Donadea 50K. The Race.

Race day seemed to come around very quickly but then again it’s only been 3 months since the Dublin Marathon and team training sessions were intermittent which probably made the time pass quicker as every session was important.  Making the most of this limited available time we prepared as best we could but there’s always an element of uncertainty and until the race starts you just don’t know exactly what to expect.  There were so many factors at play and I knew that pacing was going to be a real issue as the paths were laid out for minimum impact on the forest park and although wide enough for causal walkers to pass each other in comfort they were not designed with a large group of 230 runners in mind.  This group would then form smaller individual groups taking up complete sections as they moved forward in unison helping each other with the pacing.  The path also twisted and turned through the park to follow nature rather in a straight line to suit the runner and then there were the hills!  We had a goal time in mind as I know the importance of having a plan and something to help break up the race but I knew in advance that this plan would change constantly as the environmental conditions would determine what actually happened.

We arrived at the Forest Park in good time and met up with our support crew for the day (Maggie Lawler) from my running club and gave her a quick chat on what we might need and a few  other instructions to take away the guesswork as the race progressed.  A few minutes were spent chatting to the other runners and then I decided to move away from the crowds as we had spent so much time trying to get into the zone and visualise the race that I didn’t want conflicting comments from other runners changing our mindset as a simple reassurance from someone could easily lead to a false sense of the difficulties that lay ahead.  This was in sharp contrast to quite a few negative comments in the lead up to the race and it’s important to know how to deal with both.

We walked towards the first and probably trickiest corner on the route to get a feel for it and it was a good job we did as we had the time to test it out and then came up with a command of ‘tight right and down’ and I would put my left arm out to allow Sinead hold on for stability plus I would count down the run into it in Metres, ‘tight right and down, (arm up) 3, 2, 1 and into the corner.  Beyond this turn which curved around a lake we then had sections of uneven path with bumps and trip hazards caused by tree roots breaking through to the surface and this was an area that I had found particularly tricky when running it myself blindfolded (see previous post).

With 10 minutes to go we made our way back along the race route to the start line and talked through the part of the course that we were now on before positioning ourselves towards the back of the field.  I had thought that this was the right thing to do but soon enough I was thinking it a mistake as we were caught amongst a large group and it was so congested that it was hard for me to focus on the ground ahead as all I could see were feet.  It was an effort to run slow enough to not clip the feet of those ahead and we were running like this for at least the first kilometre and it made for a less than relaxing start to the race.  

We eventually made a break from the back of the field and found a less congested positioning and then the seriousness of the task in hand became obvious.  There was very little let up from the commands and it took a lot of concentration from Sinead to stay focused and move safely while trying to avoid trip hazards and constantly adapt to the changing terrain underfoot as I was trying my best to explain what lay ahead.  Most of the undulations were in the first 2 K of the route and then the path was relatively good except for the constant turnings and a camber that fell to the right which was my side.  The camber caused us to collide quite often as I had to lean left to avoid going off the path and the camber was guiding Sinead towards the right with end result being my elbow striking Sinead’s bicep a few times too many. 

Finishing the first lap we knew the course was quite testing but we were moving well and used the next lap to get a better feel for the pace and terrain as the field was now spread out and we tried to just concentrate on moving safely and finding our rhythm.

The next few laps went quite well but as each lap passed the degree of difficulty increased because even though we were running the same route the foot placements were always different and the exposed areas of trail with puddles were becoming very muddy and slippy with all the passing traffic.  We had a few close calls and one incident could have ended our race when a runner just ahead of us dropped a bottle which I tried to kick away from Sinead’s path but then he turned and ran back towards us making a beeline between the two of us but turned just in time and only barely managed to avoid a collision. 

With fatigue setting in during the later stages of the race we both began to feel the effort of the constant concentration without any mental breaks and then at the start of the last lap I almost caused an accident when discarding a used water bottle by throwing it in front of and across Sinead towards some race marshals but didn’t throw it hard enough.  It broke the silence, woke me up and then we were back in the zone but Sinead was tiring and was very concerned about finishing inside the cut off time of 5hrs.  I had calculated that we were still within time but we didn’t have anything to spare and we couldn’t really afford to slow down and walking wouldn’t be an option. 

This was our last time to visit each of the hills but that didn’t make them any easier and I think by this stage Sinead was fed up hearing the degrees of difficult and length of each climb and I tried not to talk too much.  Eventually we turned onto the final stretch towards the finish line and Sinead had said she wanted to run it freely but I warned her of the slip hazards with the muddy spots and then the trip hazard of the three timing mats but her reply was ‘If I can’t see them then they’re not there’, 

I stayed with her for as long as I could and then she took off as I tried to stay close.  She crossed the line a few seconds ahead of me in a time of 4hr52.25 to a celebratory cheer from the waiting crowd that you’d expect the winner to get and the rest is hard to put into words....

Photos thanks to Peter Mooney & James Shelley

Next stop Donadea

Today (Sunday) was the last of the training runs with Sinead Kane before we take on the Donadea 50K and if today was anything to go by then the signs are good for Race day.  

Who is Sinead Kane?  Sinead is a visually impaired runner from Cork and I’ve known of her for a few years now after first reading about her in a newspaper article but we only got to know each other since last August through a mutual friend , twitter and email as she prepared for the Dublin Marathon.  We then met for the first time only 2 weeks before the Dublin Marathon and the meet up was partly because she was recovering from an injury and having missed some long training runs was feeling slightly underprepared and was looking for some advice.  Knowing the injury she had  I may have advised her against doing the Marathon but she seemed more worried about rain than pain and didn’t really listen to the parts of the conversation where I was telling her that it might not be such a great idea. 

Two  weeks later and through sheer determination and ambition she proved me wrong and went on to successfully finish and in doing so became the first visually impaired female to complete the Dublin City Marathon guided by Kieran O'Reilly.   Rather than feeling that sense of relief with finishing she wanted more and 3 months later we are now in the lead into the Donadea 50K (Irish National Championships) to be held on Saturday Feb 14^th.

Dublin Marathon 2014

Since finishing the Dublin Marathon Sinead has become more focussed with her training and through a network of Running Guides (Denis Kelleher in Cork and  Claire Powell & myself in Dublin) has managed a more consistent training routine although it’s still far from ideal as every session is a compromise (for Sinead).

In the build up to this race we’ve ran together as often as possible and mostly around the Phoenix Park in Dublin and after each session I’m left thinking that we need to run together more often but that isn’t going to happen as every training run means 6-7hrs of travel time for Sinead and that isn’t practical for a few obvious reasons including Recovery.

Sinead is quite fast and that brings extra demands for both runner and guide as it means a quicker reaction time to avoid hazards and as the pace increases so too does the injury risk.  A gentle climb feels more severe for the visually impaired runner as it can’t be visually prepared for and any turns other than a gentle curve can put extra pressure on the knees.  The list is endless and  I could go on and on because every run is a new learning experience but come race day the learning needs to be done as this is the exam.

To help improve my guiding skills without actually guiding and to get a feel for the race route I went to Donadea and ran blindfolded over sections of the course with a friend acting as guide.  It soon became obvious that what may appear as a flat surface when running with friends and distracted with conversation is a continuous obstacle course full of potential trip hazards and ankle twisting traps.  Potholes appeared out of nowhere, branches were lower than I realised, tree routes breaking through the ground were never noticed before and the once familiar route that I’ve ran hundreds of times was now the unknown.  I was running with my heart in my mouth and expecting to fall with every step and found it hard to fully trust my guide and this has given me a better appreciation of what’s to be expected on Race day.

This will be the fifth edition of the Donadea 50K and on completion I'll be the last of the original list of invited starters to start and finish all of the races but I’m not expecting this to be a  ‘Walk in the Park’ of a Run.

Thanks to Great Outdoors & No17 Personal Training for the assistance in preparing for the event.

Training Diary 11th – 17th Feb 2013

Monday Feb 11^th . HRV= 66 White.

A slight improvement on yesterday and the slower pace or lack of climbing strength probably worked to my advantage.  Unplanned day off work as my daughter is sick, took the opportunity to do a short run and felt good so ran the middle 20 minutes of a 40 minute run at a faster pace.  I’m thinking about the 50K race on Saturday so my plan will be reduced volume but increased intensity for the next few days.  I’m cutting out chocolate and as much junk as I can from today.  Body Weight: 72Kg

Plan for tomorrow is lunchtime MAF session of 40-45 minutes.

Tuesday Feb 12^th . HRV= 73 White.

Moving in the right direction.  Lunchtime MAF session as planned but my usual 10K loop took a little bit longer than I expected.  Leaving the office after work I could feel my left calf tighten up so my priority now is to get that sorted as running related injuries don’t just happen and by the time something starts to surface it could mean that the damage is done.  Did some foam rolling and made a few phone calls trying to book a massage.  Nothing sorted by bed time, not happy.

Plan for tomorrow is a sports massage.

Wednesday Feb 13^th . HRV= 75 White.

A great result but today is looking like a rest day as I’m not going to chance running when I know that something is amiss.  Leg felt ok as the day went on and managed to book an evening appointment for a massage so I took a chance and did a short easy run in the rain.  Feeling slightly sluggish during the run and that could be diet related.  Massage was relatively pain free and the signs are good for Saturday. There goes my excuse!

Bedtime Bodyweight: 71.7Kg.

Plan for tomorrow is an easy 10K

Thursday Feb 14^th . HRV=78 White.

HRV moving in the right direction ahead of my race and the easy day yesterday seems to have helped.  Started the day with a bowl of porridge with raisins, honey, chia seeds & coconut oil to start fuelling up for the 50K.  For a race of longer than 100K I wouldn’t worry too much about my carb intake in the days beforehand but for the shorter Ultras that will be run at a slightly higher intensity I think it’s important to have the muscles loaded.  Shortened my planned run to 5K and ran most of it at under 120bpm.

This day 2005 I was taking part in the Yukon Arctic Ultra.

Plan for tomorrow will be an easy run of less than 30 minutes with a few strides just to keep the legs moving.

Friday Feb 15^th . HRV=73 White.

Same breakfast as yesterday.  Happy with HRV and ran as planned but changed the strides to 6*1 minute with 1 minute recovery for a total of 5K in 30 minutes.  Will rest up this evening and hopefully have an early night.  All going well I’ll be in bed early enough to wake before the alarm.

Plan for tomorrow is a 50K Trail Race.  The race starts at 10am so my plan is a 7am breakfast of the same as previous 2 days.

Saturday Feb 16^th . HRV=76 White.

A good result for race day.  Up at 6:30am for a 10:00am start and had my usual breakfast of porridge made with pinhead oats and added coconut oil, chia seeds, honey and raisins.  Might sound a lot but it’s less than half a cup of oats and made with water.  Arrived at the race start in good time and went over the feeding plan with my daughter Aisling.  I expected to complete each 5K loop in just under 20 minutes and from the second loop I’d alternate my fuelling with a gel or small bottle of water.  All seemed ok until the 3rd lap when my legs just wouldn’t respond to the pace. My heart rate was dipping so I knew the power just wasn’t there.  My lap times slowed from here to the finish and there were times when the voices in my head were saying why didn’t you just take the day off but for an Ultra Runner these are the days when you get to test and train your mental strength.  Stopping when it gets tough is taking the easy way out unless of course you risk injuring yourself.  I finished in 3hr57 which was 27 minutes slower than my time from last year but that doesn’t bother me as I’d rather have a bad run than take the easier option of a DNF (Did Not Finish) which can appear more respectable to some than the slower time.

It’s all about the recovery now and first thing I did after the race was drink a bottle of coconut water to speed my rehydration and on the drive home I had a serving of cherry juice.  Spent the rest of the day wearing Under Armour Recovery tights and then had the best recovery aid of them all, ‘an early night’.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/273964288

Plan for tomorrow is a recovery run with duration dependent on HRV and muscle soreness.

Sunday Feb 17th. HRV=59 Amber.

Didn’t have a great nights sleep as I’m slightly congested but the early night meant I probably got enough sleep to wake without an alarm and just in time to meet up for a club run.  Legs are feeling surprisingly good and thats further proof that I didn’t run as I should have yesterday.  Could probably continue as normal today but my HRV means I won’t get carried away and I’ll keep it sensible.  Glad I felt able to run as it would have been a waste of a beautiful morning and the company made an easy run easier as the chat kept the pace very sensible and before I knew it I’d covered 16K and decided to call it a day.

Weekly HRV Summary

This will now end my endurance / base building phase as I aim to build on the training I was doing for the Siberian Black Ice Race. From next week I’ll start to add in some hill repeats and hill runs to improve on my running specific leg strength and if time allows I’ll try end the week with a run of 40-60K.  I need a few runs of this duration to help get back to race weight as every gram counts during a 24-hr race.

Training Diary 4th – 10th Feb 2013

Monday Feb 04^th . HRV= 72 White.

Short Trail run of 11K with the same 6K climb as last Saturday’s run. The purpose of this session was leg strength and to get the most from it I checked my kilometre splits from Saturday and aimed to run each of them harder. All my splits were faster except for the. 6th K up the steepest section when I paid the price for the earlier pace. Recovered on a 1K downhill and then pushed it all the way to the end. I was half tempted to do a second loop but decided it best to leave it and was happy knowing I could keep going. Rehydrated with coconut water and after getting home I had a glass of cherry juice concentrate (Cherrygood) before dinner. Rested for a while and then it was time for part 2 which included 7K steady state on the track as part of a 14K run.  Felt tired during this run and the headwind on one side of the track didn’t help.

Body Weight: 73Kg

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session.

Tuesday Feb 05^th . HRV= 67 White.

Early strength session of some basic core exercises,  2 sets of walking lunges with dumbbells (24 per set) 3*5 reps of Box Squats (Deep) with 47.5Kg and 3*3 Deadlift with 100Kg. Tough work and felt strong when it finished.

Recovery run at lunchtime of 7.5K keeping my HR under 125bpm.

Plan for tomorrow will depend on HRV but I’m hoping to be on form for a Tempo run.

Wednesday Feb 06^th . HRV= 78 Green.

A great result but I’ve a mild case of the DOMS so I may not be on form to make the most of it.  Recovery run at lunchtime to try loosen my legs out for a Tempo or Interval Session later.  Feeling much better as the day went on and did a quick turnaround after getting home from work, got changed and drank a serving of Cherry Juice (Cherrygood) and was on my way to the track within 30 minutes.  Extended my warm up as it was quite cold and then did a session of 5*1K with 2 mins rest between for a total of 14K.  The session was very manageable and my heart rate never reached into my 5K race zone.

Plan for tomorrow is a runmute (running commute) to work.

Thursday Feb 07^th . HRV= 64 Amber.

Alarm went off at 6am and took a quick look out the window to check the weather, cars covered in ice and footpaths look slippy so it’s back to bed.  After checking my HRV I don’t feel so bad about missing an early run and will settle for a recovery run today.  Lunchtime recovery run in the rain and no problem keeping the heart rate low at a comfortable pace.  That’ll be all for today as I’m coaching this evening and dropping / collecting my son from soccer training.

Plan for tomorrow will depend on HRV and how I feel but I’m thinking it’ll be either a Medium distance MAF session or a shorter interval session with longer warm up.

Friday Feb 08^th . HRV= 73 White.

A good result and I’m now thinking that I’ll run hard today.  Lunchtime run didn’t happen as I ended up meeting a friend of lunch and something else after work meant today became a rest day.

Plan for tomorrow is an early run over an undulating route or an interval session.

Saturday Feb 09^th . HRV=  56 Amber.

Unexpected so I’ll keep it easy today.  Had a 45 minute window of opportunity while my son was warming up for a soccer match so I hit the track which just happens to be decide the track.  Ran a few easy laps and then tested the engine by running a little bit faster.  Got carried away after my unplanned rest day yesterday and did 5*1k intervals without stressing myself.

Plan for tomorrow is a Trail Run along the Wicklow Way with some friends preparing for the Wicklow Way Ultra.

Sunday Feb 10^th . HRV= 62 Red.

Not what I wanted and looks like I’m paying the price for yesterday.  My problem now is that plans have been made and I’ve friends making a 3hr journey from Belfast so the run will happen.  Started the morning with a Beet it shot and an early breakfast of a small bowl of porridge with raisins and coconut oil plus a cup of coffee.  As a self preservation compromise I decided to try keep my heart rate as low as possible.  The run was tough but enjoyable with a lot of wind and rain making the underfoot conditions difficult and there were times that we were running on trails that had become rivers.  Ran strong for most of it but fell behind on the last 2 climbs as I just didn’t have the leg strength to maintain the pace.  In hindsight that might have worked to my advantage as the slower pace on the climbs kept my HR at the lower end of my aerobic zone.  Finished the run with a serving of Cherry Juice which and had the same when I got home as it’s all about the recovery now.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/271689800

I’m expecting a forced rest day tomorrow but if the signs are good I’ll run.

Weekly Summary

A good week and if I feel good early next week I’ll be running a 50K trail race on Saturday.  With the race in mind I’ll leave out the gym sessions to avoid having the DOMS.