Getting Old

It's been a while. Still running away. Just not posting about it. Not much to post about really. Apart from the Belfast 24 hour last June. But the longer the race disappeared over the horizon of the past the less inclined I was to write about it. But to move on perhaps I should close it out. So in summary:-

Belfast 24 Hour

• I kept going for 24 hours - ticking off my C-Target.
• I didn't reach my A-Target of 220 km, but managed 202km, just ahead of my 200km B-Target.
• The last 3 to 4 hours consisted of slow walking, with a distinct lean to the left - it may have something to do with running in an anti-clockwise direction for the preceding 20+ hours.
• I didn't sit down or rest once, but did stop to stretch (Morton style), quite regularly for a spell before I was reduced to walking.
• I had chronic back pain for the week after the race, resulting in my only "sick-day" (and consumption of pain killers) in the year. I couldn't even reach to tie my shoes from a sitting position - it gave me a much greater appreciation of what those living every day with chronic pain must go through. Thankfully it was temporary.

Dublin 2016

I planned to recover from Belfast over the summer and train for a decent (sub-3 hour) M50 time at the Dublin City Marathon at the end of October. But I suffered a few setbacks in my recovery, nothing serious but enough to scupper my  plan to get to the start of my marathon training programme, which required a good speed/endurance base. So I ran Dublin in a few seconds over 3:20 on the 10th anniversary on my first marathon (Dublin 2006). This was my 50th marathon (not counting the 16 ultras), of which I have paced 25 - nice and symmetrical.

 

Moving On

 

My primary goal for the new year remained a sub 3 hour M50 marathon and with this in mind I started the year by increasing my endurance base and getting a little speed in the legs  before starting a marathon programme in April. One thing that particularly stood out was my lack of speed and the difficulty I had in getting it back and running paces that came more easily a few years ago -  which got me thinking about how much my increasing age was blunting my speed and potential performance in races. I had looked at age graded results before but I have never considered using them as an "excuse" for getting old. I plugged my 4 sub 3 hour marathon results into the age grade calculator to see what would be my "equivalent performance" in 2017 at the age of 51.

 

 

Sub 3 Hour Marathon Age Grade Performance

Year	Age	Time	Age Grade %	Equivalent Age Graded Time	Equivalent Marathon Time at Age 51
2011	45	02:59:19	73.33	02:47:39	03:08:44
2013	47	02:54:35	76.59	02:40:32	03:00:42
2013	47	02:56:01	75.97	02:41:51	03:02:10
2015	49	02:55:37	77.45	02:38:45	02:58:42

 

 

While my 2:54:35 PB set in 2013 would give me an equivalent marathon today of 3:00:42, my best "age graded" marathon of 2:55:37, two years ago would, for the equivalent performance, just about get me under 3 hours this year (2:58:42) and would be equivalent to a 2:38:45 marathon in my prime (early 30's). The figures above suggest that I have a limited window in which to get my targeted M50 sub 3 hour marathon as every month that passes will take about 8 seconds off my "equivalent" result. In theory I have up until January 2018 - unless I can perform better than my best age grade performance of 77.45%.

 

Age grading performance % is explained as "the ratio of the approximate world-record time for your age and gender divided by your actual time."  To have scored 100% in 2015, I would have had to run a time of 2:16:01.

 

I decided to check out my age grade performance for my other PBs to see what my age grade performance PB is. Funnily enough my 5k PB of 17:57, run in the build up to my marathon PB in 2013, at 80.32% is streets ahead of my other PBs. If I could manage to hit this age grade performance for the marathon I should be able to go sub 2:53 this year - that's a big if, given that i'm basing it on a 5k performance and if it had carried through to a similar age graded marathon performance I would have achieved 2:46:29 back in 2013.

 

PB Age Grade Performance

Race Distance	Year	Age	Time	Age Grade %	Equivalent Age Graded Time	Equivalent Marathon Time at Age 51
Marathon	2011	45	02:59:19	73.33	02:47:39	03:08:44
	2013	47	02:54:35	76.59	02:40:32	03:00:42
	2013	47	02:56:01	75.97	02:41:51	03:02:10
	2015	49	02:55:37	77.45	02:38:45	02:58:42
Half Marathon	2011	45	01:22:32	75.67	01:17:10
10 Mile	2012	46	01:02:17	76.45	00:57:33
10k	2013	47	00:37:52	77.38	00:34:32
5 Mile	2010	44	00:30:24	75.44	0:28:15
4 Mile	2010	44	00:24:24	74.86	00:22:34
5k	2013	47	00:17:57	80.32	00:16:10	02:52:19

 

 By early May I was 5 weeks into my marathon training programme, my speed was slowly coming back to me (reeling back the years) heading for a marathon somewhere in the mid 2:50s, with the Portumna Marathon on 11th June my target. Unfortunately my plan got derailed during the Killarney Lakes Half Marathon on 13th May when 5 miles in I pulled up with a left hammy strain. I have managed to recover a bit over the last few weeks, enough to pace 3:30 in tomorrows Cork City Marathon (my 51st official marathon),  but speed work is still out of the question. So my quest for an M50 sub 3 hour marathon continues - whether or not it is an age grade, lifetime or M50 PB remains to be seen - hopefully all 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ride Like The Wind................

 

 

...It is the night, my body's weak
I'm on the run, no time for sleep
I've got to ride, ride like the wind
To be free again

 

And I've got such a long way to go
(Such a long way to go)
To make it to the border of Mexico
So I'll ride like the wind
Ride like the wind

 

- Christopher Cross

 

It is Sunday evening and i'm transferring music to an MP3 player the kids got me for Fathers Day (they must have read my mind) and this song struck a chord with the way i'll be feeling when I turn on the music to get me through next Saturday night.


My schedule marathon at the end of April never materialized because two week into my nine week training programme I developed a minor injury in my left hammy 7 miles in to a weekend long run on 27th February. This was enough to consign me to a week off and a further two weeks of relatively easy running. This meant that if I pushed out the target marathon to early May, say Limerick for example, I would eat too much into my recovery and subsequent training for the Belfast 24 hour. I was happy enough with this change in focus as the April marathon was ever only going to be a C race - part of the build up for Belfast.

 

I managed to return to the weekend long runs relatively quickly but kept away form any speedwork. I knew I was fully recovered when I joined club mates Neil and Charlie for the 31 mile Wicklow Way Ultra on 26th March, which I finished in a reasonably good time of 5:18:30, 20 minutes down on my 10th place finish of two years ago. I was happy with this result given my temporary layoff and the fact that the focus was more on training than racing. The Wicklow Way was the first of 12 marathon+ distance runs I will have run as part of my build up for Belfast, the last being the 3:30 pacing gig for the Cork City Marathon on 6th June.

 

The core of my Belfast training revolved around weekend back to back runs on a Friday evening/Saturday morning, starting with 2.5 hours for each run and ending with 4 hour back to backs on 22nd/23rd April (covering 57.3 miles over the 8 hours) - still 9 weeks out from Belfast. The weekend long runs for the final 8 weeks consisted of:-

 

 

• 30th April/1st May - 36 mile Ballyhoura mountain ultra in 6:36 /Pacing 1:50 for Limerick HM.

• 7th/8th May - Morning back to backs of 6 & 3 hours (64 miles in 9 hours) - not quite the same stress as evening/morning back to backs but work/life got in the way.

• 14th May - Pacing 3:30 in the Kilarney Lakes marathon (30 miles total - no BTB as tired)

• 20th/21st May - evening/morning BTBs of 2.5 and 4 hours (49.7 miles in 6.5 hours)

• 28th/29th May - Morning BTBs of 3:45 - (57 miles in 7.5 hours)- I also threw in a mid-week 5:30 run on the Kerry Way covering 26.9 hilly miles.

• 4th & 6th June - 2 x Marathons in 3:30 (52 miles in 7 hours) - Pacing 3:30 in Cork on 6th.

• 11th June - 3 hour hilly run (22.9 miles) - considered extending to marathon distance but had enough after 3 hours.

• 18th June - 11.6 mile club run - well into taper mode.

I always feel I could have done more - I had originally intended to extend the evening/morning back to back to 6 hours a piece - but on balance I think i'm as prepared as i'll ever be and certainly feel more prepared than I was last year when I was relying too much on my Ironman bike training. Over the 12 weeks from the Wicklow Way Ultra to the start of the 2 week taper I averaged 86 miles/week (1,032 miles) - I also threw in about 57 miles of walking for good measure. I probably would have benefitted from participating in longer duration races (12 hours +) during the build-up (The 81 mile Wicklow Way, 2 weeks out was too close for comfort) but there's noting I can do about that now. The work is done and there are so many unknowns in a 24 hour race that predictions are foolhardy - all I know for sure is that I am looking forward to the challenge....................

Transition

The last few months, since early November, have all been about rebuilding the base by means of high volume aerobic running leading to a 50 mile effort on Christmas Eve and including a marathon distance run  for the first six weekends of the new year, culminating in a 3:13:49 9th place finish in the Clonakilty Marathon on 6th February - my first M50 win and M50 marathon PB.

The focus for the next 9 or 10 weeks is to see if I can improve on that M50 marathon PB by targeting a lifetime marathon PB (sub 2:54:35) - a tough ask perhaps, but certainly worth giving a shot - nothing ventured etc. ..... already looking forward to the pain......still etched in my memory from last year's training programme. I haven't selected a target race as the date is flexible, ideally mid to late April, which means that the start of my training programme is a bit fluid - i.e. I can have a practice week or two.




Week 1 ( x 2)


Session 1 - 3 x 2 miles @ HM Pace


The fist quality session is 8 miles warm-up followed by 3 x 2 miles @ HM pace and 2 miles cool-down. My previous sub-3 hour training plans had a 6:20 (or less!) target pace. Last week I did my practice session, which involved a much shorter warm-up and 3 x 2 miles @ 6:18/23/28 pace. This week, after the 8 miles warm-up, I had a more disappointing session with the first 2 miles slower than last weeks slowest and the pace falling apart (relatively speaking) thereafter. My paces were 6:32,36/43. The strong wind down the back straight certainly had an impact and did noting to help my confidence. The fade in pace from first to last is a little worrying as I should have buckets of endurance. Ordinarily I would probably have thrown in the towel after the second 2 miles but I reckoned that it is better to continue and complete the session at the same relative effort to get the full training benefit.


Session 2 - 18 Miles with the last two at M Pace


My plan for this weekend long run was to keep a steady pace for the first 16 miles (I had 7:30 miles in my head) with the MP miles at 6:40 or less. Both last week and this week the opening 7:30 pace did not materialise getting to 7:38 & 7:43 pace on each occasion. The marathon pace miles were on target although, as usual so early in the programme, the effort felt more like a tempo session. The paces for each run were 6:37/38 last weekend and 6:40/31 yesterday (both miles with the wind at my back and the 2nd mile a net downhill - there was no way I was going to run hard into that headwind)




So a less than inspiring start to the programme - I may just repeat Week 1 for a third time. It all depends on where my head/body is after 3 x 2 miles @ HM pace on Tuesday and my inclination/ability to tag on another 2 miles at the same pace/effort, which is the "Week 2" Session.

From humble beginnings............

It is 10 years to the day since I first put on a pair of runners and stepped outside my front door to run the 2 mile loop around the block as my first training session for Dublin City Marathon 2006, having committed to running the once in a lifetime event with Adrian over the Christmas holidays. The first 200 yards felt effortless as we glided along. Half a mile in we could feel the fatigue setting in and our early brisk pace had slowed to a jog. By the time we had completed a mile we were struggling and wishing for the finish. 1.5 miles in Adrian stopped and walked but I struggled on until the 2 miles were complete. Two day later we completed the same loop with much less stress, at 2 minutes per mile slower - my first lesson in pacing, although I didn't know it at the time.

Since then I have covered about 22,500 miles on foot and learned a few lessons about myself along the way..............and had some fun!

Moving Along - A New Year

It's certainly been a while. It's not that I have stopped running, which is the main thing, it's just.....................that I've stopped writing about it. After that I can't really explain why except perhaps due to a lack of motivation, which increased with time. I didn't have much to write about and I haven't had any results that I have been happy with. My only two results since my last post was a DNF at the Belfast 24-hour (coming off the track with over 6:30 left on the clock is technically a DNF) and a relatively disappointing 13hrs and 30 seconds at IM Wales. But more on them later.

Truth be told the few times I tried to put pen to paper I lost the will to live after a few minutes. In fact I started two "draft" posts but never managed to finish them.

The first was about my experiment with a Ketogenic (very low carb) diet in April/May, which lasted 5 or 6 weeks ( I even got a Ketone blood test kit):-

 Ketogensis - I'll Try Anything Once

Because my next 3 events will last anywhere from 12 to 24 hours I have increasingly changed my focus towards where I get my energy from and how to optimise it. As I am primarily endurance focussed I am reasonably good at optimising my carbohydrate stores by burning a higher proportion of fat for a given effort and generally manage to avoid the "bonk", which is traditionally associated with exhausting the 2,000 calories of glucose (glycogen) we can store in our body at any one time. Any more carb ingestion above this level and the liver converts the sugar to fat (glycolysis) adding to our already plentiful stores - 20,000 calories in the leanest of athletes. That's the equivalent of 20 miles of carbohydrate energy compared to over 200 miles of fat energy. You can therefore see why I'd be interested in tapping as much of my reserves of fat as possible.

One way to do this is to deplete my stores of glucose so that my body has no alternative but to use fat for energy. I had done this for two weeks stints in the past followed by a few days of carb loading when preparing for big endurance events. This is what got me through the Barcelona Marathon in March. However I have become increasingly interested in permanently switching over to fat as my main fuel source as it not only has energy benefits but there is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that it also has health benefits.

I may well return to this experiment in 2016 as I would be interested to see the long term effects. I know from experience that it takes me two or three weeks to adjust to the diet, during which my energy levels drop and my running pace suffers. The biggest difficulty I have coming off the diet is my addiction to carbs, especially sugars, appears greater than when I ate a "balanced diet" - I can never get enough. Well sugar is the most addictive drug on the planet after all.

My second unfinished post was just after the Belfast 24-hour in July:-

"Everyone Has A Plan.............

..................until they get punched in the face" (Mike Tyson).



John O'Callaghan, a club-mate of mine, quoted this to me while out on a  club run a week before Belfast, which just about sums up my experience a week later.

My only plan for Belfast was to cover a minimum of 220km (The International B Qualification Standard). To give myself a bit of a cushion I set out a plan for 230km and to cut a long story short I expended too much energy in adhering to the plan over the first 4 to 6 hours that it fecked up the rest of my race - I was actually in first place for a spell around 12 hours in (always a dangerous place to be halfway through a 24hr race), but I knew at that stage that I was in trouble. The trouble arrived 14 hour in when my legs all but ceased up and running became slow and painful. I knew then that my target was gone so, rather than crawling off the track, I decided to go for the 100 mile mark and at least earn the 24hr/100 mile running jacket. I spend most of the next 3+ hours walking around the track until I had 100 miles in the bag @ 17:22, after which I called it a day, crawled into my tent and slept for 2 blissful hours. I reckoned it was pointless eeking out a few more miles and prolonging my recovery, which would only negatively impact on my training for IM Wales, 8 weeks later. Truth be told I was not in shape to run the distance I wanted to. My problem was a lack of focus as I was also in the middle of training for an IM and had completed a half IM two weeks beforehand. Hugh thanks to clubmate John D for supporting me in Belfast.

Ironman Wales

I recovered reasonably well from Belfast and got stuck into IM training, managing to get my first of 3 century rides in 2 weeks later. My longest training session came the following week with 6 hours on the bike (104.4 miles) followed by 70 minutes of running (8.9 miles) - I had set out from home a 6 in the morning and was not finished until after 1.

My motivation waned over the last few weeks of training as Adrian, my training partner, had an accident on the bike and was out of action for a few months and would miss the IM. My 5:07 result in Tri Athlone suggested a sub 11 hour result on a similar flat-ish course. As the Wales bike and run courses were far from flat I revised my target to sub 12 hours, with a possibility of hitting 11:30, broken down as 1:10 for the swim, 6:30 for the bike, 3:30 for the run and 20 minutes for transitions.

To cut a long story short I finished well outside my target in 13 hours and 30 seconds split as follows:-

Swim - 1:18 - The sea was fairly rough but I thoroughly enjoyed it - while I had plenty of endurance I

had no speed. The run from the beach to transition was over 1 km.

Bike - 7:16 - It was all going reasonably well (considering the hills) until I punctured 60 miles in. The next 25 miles were a struggle as I was unable to get the desired tyre pressure in the replacement tube with the hand pump. I stopped at an aid station and managed to borrow a track pump but noticed a bulge in the tyre after it was fully inflated, necessitating a full tyre replacement. I struggled over the last few hilly miles and even walked the steepest hill (@16%). Having said that the support and atmosphere all along the route was fantastic. I reckon I lost about 20 minutes in downtime between replacing the tube and tyre - so I was still well short of my bike split target.

Run - 4:08 - Four loops consisting essentially of 3+ miles of gradual uphill out of town and 3+ miles back. At the end of the first loop my energy was depleted and I had to stop for a breather at an aid station, while I took a gel. As my time goals, for what they were, had gone and for self preservation purposes I decided to take it easy and walk the remaining up hills, chatting to other competitors and soaking up the atmosphere. The highlight came at mile 22, when I passed ex Welsh Rugby International Richard Webster, who was "running" with crutches.

All in all IM Wales was a fantastic experience. While I had the endurance to cover the distance I had not followed a programme or put in any specific tempo/interval training in any discipline. Sure how could I when I also had a few ultras on the calendar. I reckon I was coming down off a training peak by the time the IM came around. I could blame the mechanical issues on the bike, but I should not have felt as fatigued coming of the bike as I did.

Post IM Wales

The only thing that kept me anyway motivated after IM Wales was the fact that I had put my name down to Pace 3:30 in Dublin at the end of October. Even at that I stepped down to 3:40 pacing, as I didn't feel in great shape going into the event. Still a great gig to pace.

November and December was all about re-building the endurance base. My weekly mileage, which had varied from 13 to 39 between IM Wales and DCM, was ramped up to over 70 miles  ( average of 76 miles over the last 9 weeks). What kept me motivated was the  challenge of running my age on Christmas Eve and at 50 I though it would be a nice round number to bow out of this self imposed task as, in the long run, my ability to complete the ever increasing distance would not be compatible with my ever increasing age    - i'll probably limit it to a marathon this year. 

2016

So what to target for 2016? Revisit Belfast 24-hour (now in late June over a 1.7 km looped course)? Complete an M50  Sub-3 hour Marathon (certainly on my bucket list)? Target an M50 Club Team Medal at the National Marathon Championships in October (DCM)? The club would probably have to hold Marathon Trials as we already had a M50 Team Gold in 2015 (A fantastic club achievement - Well done to Frank, Ronan and Martin)

The rough plan forming is:-

• A late Spring Marathon (Mid-April) - Barcelona, in mid-March, was a bit early for my liking last year - I need longer to wean myself on to speed work after Christmas.

• Belfast 24-hour in late June. Is 2 months long enough to transition from a Marathon to a 24-hour. I transitioned pretty well from my Marathon PB in Mid-June 2013 to the Connemara 100 in Mid-August.

• Dublin City Marathon (End of October) for the National Marathon Championships. Is 4 months (18 weeks) enough to recover from a 24-hour and train for a marathon? (9 week recovery/build and 9 week specific).

Meanwhile I have committed to a few events over the next month, the first being the Dungarvan 10 miler, at the end of January for which I will not be prepared. The general target will be sub-70 minutes as part of a longer endurance/speed run. The following weekend I am down to run the Clonakilty Marathon, postponed from 5th December. The plan between now and then is a gradual transition to speed work so that I am in shape to commence a specific marathon programme, should I chose to do so. All I do know is that I will need a target to keep me motivated.


Happy New Year to all. (ps. apologies for the formatting, or lack thereof. It's been a while.)

WW2

It says something when the shortest of the three events I have signed up for this season is likely to be Ironman Wales in September. Of the other two the Belfast 24-hour is the longest. However when it comes to the toughest I'm hoping certain that none will compare to the Wicklow Way Solo - 81 miles of up and down with a total elevation gain in excess of 13,000 feet - although in fairness the last 5km are flat, which allows for a speedy run-in to the finish - assuming you haven't thrashed your legs in the preceding 125 km (126 this year as Coillte added an extra km to detour around tree felling).

It's difficult to know which of the three is my "Target A race" but I know for sure that it wasn't the WW, which I was targeting as the most suitable key "training run" for Belfast. It was either that or the Portumna 100k and as WW takes close to twice as long as Portumna to complete, equivalent to 100 miles+ on the flat and with all those "strength training" hills it should be the best preparation there is for Belfast - assuming I recover sufficiently in the five weeks between the events. With Ironman Wales 8 weeks after Belfast I may be cutting it a bit tight if I am to run a decent marathon leg so by default Belfast must be my "A Target", followed by Wales. Then again if I was taking Belfast seriously perhaps I shouldn't have entered Tri Athlone last weekend. As it was "only" half the distance of an Ironman I thought I'd sail through it. I must have overcooked (or under ate) it on the bike, as the run was a bit of a slogfest - slowing from 7:20 pace for the first mile or two to an average of 7:48 by the time I crossed the line in 5:07:09 (113th place & 8th in Age Group - only realised it was the National Championships after I entered - the guy who came 2nd also came 2nd in IM Wales last year, where he described the course as "brutal")

Anyhow back to the WW. As this was my second outing at this event it is the only one of the three that I could say I knew what lay ahead of me - but then again I have a very short memory, particularly when it comes to pain and suffering - I suppose it is a good thing that I only retain the positive memories.

Meticulous preparation as usual meant that I left home at 7:15 for the two and a half hour drive to Cellbridge to pick up my cousin Liam, whose wife would be picking us up in Clonegal the following evening. A couple of last minute preparations and we hit the road for Marley Park  shortly before 11, only to double back to collect Liam's drop bags, left in the hallway. We still got there in plenty of time to register, complete kit check (we had to carry far more this year) and distribute our drop bags. We both noticed that there weren't many of last years participants milling around the start area. Had we both forgotten how tought this race is - then again the evening was warm and dry compared to last years biblical floods. So at least the weather was on our side.

Marley Park - Crone Wood (Cut-Off 3  hours)
We all started off together running through Marley Park and on up the hill to Kilmashogue. I got a shout out from Karina, who said it was my 100 mile Connemara run that inspired her to take it on last year. Good to meet you Karina. Within the hour I had tripped on the rocky trail across Tribadden and gave myself a bloody knee. It wasn't like I was running fast. In fact I had been passed by 3 or 4 runners, including the leading lady, as I am very poor on technical trails - must be some sort of Dys.,???..xia. Once on the open road to Glencullen, I wipe the blood from my leg and make steady progress towards Prince William's Seat, where I catch back up to a group of 6 spread out in front of me. I lose them again on the technical descent to Curtlestown Wood but catch up with the leading lady, Linda O'Connor from Kerry along the route around Knockree, where we chat for a while, before I lose her again on the descent towards the Glencree River.


The night is mild and relatively warm, perfect T-Shirt weather. With 2:27 on the watch I make my way into Crone Wood CP and as I have no drop bag to collect I carry on, once I have "checked in", passing Linda in the process.




Crone Wood - Glendalough (Cut-off 8 hours)
The run up through Crone Wood past Powerscourt Waterfall (unseen in the darkness) is pretty uneventful. Down to the Dargle River crossing and the long drag up around the shoulder of Djouce, where I am overtaken by two guys chatting away to themselves as if they were on a Sunday stroll. Once I am up on the boardwalk heading towards White Hill I have the worst of the technical running behind me and most of the dark hours behind me. Making my way down towards the Sally Gap Road I look back and see a string of lights stretched out behind me in the distance coming down off Djouce - enchanting. As the light improves I switch off my headtorch as I head towards Oldbridge, passing one of the guys who had passed me on Djouce - looks like he was fading - not a good sign so early in the race. I hit Glendalough shortly before 6 (31 miles done, only 50 to go).




Glendalough - Ironbridge (Cut-off 12 hours)
I collect my drop bag (Banana Milk and a few homemade almond/date/coconut/chocolate energy balls) and am soon heading up towards Poulanass Waterfall and the long climb up to Mullacor, maintaining a consistent jog all the way to the top, along the boardwalk and down the fire roads to Glenmalure and the halfway mark, with 7:45 on the watch. I was looking forward to the impromptu stop for bacon and coffee at the entrance to woods that is the start of the long climb up towards Drongoff Gap. However  Jeff and Robbie are not here this year, but I do get a few salty crisps and a strong cup of black coffee from Aisling, who is crewing for her brother, Padraig. I take a small break sitting in the middle of a stream to remove the muscle pain and cool my legs - very refreshing. This works quite well so I repeat the process whenever I get the opportunity. I pass a group of early morning hikers on the slog up to Dromgoff Gap, eventually reaching the top and on to the next climb up Carrickashane, crossing the boardwalk where I became a cropper last year. I stop briefly at one of those open log cabins to cool my legs with water from the water butt before running on down the fire road to the Ironbridge CP with the time approaching 9:25. I take a relatively long stop here (4 or 5 minutes) taking one of the BBQ sausages Robbie is cooking on a stove and sitting down in the river for a minute or two to enjoy it. Coming out of the river I notice a young guy who had just arrived - I hadn't seen him coming as when I had looked back from the top of Carrickashane I had not seen anyone behind me.

Ironbridge - Dying Cow (Cut-off 16:30 hours)

I leave Ironbridge with a sense of purpose, as now I have a position to defend, although deep down I know I am only racing against myself as it would be foolish to run at anyone else's pace with so many miles left to run. Still I manage to keep a steady jog up and over the hill beyond Ballyteige Bridge but am eventually overtaken on the long road to Moyne, as I take a call from Abina, telling her that I should be finished at 4 - still a long way off though. The day has heated up nicely with sun shining brightly. I resume jogging and overtake my new friend (the only other participant I have seen since 4 a.m.) as he stops at his crew's car for some R&R.

A few miles down the road at the beginning of the next off-road section I sit in the middle of a stream to "treat" my legs before beginning the long climb up Garryvoe Hill and on to Mangans Wood, where I am overtaken by my new friend after exchanging a few pleasantries. This time he is gone out of sight after a mile or two, his pace being much faster than mine. Down onto the Tinahealy Road I meet a few guys togging out to run back the way to support Paul Daly, taking the opportunity to fill my water bottles. I make reasonably steady progress along Muskeagh Boreen and down on to the road section leading to Dying Cow, entering the checkpoint just before one in the afternoon. Torben Dahl, who ran some of the road with me from here this time last year, is manning the checkpoint and soon has me sorted with my drop bag. I mentally note that it is about 1 hour to Raheenakit and a further 2 hours to Clonegal and the finish line and with the time at 12:55 I am still just about on target for a four o'clock finish. Time to get going.

Dying Cow - Raheenakit (Cut-off 18:00 hours)

While Torben said it was about 15km to Raheenakit, I think and hope it is closer, if I am to get there in a hour. Last year I walked a lot from this point and I "lost" a lot of time. I'd have to concentrate on maintaining a reasonable pace if I am to hit the finish by 4. After walking the initial steep climb I resume running along the road to Kilquiggan Cross, stopping briefly to take a chocolate bar and some very refreshing cool water over the head from a couple supporting the race from their front gate - unbelievable!!! especially considering that the gap between runners. I hit Raheenakit in the hour and stock up on fuel for the last push home.

Raheenakit - Clonegal (Cut-off 21:00 hours)
There is a slight kick in the teeth leaving Raheenakit, as the WW is temporarily detoured around an area of tree-felling, adding about 1 km to the course. The detour is along a quite pleasant woodland trail, that appears to be reserved for horse riding, judging by the footprints left on the ground. Soon I am back on the all too familiar punishing stony fire roads and have all but given up hope of getting to Clonegal by 4. I keep the pace steady and with an estimated total distance of 81 miles I reckon I will be close. Just one last climb up through the last section of forest on Urelands Hill, managing to quieten the mental demons, which are urging me to stop and walk, as my target is futile and what would a few more minutes matter. I am out of the forest and passing the "Clonegal 5km" sign, with about 26 minutes to go - i'd need 8 minute miles to get me there (5 minute kms). The first 2 km are along a gradual downhill - passing the "Clonegal 3km" sign with 17 minutes to go. I reckon I have slowed to 6 minute kms and am unable to up the pace, predicting i'll be a minute over my target. The Garmin beeps for mile 81 with 15:58 on the clock, still some way to go. The "Welcome to Clonegal" come into view and my journey is nearly over - the Garmin turns over 16 hours and the finish line is in sight- turning the last corner and stopping at the WW Board in 16:00:58 (16:01:30 Official Time) for a 7th place finish. I had thought I was 8th, so someone must have dropped out - or so I though until the guy who had passed me 35 km back came in to touch the board half an hour later. It turns out he needed a rest at Dying Cow and I hadn't noticed when I passed through.

What's Next

With the WW done and dusted and the race report finally complete I can now turn my head towards the nemesis that is the Belfast 24 hour. It feels like it has crept up on me as I am only beginning to realise that I have not done near enough race specific runs. Apart from the WW, I have only run two longish runs in the last two month, pacing the Cork and Waterford marathons - surely a 24 hour race commands a bit more respect than that. My philosophy has been that the time on the bike training for the IM will stand to me next Friday/Saturday. With an average monthly mileage of  420 over the last 3 months compared to a running average of 166 miles lets hope it's true. I'm also hoping that the few residual niggles from the WW and recent training will fade over the next few days of relative rest and relaxation. I feel like I am winging it a bit and could be in for a rude awakening on Friday/Saturday.

Marató Barcelona

With yours truly @ 5:19 - 5:24 (the end of the out and back section @ Km 22). Thanks to Clubmate Tim for the link. One of my shorter posts.