erdinger non-alcoholic beer and it tasted better than anything I had ever consumed before. I got out only by the temptation of tea and sandwiches and I set to work refuelling for the next day.

During the race I ate 4 raw fruit and nut Nakd bars, one 200g packet of dried apricots and I only drank water. I also took 2 fig roll biscuits at the last 4 feed stations and a banan at feed station 3 and 5. I had no gels, no funny coloured drinks and no energy promising over priced bars.
  
Time and pace: 6hrs13mins39sec Avg 6.02/Km

Day 2: 55km mountain course.

Oh simple thing, where have you gone? I'm getting old and I need something to rely on -

I woke at 5am, my alarm was set for 7am. I was staying in my best friends house, he was racing too (and doing a good job) and we weren't due to leave until 7.50am. I got up and walked around the room. I, surprisingly felt better than I had before I went to bed. I did some yoga stretching and got back into bed. I drifted off and awoke at 6.55am in time to turn my alarm off before it woke me,,, glad I won that race.

We drove to registration and signed in, the top ten finishers from the day before were displayed on the wall and I wasn't on it. The guy I had been chasing all day was sitting pretty in 10th place overall.

Up until that moment my plan was to survive day 2 and make it over the mountain in one piece. Now I had a motivation, pass this guy or the guy in 9th overall. I'd have to beat them by about 4min30sec for 9th and about 2.30sec for 10th place. it was time to get my race face on!

Mount Leinster from afar

Today I wanted to find something, I knew it was out there and I knew I'd find it. The race started and I ran at a much more conservative pace than the day before. I was between the guy in 9th and 10th place. The gap was growing but I didn't panic. We were just about to start going vertical and I love going up hill. 

I closed the gap, we three over took a few guys who had set out at an adventurous pace and were now beginning to walk! We chatted and ran, we walked and we ate, we ran again, walked again and somehow covered the miles. We were going up mount Leinster and the going was tough, some of the incline was at 13%. That means, on covering 100 metres of road you have gained 13 metres in altitude. The legs burned, the running was reduced to a walk and I had opened a gap of about 300m on the guys I was chasing. I reached an aid station at the 30km point. It was hot and I had to refill my CamelPak. My hands were shaking and I fumbled my way through a very simple process. It took too much time and I got more agitated..... I couldn't do it, the two guys had stated the final ascent and I was still trying to rehydrate. @headchefalan wife was at this aid station and she noticed my dilemma, she took over and got me going again with a full water bladder. I was about 500 metres behind the guys I was chasing and had about 2 kilometres before we crested the mountain to catch them. I closed about 400meters but they were about 100meters ahead of me before I started descending. They were with a third person (he was only doing a one day Ultra and hadn't been racing the day before, so not a worry in overall standings) and they were moving. 

By the time I reached the bottom of the mountain they were gone. I don't know how they did it. I tried as hard as I could to descend as quick as possible. I pushed so hard on this uneven bog and boulder ridden terrain that I tore my shoes apart but still these guys opened a gap of at least 1  kilometre. I never saw them for the remainder of the day. However, I had managed to pass the guy who was in 8th place over all. He was in excess of 15 minuets ahead of me so I knew if I wanted to beat him I'd have to go all out. I did! 

My torn 'ass kicks' (Asics)

I ran and ran, I wanted to walk so bad, but I kept running. I was back on the road and I ran all the flat and incline sections only choosing to walk on very steep road sections. I was in "the zone", it felt meditative and I had pushed into a realm of reality I'd only ever been in a couple of time before.

This is the holy grail, this is what we are chasing when we do endurance events. The pain is intense, the muscles are screaming and the body wants to stop,,, but the mind is at peace, the pain begins to feel good and the feeling is euphoric.
This is what you find when you go way, way, way beyond your comfort zone. There are cultures around the world that refer to this as the higher state of consciousness, some others talk about an outer body experience, meditative gurus talk about a higher vibration, where the atoms comprising our bodies are vibrating at such an elevated level that we literally feel a surge of energy that transcends that of normal activity.

It is impossible to narrate in text how to get there or what it feels like but there is one key ingredient, an absolute must in the equation. You must be happy right at that moment! 

Some people suggest that ultra endurance athletes are running from something. Wrong! They  are running to find something. I found it on the last 20km of that run. It is a place where tranquillity washes over you like a soft bathing cloth, a siren is calling and showing a new path and that path seems right. It's a place where energy is free and pain seems to feel good.

And if you have a minute, why don't we go, talk about it somewhere only we know? This could be the end of everything, So why don't we go, somewhere only we know? Somewhere only we know - Keane

Plotting the next goal!

The remaining 20 kilometres of the race were easy and the most enjoyable kilometres I had ran in a long time. I finished comfortably. I had opened a sufficient gap and finished 9th overall, after another competitor in the top ten had pulled out. I was ecstatic my cumulative time was just 2mins slower than last years winning time, however, the previous year had been very hot on both race days. Still I had a goal in my trying and perpetration and it had all played out better than I had expected. 

I ate 5 raw fruit and nut Nakd bars, 200g of dried dates, countless fig rolls and 2 bananas. I drank only water. In the final 20k I didn't eat, I only drank water.

Time and Pace: 6hrs13mins06sec Avg 6.50/Km

I was bitten by the ultra bug and now a marathon seems a little fickle!

My best friend finished too after only rediscovering running in January 2014 after a 5 year hiatus since his one and only marathon in October 2009!!! Big Kudos to you Senan!

Run far, run fast but most of all RunSensible!

Neil
@RunSensible

EOI marathon race report! Lusk

Last Saturday I ran a marathon with the East of Ireland Marathon club. It was marathon number 8 for me and my second marathon so far this year. 

The plan for this one was a little different to the last. I am training for a race that takes place over two consecutive days in July. The race is the "Stone Mad Ultra" and is made up of a 62km run on the Saturday followed by a 55km run on the Sunday. So far training has gone really well, as the mileage increases week on week the main objective is to stay injury free. 

It's a strange feeling training for an ultra. The marathon this past weekend was a training run, never before in my life have I ever ran a marathon distance in a training run. My training plan required that I put myself into the hurt zone during the final kilometers of this run. 

The course was a short 2.1k before starting out on four laps of a 10k. With this in mind I planned to set off at a high pace 4mins30 per kilometer for the first 10k loop, I knew I couldn't hold this pace for the full marathon at this stage of the season. I dropped to a 4min45 per kilometer pace for the second and third loop knowing that due to fatigue built up on the first lap my body would be spent before beginning the final loop. 

Everything went to plan until I began the final loop. My body still felt OK and I realised that my initial goal of running sub 3hrs40mins was a forgone conclusion. I tried and tried to calculate an estimated time in my head but anybody who has ran a marathon knows that doing maths based on time isn't easy when you have 20miles in your legs and your muscles are begging your brain to "please just stop!"

"Find a place inside where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain" Joseph Campbell

I knew I'd be around the 3hr30min time so I tucked my head down and ran on. The weather was beautiful that day and the running was easy. I'd been running with three other guys and we randomly over took each other before being passed again a little while later, a common occurrence with a sporadic pace. I kept running and felt relatively good until kilometer 38. This was the beginning of an uphill drag for 2 kilometers and it was the fourth time tackling this incline. The first time over it it had hardly altered my pace, now I had reached the desired pain zone and now this hill killed my speed. I had been averaging 5min kilometers from 32k until this point and then I dropped to a 5.30, 6.10, 6.38 before falling back into a steady 5min20 for the final 2km which was a steady slow drag downhill. 

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy" Norman Vincent Peale

My body ached the last 5km and it was those final kilometer that I got to do specific ultra training. It's argued that an estimated 90% of distance running is a mental challenge. I experienced this mental challenge last weekend and I got first hand experience of the war between body and mind. It's a war of attrition where the body just wants to stop and the mind just wants to carry on. I ran and walked and ran and walked, every-time I walked I knew I had to just keep running.There is no rational reason why the body should keep going. There is no obvious value is continuing the torrid pain but still the mind remains unwavered and the elation of completion regardless of time makes it all worth while, even if the body disagrees. 

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to exceed is always to try just one more time" Thomas A. Edison

My official race time was 3hrs34mins.

The race finished but the training didn't. As part of training for back to back ultra marathons this summer my training plan advised getting up the following morning and running 8-10km. I woke early and hit the road so I could be home in time for my children's Easter egg hunt. I was pleasantly surprised when I had no muscle or joint pain. I ran 8km at 5min per kilometer pace and my stride felt good and lose. Recovery was obviously at 100% and I owe this wholeheartedly to the adoption of a plant based diet since last October. 

Run far, run fast but most of all RunSensible!

Neil 

@RunSensible

Dublin City Rock 'n' Roll half marathon race report!

It's time to Rock 'n' Roll

Today I ran the Dublin City Rock 'n' Roll half marathon 21.1km (13.1miles)

This wasn't a race I had planned to run this season. My wife had signed up to do it with a friend and when the race organisers sent me an email offering €10 off, I thought I'm not not going to miss out on a bargain and I signed up.

Was the race worth €39?

Absolutely yes! I've ran lots of half marathons in many different cities and this was one of the best, I suppose I am being generous since I ran a PB but in all honesty it was a great race. The registration was a bit annoying, they stated on the web site that all runners must attend with identification. My wife was contemplating turning up late to work in an attempt to get there. However I chanced going across the city and getting both our race numbers and on the day it was all fairly relaxed. I picked up both our race numbers and swag bags having only shown my own id. I empathise with participants from further counties who had to travel up a day early to register. This would have more than doubled their cost of their race, after paying for hotel accommodation and it is something race organisers should address in future, if the race is to grow.

Race day was great. Good weather, good crowd (lots of Americans) and lots of people dressed in Rock 'n' Roll gear. My favourite was the 3 participants I saw dressed as KISS. There was only one real let down of the day and it was a minor let down at that, the guy who they chose to do the warm! It was one of those moments where I felt embarrassed for the guy, he was awful and obviously hadn't any experience addressing a crowd. He spoke way too fast, and I couldn't hear a word he said, judging by the actions of everybody around neither could they. The MC of the day was holding a mic up to his mouth while he bounced up and down while swinging his arms. The whole thing was a mess and he ended it super quick without showing any stretches. He must have felt the huge discomfort when nobody joined in. The count down started and the race was on,,, wait a minuet, I hadn't really warmed up,,, Oh well it's time to Rock 'n' Roll!

I felt good at the start, the 1hr30min pacer was about 50m ahead and I made it my goal to reach him asap. I did but I had to bustle through a lot of people who had put themselves way too close to the front. I never understand why people do this, I brushed shoulders and elbowed a few people and I'm sorry for that, I really didn't do it with intent. However when I've spent countless hours training and put myself in the correct spot to run at 15km/hour and you are running at 11km/hour but you've chose to stand in front of me, well we are going to meet very soon and if I need to pass you to get my position and I have 6,300 people on my heels you can expect a few bumps. 

I saw one girl being knocked over, it was a nasty fall but my sympathy was for the guy who did it. He stopped to help probably feeling guilty, his race was ruined because she was way out of her comfort zone surrounded by people running much quicker than she was capable of maintaining.

A new PB 1hr28min16sec

I caught the pacer within the first kilometer and settled in to a good rhythm, I'm not near peak performance so my goal was to try and run in under 1hr30mins. The morning before the race I ran 15km on my first outing with Portmarnock triathlon club. And in the early kilometer I was questioning if that was a good or bad idea. This race was really a gauge of my fitness, a test to make sure my marathon training was going to plan. I drank a few sips of water at every aid station. At the 12km point I snacked on a small box of raisins and at 17km I took a gel from one aid station. I had been feeling really comfortable running with the pacer. At the 17km point I felt I had a little bit in reserve so I grabbed a caffeinated gel, took two mouthfuls, tossed the rest and put my head down for the final 4km. I pulled away from the pacer I'd been drafting on all day and as the gap opened I sensed a PB becoming more likely. In retrospect that was a gutsy move, I really could have ended up walking the last kilometer at that pace but I was sure I had enough fuel in reserve and I took the chance.
Sometimes those chances pay off in a race and sometimes they blow up in your face, however if you are feeling good in the later stages of the race I'd say always have a go.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 1hr28min16sec on my watch. I'm not sure of the official time yet. My previous PB was 1hr29min12sec so I was really pleased to have pulled that time out unexpectedly. 

I owe a big thanks to the pacer, I personally thanked him after the race and got his name and club. My pacer "Brian Maher" of Kilkenny City Harriers has some notoriety in the Irish running world. He came second in the National half marathon in a time of  66mins40sec. He paced today's race perfectly, he didn't change speed on the slight inclines or declines and he kept it all very steady right the way round. He even threw in a bit of wit and a joke or two, which helped settle the nerves on the day.

The aid stations were well stacked, they had plenty of water and lots of gels, energy drinks and bananas too. There is no need to carry anything with you when this race rolls into town again. And personally I wouldn't miss it, especially if you want a good day out, a fantastic course that takes in a lot of the marathon route and some live Rock 'n' Roll music. I'll be at the start line next year!

My wife ran with her friend who was doing her first half marathon, her longest distance before today I believe was a 10k. They both finished in a very respectable 2hr18min and looked good running the final 400m.  I always say if you finish well you'll have no regrets, they both finished well and we very pleased with their time, which included a toilet break,,, GIRLS!!!

Myself and my fantastic wife!

Dublin 10km Night Run race report!

This was my first race since the Paris marathon 3 weeks previous. I did an easy 7km run 5 days

previous and that had been the extent of my running since Paris. So I came to this race with no great expectations and it was a run I was viewing as the beginning of training for the Dublin marathon this coming October.

I had never raced at night before and with this race starting at 9pm (dusk) I was sure it would be dark when I finished. Although I had never raced at night before, the Abu Dhabi marathon I did a few years back started at 5am and it was dark at the start line but it got light fairly quick and with the light came the heat!

I really liked that roughly 95% of the participants wore the high viz t-shirts that came in the race bag.

The Samsung city run was organised well and it's a race I'll do again. I'm not sure wether its a good race for running a PB (personal best) as it is very technical course with lots of sharp turns and tram lines underfoot. However the route was nice and the atmosphere was great. The weather was slightly temperamental with rain showers and blustery wind. While running east along the river Liffey their was a nice tail wind but on the return back up, it was a nasty head wind. I tucked myself in behind 4 guys running at my pace and this eased the burden. Looking for shelter or drafting is a great way to Run Sensible and reserve energy.

I began with the a goal of running a sub 42min and finished with a respectable 41min46sec so I was fairly pleased considering the absence of training. Perhaps what was more pleasing was the guys I ran with, one of my best friends and my brother-in-law both doing their first 10k race. They finished in 55mins and 56mins respectively. "We'll done guys, you should be proud!"

I took a 3 week break of virtually no running after the Paris marathon. This was not something I had really planned or thought about but it felt right and I enjoyed the time off. I felt fresh running the 10k and the time off seems to have helped. Recovery is such an important aspect of training and if you don't get enough rest you will get injured.

I see people on Facebook and twitter posting every single run they do for everybody to see, these people seem to advocate and pontificate the importance of running every day and have all the bling posters that tell you to run, never rest and never make excuses, blah, blah, blah.

I just ran 60miles in 4mins, check it out in run keeper...Blah! These post often make me feel guilty when I shouldn't really be feeling guilty.

I ignore all that stuff now and you should too. First of all its not healthy to run every single day and no matter who you are you, you need rest and you will benefit from rest. Try not to feel guilty if you are "friends" with these tweeters and FBers when you see these post and posters, I'm fairly confident that half these people are lying about some of the training they do anyway!

If you need rest, take a rest. You'll know the difference between genuine rest and laziness and you don't need to be reminded of how good somebody else is and how bad you are by these posts!!! "Rant over"

I might just add that I do see the benefit in posting updates about training and racing. This is a great way to make yourself accountable and keep you focused. I do this myself using Strava, but tweeting every run? Really every single run?

To wrap up Run Sensible, rest, eat and race but most of all make sure you enjoy the experience, this after all is the purpose of fitness and health.

Neil

@RunSensible