Sunday 27 February 2011

Keith Whyte Wins Donadea 50k

Ultra Running Ireland team mate Keith Whyte won the inaugural Donadea trail 50k this weekend. Keith completed the course in 3:26:27. Keith will be making his Debut for Ireland in the Anglo Celtic Plate, which will also be my debut for Ireland. More here.

John O' Regan also entered the Donadea 50k as a training run coming in at 3.41.30 earning him joint third place (not bad for a training run!). You can read John's blog about the event here.

Saturday 26 February 2011

John Byrne Finishes 2nd in Bramley 20

Congratulations to Ultra Running Ireland's John Byrne who finished in second place in a race organised in the village I live - the Bramley 20. John finished in an amazing time of 1:52:19.

More here


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Sunday 20 February 2011

Legs meet Road, Road meet Legs - Increased Road Running

I thought I would take a look at my training this week for future reference. The constant mileage on road (rather than my usual trail running or mix of trail / road) is taking its toll on my recovery. I have not done anything more than my usual mileage this week but noticed that my average pace has dropped dramatically. While I usually train around the 6.30 - 6.45mm as a steady pace this week it has dropped down to 7.13 average.

Here is my weekly mileage:

Mon - 10m - Road - 7.12 (av. pace)
Mon - 6m - Road - 7.29
Tues - 6m - Road - 7.30
Tues - 6m - Road - 7.31
Wed - 6m - Road - 7.15
Wed - 10m - XC - 7.26
Thurs - 10m - XC - 6.57
Thurs - 6m - Road - 7.10
Fri - 10m - Road - 6.33
Fri - 10m - Road - 7.00
Sat - 32.24 - Mix - 7.32
Sun - 10m - Road - 6.32
Sun - 6m - Road - 7.34

Total:
Miles: 127.92miles
Average Pace: 7.13

I think the key to maintaining an injury free next couple of weeks is to try and introduce a bit more x country into the weekly mileage as the pounding of the roads does not appear to be doing me any good!

Friday 11 February 2011

Irish Team Selection- Anglo Celtic Plate

A very proud moment in my short running career. Ultra Running Ireland has announced the team that will represent Ireland in the Anglo Celtic Plate (Home Nations) 100km which will be held in Perth, Scotland on 27th March 2011.

This will be both an international debut and 100km debut for me but I will be running with a very strong team this year. The team line up is:

John Byrne,
Thomas Maguire
John O'Regan
Keith Whyte
Me

The team will be captained by Thomas Maguire who holds the 100km Irish record at 7:05:06 and also holds the 24 hour Irish record. Thomas was ranked in the top 6 for 24 hour event in 2009.

John O' Regan has a wealth of experience in ultra running and running for Ireland competing in the World 24 Hour Championship and World 100km Championships. He has also ran in some key international marathons / ultras including the North Pole Marathon, Antarctic Marathon, Everest Marathon, Marathon Des Sables, winning the Yukon Arctic Ultra (100m) and joint first in the Inca Trail Marathon. Some great ultra experience here.

John Byrne has some impressive marathon times under his belt and made his 100km debut in 2010.

Keith Whyte, like me, will be making his 100km debut in March. Keith recently won the Moher Half-Marathon and has put in some impressive marathon times.

I am currently putting in some intense training to prepare for this. I am keeping to the pyramid style training of a 4 week cycle. Week one I am hitting around 100 miles peaking with a gradual increase to around around a 130-140 mile week (week 3). I will then drop back down to 100 miles in week 4 to rest. In respect of my long runs, in the few weeks leading up to the Plate I will be putting in a 3.5 hour session this weekend, increased by an hour or so each week until I hit about 6 hours. By then I should be ready to taper down for the event... Keep an eye out for the race report!

To find out more about the team and Ultra Running Ireland click here.

Enjoy your training...

 



Sunday 6 February 2011

Tony Mangan's World Jog

Tony Mangan, an Irish ultrarunner and 48-Hour World Indoor record holder has recently passed the 100 day mark into his 'World Jog'. An amazing adventure - check out more here.


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