Gael Force 6... stage 6

Our downhill jaunt came to an abrupt end as we swung left onto a semi-off road track that took little time becoming a fully off road track. There was no way my road bike could handle this terrain and I had to walk while the occasional mountain biker flew past me. This was where the mountain bikers caught up with the normally faster road bikes. This off-road bit was only supposed to last for 200m or so but someone miscalculated as it ended up lasting for 2K. The road got so bad in places that we had to carry our bikes but after climbing the Reek this was easy.

Eventually we reached a gate with a decent road surface on the other side. There was a sense of urgency as we felt we had lost so much time. I was in a group of about 15 cyclists, most of whom were in front of me, when on a downhill stretch one cyclist skidded suddenly and lost control. She came of her bike and ended up on the road but some of the following cyclist didn't have time or space to avoid her resulting in at least 3 other cyclists coming off. I was OK and pulled up to assist getting bikes of the road. We heard another crash behind us, I think it would be safe to assume that this stretch will see more than its fair share of accidents before the day is out.

Back on the road everyone was more cautious. After a few more kilometers the narrow rural roads began to give way to wider, safer carriageways as we got closer the Westport. The final straight was filled with excitement and for once in a race I felt a surge of energy as I put everything I had into moving those wheels as quickly as possible. Passing through Westport House gates was fantastic, we were almost home an the crowd was growing in number and enthusiasm .

After 12.5km of cycling we were filtered into a separate lane that led to a bike park where we dropped the bikes and ran the last few metres to cross the finish line on foot. What a feeling! That was the hardest thing I have ever done, harder than a marathon for sure. It took me just short of 7 hours to complete (06:57:11) and I came 1639th out of 2084 , not bad at all!!

My trusty Garmin lasted the entire race and, like myself, ran out of stream a few minutes after crossing the finish line as the battery gave up it's last spark. Here's a link to the entire route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/11789048

Gael Force 6... stages 4 - 5

The transition from stage 3 to 4 took an outrageous 15 minutes. It was a chance to take a breather, eat and get some dry socks on before the first cycling stage. I only had one pair of footwear (running shoes) which were covered in mud, peat and thoroughly saturated; if I do this again a pair of cycling shoes will be top of my list of essentials.

At first my legs didn't mind the switch from running to cycling but the long down hill start to stage 4 probably had a lot to do with that. All good things come to an end and the fast down hill spin soon gave way to a very gradual but very long uphill climb that seemed to go on forever.

The route to Croagh Patrick (or the Reek) was rural, beautiful and as you'd expect from unbeaten paths the road surface was varied but luckily cycleable, if indeed that is a word. We cycled up some challenging hills and down some hair raising descends with very little level grounds to recover on. Occasionally the Reek came into sight as we rounded some corners or reached the crest of hills with uninterrupted views of the mountain. At first it looked like an insignificant spec in the distance but it grew in size and scariness with each sighting. The 32.5km stage took a massive 1 hour 58 minutes to complete when, exhausted, we parked the bikes and looked up in horror at the sheer scale of the mountain we were about to climb.

Stage 5 began with a dash across a timing mat and a hand full of fig roll biscuits. Normally I hate the taste of fig rolls but I guess my body decided that I badly need them and switched off my taste buds because I couldn't get enough of them.

We had an open field to cross before we reached the mountain. There were no tracks to follow, the the footsteps of earlier runners with ditches, streams and bog holes to navigate. It was difficult terrain to cross but it paled into insignificance when we reached the mountain.

The terrain continued to be boggy and the angle of accent was surprisingly steep; it was 1:1 in places and with no solid surface to walk on it was very, very difficult. Couple all that with exhaustion and the fact the we were only starting out assent it was hardly surprising that despair quickly set in. I'm sure everyone devised their own strategy to keep going, mine was simple one more step and try not to look up or down. It worked for the most part but every so often I had to stop and ask why, why were we doing this. That question was painted on the faces of climbers behind me, there were a sea of expressions from desperation to determination, frequently on the same face. Looking down at what we had achieved did feel good. However, looking up at what we had yet to climb was crushing and I'm happy to admit it brought a tear to my eye on several occasions.

After a hard climb we reached the pilgrims path, this is a well travelled rocky path that runs from the outskirts of Westport to the summit. Here we met a stream of pilgrims of all ages moving up and down the mountain. Although relieved to reach the path we were still quite a distance from the summit. At this point the climb became a scramble as the gradient seemed to become more extreme the higher we got but this part of the climb was the easiest and not having to battle through a near vertical marsh was something of a relief.

Eventually the faint outline of a building came into view and I knew the end was nigh! There is a small church at the summit which marks the end of this gruelling climb. There were some race stewards handing out coloured bracelets as proof that we reached the summit. I had to sit down and rest for a bit but couldn't stay long as the cold thin wind cut through me like a knife.

The return journey was so different, while not easy it was a lot easier than the torturous assent. As I climbed down I could see a track that seemed to run down the side of the mountain we had climbed up but it looked like it would take us way past the starting point so it may not be any good. When I got to the track I decided to take it and when I drew level with our starting point I left the path and headed straight down hill, through the near vertical marsh and bog. When I reached level ground again I met some surprised runners who wondered why I had taken the direct route, after all the path snaked around to here... bugger! It turned out that if I had looked at the map I been given at registration that path would have been the obvious choice for both the assent and descent. It would have been a much longer route but the effort would have been halved, oh well!

Stage 5 came to an end after 4.5km of the most difficult terrain I have even crossed, it took a staggering 1 hour 50 minutes to complete and I was so, so happy to get back on that saddle for a free wheeling downhill start to stage 6

Gael Force 6... stages 1 - 3

I managed to get 4 hours sleep which is what I need for a normal day, but this being an extraordinary day I probably could have done with a little more. After a massive bowl of porridge (oatmeal) and a last minute kit check I was on my way to Westport House.

I was part of the second wave to leave this morning and when I got to the departure area the first wave participants were already boarding their buses. Everything seemed to be running smoothly and my bus to start line departed on time at 6am. Most of the journey was familiar after last night's adventure and we reached the start line a little after 7am. After a few announcements from the organisers and a trip to the open air loo for me were were lined up for a 7.35am start which, again, happened bang on time!

The race is split up into 6 stages (that's the "6" bit in Gael Force 6) and the first stage was a run to the kayak stage 12km away. We started by running off the beach which sounds lovely but the beach happens to sit a sea level which means that straight away we're running uphill. This uphill bit lasted for quite some time and I really felt tired when we reached the crest of that very, very long hill but at least the running surface was firm. As we started to descend the copious amounts of liquids consumed before the start had caught up with me and I took the first opportunity to "off load".

Massively relieved and feeling a lot lighter I rejoined the race refreshed, until I reached a bright red arrow pointing towards very high, very steep and very rough looking hill. The assent very uneven and a little wet but I reached the top without any comedy moments. The decent could have been a different story as most of the water seemed to be hiding on this side of the hill, the terrain became very rough and there were huge bog holes and muddy puddles to navigate. Initially everyone put a lot of effort into avoiding stepping into water but that soon changed as one by one everyone had slipped and slid into bog holes and streams by the time we reached the bottom. Views of Killary Fjord were stunning as we descended but I didn't get much time to enjoy them as most of my energy was focused on maintaining and upright position, unlike many of my companions who had more than their fair share of comedy moments.

Upon reaching the bottom we had a fairly firm track to run on for a few hundred meters but before we reached a paved road the track disintegrated into an obstacle course for about a kilometer. We completed the 12km of hard cross county running in 1 hour 28 minutes before we made it to the shore of Killary Harbour where our kayaks awaited.

As a non-swimmer this stage, stage 2, worried me the most but it turned out to be the easiest one, perhaps the additional buoyancy of salt water made it easier to move through when compared to the freshwater we trained in. We flew across the 1.6km harbour in a little over 10 minutes where we crossed from Co. Galway into Co. Mayo.

On this side of the harbour stage 3 began with hard work to get across more bog and rough terrain for about a kilometer or two before getting reaching a paved road where we had another couple of kilometers to run before picking up our bicycles This stage was entirely up hill which made it extra special. In all we ran the 3.5km stage in 26 minutes.

Stage 4 was the first cycling stage and I had no idea how it was going to work out as I hadn't cycled in a full year. There were two major concerns; legs and arse! My legs were well used to running but cycling uses a different set of muscles and I had no idea how they would react to 32.5km of constant and extreme use. If you've ever seen a professional road racing saddle you'll understand my rear end fears, the saddles are so tiny that sitting on it is the last thing you'd want to do with it but I'm assured that with the correct attire they're quite comfortable. We'll see...

Gael Force 6... getting there

Friday afternoon and I'm trying desperately to get out of the office but somehow everything unpleasant managed to hit the fan at the same time! 2pm was my planned departure time but the powers that be had other plans. How can so many emergencies happen at the same time and why don't I learn how to duck out of the firing line. 2.30pm became 3pm and I was no closer to getting out. Eventually all fires had been put out and I was outta there and on the road at 4.30pm, just before the rush!

The drive to Westport was long, but it's always long especially as we have to travel through Roscommon; the longest county in Ireland! Although not strictly true it does seem that way as it seems to take an age to travel through. It's like the county that time forgot as, when crossing the border from any other county, straight wide carriageways seem to buckle and twist as if roughly reshaped to suit the landscape of Roscommon’s rolling hills and valleys. Roads seem to meander aimlessly around the county and often you get the sense that you're travelling backwards as the sun circles above you. I am convinced that the hospitality industry resist any infrastructure development as weary travellers are worn down by the gruelling drive and are forced to stop to eat, drink or check their sanity.

We were no exception and stopped in possibly the best looking restaurant in Ballaghaderreen. Unfortunately it turned out to be the worse restaurant I have even been to for food and hygiene; two things I think most people rate highly when it comes to eating!! The cafe looked inviting from the outside and at first glance it looked modern, new and comfortable inside with no expense spared on decor. Books and covers sprang to mind as I made a visit to the loo and had to battle through a dense wave of foul air. The toilets were kitted out with the most impressive and modern accessories, but obviously nobody told the cleaners they were there. Returning to my seat I started to notice dirt and grease everywhere from the water jug to the kitchen door. Unfortunately we had already ordered and decided to stay; perhaps the food would be good. Why did I think that? It was terrible! I ordered carbonara, what I got was a plate of penne pasta and olive oil (in equal measure) with a sprinkling of bacon and something that looked like cheese but really had no flavour so it was hard to tell. For the first time in my life I only ate half of my meal, normally I lick the plate clean but I could feel a coronary coming on the more I ate and I had to stop. On the up side they did make a lovely cappuccino, I guess every cloud does have a silver lining!

It was getting late and we were keen to get back on the road again. Within 30 minutes or so we slipped out of Roscommon and into Mayo where the road straightened and for the most part lost its roller coaster effect. It was close to 9pm before we arrived in Westport but we still had a lot of driving to go get to the registration area in Delphi, South Co. Mayo. After another 40 minutes driving we were getting close as more and more bicycle carrying cars joined our route. Then, just as it looked like we had arrived, we hit stationary traffic. It was dark, really dark, and although we knew we were close we really didn't know far away the registration area was and nobody around us knew any better. Some people started to assume it was just around the next corner and decided to park their cars along the road side and take their bikes the rest of the way. After much debate our questions were answered by a passing official whose advice was to sit tight and drive up to the registration area when the traffic clears, it was quite some distance and the car park was empty. This turned out to good advice as the traffic started to move and we drove what turned out to be a significant distance to the registration tents. we parked close to the tents and I had to visit a number of desks to submit my medical declaration, get my kit checked, get my timing chip and so on. Then out into the mud to label my bicycle and position it in the transition are for tomorrow's race. It had been raining nonstop for the last week or so and there was little the organisers could do to prevent the bike station turning into a mud bath. It was so muddy that some people had gone barefoot to the bike racks while others with better planning skills wore wellington boots and walked carefree to their racks. I thought I could get away with it but as I gingerly tiptoed towards my bike rack I could feel the mud seeping into my shoes as each step I took sunk a little deeper into the mud. Having extracted myself from the mud we had a long drive back to Westport and home for the night. It was already close to 11pm with a 40 minute drive ahead of us. I had to be up no later than 4.30am to get fed and dressed for the day, then travel to Westport House for my 6am bus to the start line.

Frank Duffy 10 miler

This is the annual 10 miler that forms part of the Dublin City Marathon series (5, 10 and 13.1 milers). I wasn't really sure if I was ready for this race having, yet again, failed to train during the week and on the day I arrived a tad late but one of the benefits or riding a motorcycle is that you can park fairly close to the start line.

As I parked the bike I heard the starting gun go off and the race was really on to get across the start line before they dismantle it. I had to get my riding gear off, store it in the panniers and get my running gear on. I had to run along the starting corridor and pin my number to my shirt at the same time; I'm not know for multitasking but the mixture of sharps pins and running resulted in several minor pricks that I could have done without...

Out of breath and already feeling tired I think I was last to cross the start line. I had set my trusty Garmin virtual partner to run the race in 1.32 which, if I kept up, would give me a new PB for a 10 miler. I struggled through the first 2 miles, passing a lot of walkers, joggers and eventually the slower runners. Once I caught up with the runners I started to feel better, must be a pack thing.

The rest of the race was tough and I pushed hard to keep up the pace. But it paid off and I crossed the line in 1:32:58, a new PB!! According to fetcheveryone.com my marathon prediction based on that run is 4.17 but it's hard to predict what will happen after the half marathon stage, especially after 20 miles.

Gael Force 6 is next on the list!!

14 miler!

After a 2 week break (for no good reason) this run was an effort to catch up on lost training. It turned out to be a very slow 14.35 miler, running it in a little under 02:37, that's an average pace of 10:56 min/mi!! I did start really fast which is always a mistake but I always do it when I run on my own, my best pace was a ridiculous 5:54 min/mi!

Guitar Lesson #5

Last class tonight and we're down to 4 students. After the usual revision we got stuck into plucking and strumming!!


Tonight's ditty's included Konckin' On Heaven's Door (Eric Clapton), Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison), Heart Of Gold (Neil Young) and Redemption Song (Bob Marley).

Tonight's takeaways:

• Even more strumming techniques
• A short into to a vast array of new chords including E, Am, Dm, A7, E7, D7, G7, C7, F, Am7, B7...
• Yet again... sore fingers!!

No good excuse...

... but I do have a bucket full of really bad excuses for not running recently. My last training run was over a week ago, that's asking for trouble... it may be early days but from experience every training run counts!!