Irish Ultra Running Team Return from World & European 24H Championships 2013

Left to Right: Dan Doherty, Eddie Gallen, Eoin Keith, John O’Regan

The Irish Team competing at the World & European Championships in Steenbergen, Netherlands over the weekend experienced some very difficult conditions with low temperatures and rain adding to their task.

Eoin Keith covered 234km to be first finisher on the team in 25th place (15th European Champs) with Eddie Gallen covering 212km to achieve 81st (59th European Champs) place. John O’Regan suffered from hypothermia which curtailed his efforts and he covered 162km to finish in 176th place (132nd European Champs). Dan Doherty unfortunately had to withdraw at 78km with injury. Dan has been in very good form recently and was going well when the injury arose.

The team finished in 17th place in the World Championships and 13th in the European Championships.

The team had travelled in the hope of a strong showing after some recent good results and notable performances in this event last year. However luck was against them on this occasion. The team will now focus on recovering before preparing for the upcoming events.

Special mention must go to the support crew of John Collins, Kevin Belton & Gary McConville who did a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.

World and European 24H Team Announced 2013

The World & European 24H championships will take place in Steenbergen, Netherlands on May 11th/12th. Ireland will be represented by a strong team in the men’s category.

The team will comprise of:

John O’Regan
Eoin Keith
Eddie Gallen
Dan Doherty

The team is very experienced and some of the members have been in very good form recently. Eoin Keith set an Irish record over 48 hours at the beginning of the year. Dan Doherty has had some very strong performances over 100K including finishing 8th in the recent European Championships. John O’Regan is the reigning 24H national champion and along with Eddie Gallen competed strongly in last year’s World 24H event. A strong team result is a possibility if all goes to plan.

In an event of this nature the support crew are crucial to the team’s success. On this occasion John Collins, John Belton and Kevin Belton will support the team. They will attend to the various requirements over the 24 hour period and ensure that the team competes to their abilities.

Doherty 8th in 100K European Championships 2013.

Dan Doherty & Keith Whyte, Seregno 2012.

Dan Doherty finished an excellent 8th in the European 100k championships in Belves, France on Sunday 28th April. Dan’s time of 7.05.58 was less than a minute outside the Irish record for the distance. Dan paced himself well and finished strongly, picking off a number of competitors in the closing stages. This displays incredible consistency as he recently recorded a time of 7.05.23 when winning the Self Transcendence (Anglo Celtic Plate)100k in Scotland. Dan will now turn his attention to the World and European 24H championships to be held in the Netherlands in May.

Ireland’s other competitor Keith Whyte unfortunately had to withdraw due to injury at 80k. Keith was also performing strongly up to this point and was disappointed not to post a result. He also demonstrated good form recently when he won the Connemara Ultra.

Special mention must also go to John Collins, Kevin Belton and Jeff Fitsimons. The support crew travelled the 100k course on bikes to provide hydration, nutrition and encouragement to the runners.

IAU 100k European Championships 2013

Keith Whyte and Dan Doherty have been selected to compete in the IAU 100K European Championships in Belves, France on April 27th. Dan prepared for this event by recently winning the Self Transcendence 100K (Anglo Celtic Plate) in cold conditions in Perth Scotland.

His winning time of 7.05.23 was a new PB and just short of the Irish record. Keith Whyte had previously won the Anglo Celtic Plate in 2012 hot conditions in a time of 7.16.42.  

Keith Whyte also prepared in style by winning the Connemara Ultra Marathon in a time of 4.25.52 in less than ideal conditions having to run the last 13 miles into a headwind.

The race in Belves will be held on a 100K loop so a strong support team is required. John Collins, Kevin Belton and Jeff Fitzsimons will travel to ensure all requirements are met.

Training Diary 11th – 17th March 2013

Monday Mar 11^th. HRV= 78 White

A good start to the week and today will be similar to last week and I’ll skip the lunchtime run to make the most of an evening session of hill repeats.  Met up with some others from my club and did a few easy hill reps taking almost 30 seconds longer per rep with the focus being on leg strength.  Finished off the session on a shorter steeper hill and did 2 hard reps finishing each with a 100M sprint at the top.  Legs burning towards the end

Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session, a lunchtime MAF session and a short evening Recovery run.

Tuesday Mar 12^th. HRV= 72 White

Better than expected.  Early gym session of Back Squat, 5* 5 with 50Kg and I’m going deeper than ever before. Walking Lunges * 3 sets with 10Kg Dumbbells with each set including 20 steps.  Finished off with some easy core work.  Lunchtime MAF session didn’t go as planned as my HR was spiking and I was conscious of possibly going too hard.  It took almost 3K before it dropped from 180bpm down to a more realistic 130bpm for the same pace and then I pushed on to get my HR to around 140bpm.  Legs feeling heavy and I’m now thinking that instead of an evening Recovery run I’ll rest.

Plan for tomorrow is an easy Lunchtime Run and an evening Interval Session similar to last week.

Wednesday Mar 13^th. HRV=73 White

Expected slightly higher after half a rest day yesterday but probably over did the food last night.  My weight is slightly up and I can feel the DOMS.  My lunchtime run became a shorter easier Recovery Run and even that was an effort and I decided to cut it short at just over 6K.  Not looking forward to this evening’s session but that’s not a good enough reason not to do it.  Made the effort to refuel in advance of my evening Intervals and had the pre training Beet-it Shot on the train journey home before a quick turnaround and a drive to the track.  It was only when I started the warm up that I realised how beneficial the running to the track warm up is as it means less track time and can make the session seem shorter.  Met the gang and we agreed on a session of 5*1500M with 2 min recovery at a pace of 3:30-3:35 per K.  20 minute warm up and then it started.  Session went as planned and only missed the splits by 1-2 seconds and finished wondering if the recovery was too long or the reps were too short.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/284043160

I’ve been asked to run in a 6K Road Race next Monday which is also the County Championships as part of a Masters Team.  Not sure if I’m Race ready and I can’t afford to Taper for a race of lesser importance but I’m thinking that it may help in advance of the Trail Ultra next Saturday.

Plan for tomorrow will depend on my recovery but includes an early Gym session.

Thursday Mar 14^th. HRV= 83 White

A great result after last night’s effort and I feel like I could do it all over again but still feeling the DOMS.  Early Gym session and it’s 5*3 Power Clean with the last set @ 47.5Kg and I could feel it.  Finished off with a core circuit of 20Kg Kettlebell swings, hanging leg raises and standing shoulder press *3 sets and 3 rotations of Plank.  Went out at lunchtime with the intention of running a 10K but knew when leaving the office that it wasn’t going to happen.  Yet again my legs were feeling stiff and it’s probably a combination of the past few days plus this morning.  Changed to a recovery run and was pleasantly surprised at my HR relative to the pace.  I’m coaching this evening but might get an opportunity for a second recovery run.  Finished the day with a very easy Recovery Run of 5K in 30 minutes keeping someone company and this was perfect as I didn’t need to concentrate on HR or pace and all I had to do was run.

Plan for tomorrow is undecided but might do something short and fast to start breaking in a new pair of Running Shoes..

Friday Mar 15^th. HRV=81 White

Great result and legs feeling refreshed which is probably down to the disciplined recovery run last night and that tells me that my recovery runs might sometimes be too fast and the recovery runs do work.    Lunchtime session of 6*1 minute fast as I’m stuck for time, decided against trying the new shoes just yet (Saucony Kinvara) and the session went better than expected.  Will try for a second session later and if it happens I’ll go for a steady state run with the effort dependent on my available time and keeping Monday’s race in mind.  Personally the Trail Ultra next weekend is a more important race but the club comes first and I need to be on form for Monday.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/284676310

Managed to fit in a short steady state run on the track and settled for 7K with my HR between 140-155bpm

Plan for tomorrow is a short trail run.

Saturday Mar 16^th. HRV= 80 White

Great result but legs feeling stiff and heavy and I’m thinking that a short but fast Interval session would be a better choice for today but plans have been made so it’s off to the mountains.  Early start and met with two friends to run the start section of the Wicklow Way Ultra.  Felt good at the start and was happy with how comfortable the pace felt but shortly after the climbing started I could feel the effort and was soon reduced to a walk.  I told the other guys to go on ahead and I’d follow but unfortunately they held back so I’d no option but to get going again.  I took it slow and steady and as the terrain started to level out I got going again and it almost felt like a second wind but I knew I’d struggle again if the climbing was to start again.  I think it’s time now to Taper the climbing muscles and I’ll forget about the Trail race until after Monday.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/285005280

Plan for tomorrow is an easy social club run to mark St Patrick’s Day.

Sunday Mar 17^th. HRV=63 Amber

Didn’t expect such a low score as yesterday was an easy day even if I did suffer on the climbs as I was cautious not to over cook.  I did have 2 bottles of beer last night and I expect the alcohol could be the cause of the low score.  I’m not too concerned as this mornings run will be at recovery pace and I woke before the alarm so I’m well rested.  Just as I was leaving the house it started to snow and that meant a quick change of clothing and then it was off for a freezing cold 14K and if it wasn’t for the pre planned session I probably wouldn’t have ran today.

Plan for tomorrow is a 6K race and my plan is to run 3:30 per K and hold it for as long as possible.

Weekly HRV Summary

All in all a good week but would have been happier with a better run on Saturday and a higher HRV on Sunday.  On the plus side my Interval session went very well on Wednesday and overall for this week my HRV scores were quite high.

Strong Irish Team for World 100k, 2012.

Pictured: Dan Doherty, Irish 100km Team Captain

Ireland will send a very strong team to the European & World 100km Championships in Italy on 22nd April.

The men's team will be captained by Daniel Doherty, who finished 14th in the 2011 World Championships.

Doherty, along with Irish 50km Champion John Byrne and Irish 100km record holder Thomas Maguire make up a trio of Irish runners with sub-7:10hr PBs.

The team, which also includes Keith Whyte (sub 7:30hrs), Michael Collins (World veteran bronze medallist) and John O'Regan (Irish 24-Hour Champion) will be among the favourites to medal in Europe. The cumulative time of the top three finishers for each nation decides the outccome of the team competiion.

In addition to the team, Jim McCormick will represent Ireland as an individual and should be among the top contenders in the vets competition (which is run concurrently).

In the women's race, Ireland will be represented by Helen Lavin, who has recently posted some very good ultra performances in the USA.

IRISH MEN'S TEAM
John Byrne
Michael Collins
Daniel Doherty
Thomas Maguire
John O'Regan
Keith Whyte
Jim McCormick*

IRISH WOMEN'S TEAM
Helen Lavin*

*Individuals

IAU & WMA 100K World & European Championships.

I didn't get what I went for but I'm happy with what I got.  I'm not on form for writing a race report at the moment so I've attached a few photos and will hopefully have my race report in a few days.

Athlete Village Winschoten.

The Athlete Parade.

Pre Race Massage

Team Ireland

Food station.

Anglo Celtic Plate 2011. My Race.

With Scotland's finest, Debbie Consani.

You can learn a lot from races that don't go as planned if you take the time to analyse them and then make the corrections.

Support Crew Tent.

Going into the Anglo Celtic Plate I was in my best shape of recent times and was fully prepared and expecting to finish in under 7hrs 45min which was an estimation based on recent race results and long distance training runs.

The course was as good as it gets being relatively flat and consisted of 42 x 2381 laps which might sound daunting but in a race it's 42 times that you pass your support crew, 42 times that you have access to food & fluid, 42 times to check your pacing and position but more importantly it's 42 times to pass the friendly faces and if things go wrong you're never far from help. 

Before any race I come up with a mental plan and try to visulise whats ahead and for this one becuase of it's numerical similarity with the 42K in a Marathon I turned it into a marathon and thought of each lap as a Kilometre even though I wouldn't be counting them down.

Waiting to start.

The weather on the day was almost perfect and I felt very confident and proud lining up beside my team mates at the startline and when the race started I settled almost immediately into my pace and gradually found my position behind the lead pack.  It felt quite comfortable and effortless and as I made my way around the first lap I picked out some markers that I would use to check my pacing as the race went on.  Less than halfway around the loop the course went alongside the river Tay and each time I passed I looked into the water in the hope of seeing a Salmon jump and that was something I looked forward to on each and every lap.

All alone on the banks of the River Tay.

Before completing the first lap I felt the need to use the toilet and tried to decide whether to stop or try wait a bit longer. Seeing as it was going to be a long day I stopped rather than prolong the agony and that was the start of it!  Almost every lap I had to stop and looking at the drops in my heart rate I must have stopped close to 25 times.  Each stop cost me between 30-90 seconds and even though I wasn't drinking much I made the decision to reduce my fluid intake.  This helped ever so slightly but the problem was still there and the reduced fluid intake can lead to other problems which it did.

Checking my pace with Tony Brennan

I went through the Marathon split in 3hr08 and then through the 50K split in 3hr49 but shortly after that my hand went into a spasm and I knew I was becoming dehydrated and suffering from loss of electrolytes even though I was still needing toilet stops.  I started drinking again but switched from a carbohydrate drink to an electrolyte drink which is easier on the stomach and because it was electrolyes I needed as my energy levels were still ok.  My right hip then started to tighten up which again I put down to the electrolyes and this required the occasional stop for an assisted stretch with the support crew.

Even before the race finished I was a bit disappointed and I didn't cheer up any bit more after crossing the finish line. Apart from the extra stops I was still running at my planned pace which I worked out by subtracting the stoppage time from lap time so I know I should have finished much faster and at least finished in under 8hrs but thats how it goes.

The mistake wasn't made on race day because I drank very little before the race and ran the first 70 minutes without any fluids.  I had estimated my fluid intake to be somewhere between 3 -4L but I only drank approx 2L.

The finish.
Daniel Doherty, Richard Donovan & Thomas Maguire.

Did I drink too much in the days before the race? I don't think so but then again I don't know!  I keep a record of everything else but fluid intake is routine and maybe I need to start watching that in advance of races anyway.  It has been suggested by a fellow Ultra Runner (Jim McCormick) that maybe I had a kidney infection but it didn't feel like I did but then again I don't know what a kidney infection feels like.

Doherty wins Ultra Race Grantham

In his final preparatory race for the Anglo Celtic Plate 100km, Daniel Doherty won the 9bar Ultra Race Grantham on the weeked of 5th-6th March.

The 9bar event involved a 29.1 mile trail run on consecutive days and Doherty won convincingly, also setting a course record on the first leg.

You can see Danel's race report on his blog: http://runningmad-dan.blogspot.com/.

Donadea 50K and other stuff.

John O'Regan & Jim McCormick

Training has gone very well over the past few weeks and included one long training run of 55K which I used as race prep for the Anglo Celtic Plate and practiced my pacing and fueling while keeping a close eye on my Heart Rate.

 Had planned on peaking this week with a 60K run at same pace (4:37 per K) but instead I ran the Donadea 50K at a slightly faster pace to make up for the shorter distance.  Based on previous training runs my race plan was to finish the 50K in 3hrs40 mins (4:24 per K / 7:04 per mile) which was based on my Heart Rate and if it went to plan I should manage to keep it under 150 bpm.

This was the first running of the Donadea 50K and had a limited number of competitors all running on invite and among the entrants was my Team Mate for the Anglo Celtic Plate Keith Whyte and Jim McCormick a training partner from Belfast and close friend of Marty Rea.  Jim was also using this race as a long training run so we decided to run it together and use it as an opportunity to catch up on what we were both up to and swap war stories.
We started off at a decent pace to break away from the crowd which was decided on the walk to the start line as  we noticed the track was a bit too narrow for a group of 25 and would be a bit like a cross country race start.  We were cautious not to get outside our comfort zone although we soon realised that after 2K we were a bit too close to Keith Whyte and that meant our pace was a bit too fast.  We had a quick chat with Keith and politely told him we were dropping back.

Long story short,  Keith Whyte went on to finish in 1st place quite comfortably in 3hrs26:27 with Jim and I finishing 3rd in 3hr41:30 having ran an almost perfect race.  We went through the Marathon split in 3hrs04:30 as planned but then I made a toilet stop in the 2nd last lap and I reckon thats what cost us the additional few seconds.  We could have pushed a bit harder to make up the time but for what?  It was a training run and I know from experience that a sprint finish could have made all the difference to my recovery and it's a bit too close to my goal race to let my ego decide what I do.

Aisling, my daughter & support crew.

During the race I wore Skins A400 running tights and my Le Cheile running club singlet.  My daughter Aisling was there as support crew and kept us supplied with Powerbar Energize which was mixed and contained in 250ml bottles.

Crossing the Finish Line in 3rd place with Jim McCormick

With Keith Whyte at the finish.

In other news John Byrne finished 2nd in the Bramley 20 miler with a very impressive time of 1hr52:19 as part of his prep for the ACP and when you consider that along with Daniel Doherty's recent 50K result I think we have a strong team for this year's ACP.