Well now that I got my first race of the season out of the way I could focus my attention on the Euro's.My last four to five months training have been specifically based on peaking for the Euro 100km this coming Saturday.
Two weeks ago I ran the Connemara Ultra will the sole intention of using this as a race pace training run for the Euro's.The pre-race plan was to run at my goal 100km race pace for the first 26 miles and then take my foot off the gas for the final 13 miles and save whatever was left in the tank for France.
Running a fast time or placing well didn't come into it....like I said it was all preparation for the 100km.
I ran a nice comfortable pace going through the marathon in 2.50. Up until then I was in second place and it was at this point that I passed the leader who seemed to be struggling......possibly from taking it out a little too hard in the early miles ??

My pre race plan was working a treat.I was running the pace in which I had set out to run and had also found myself in the lead as well.It was now time to wind it down and start saving the legs for three weeks later......but I was leading.....was I going to take my foot of the gas and throw away a chance of winning ??

I kept it steady for a couple more miles than I had planned,but once we hit mile30 I knew that I had a decent  lead and that I could now allow myself to ease back on the pace.
It was at this point where the course gets difficult and also when we faced into a very strong headwind,and fortunately for me others behind me started to struggle with these very tough conditions.

So even though I won quite comfortably in the end I was also very conscious of the threat posed from those behind me.

On reflection I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season......

* A training run which worked to perfection
*A very enjoyable win
*Great preparation for the Euro 100k

So next up is the European Championships in Belves,France on Saturday.

Fingers crossed Dan and myself can put in a strong Irish performance on the day !!

LET THE RACING BEGIN !!

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=31366

Today I received confirmation from Athletics Ireland of my selection to the national team for the European 100k Championships,which will be held in Belves in France.It is always a privilege to get the opportunity to represent my country on the international stage and I am very honoured to be earning my 6th senior international vest in 2 years.The race will take place in 3 weeks time on the 27th of April.

The team will comprise of Dan Doherty and myself.Dan recently won the ACP 100k,keeping up a winning tradition for Irish athletes after I won the same event last year.

I started training for this event last December with the hope of being selected and the last 4 months training have been fully geared towards this race.Most major ultra distance championship events are staged on a short course with multiple laps (eg. 10 x 10k ),however this particular race will be one big 100k lap.

The support team will play a vital role here given the logistics of the course and a lot of emphasis will be placed around adequate re-fuelling during the race and given temperatures will be somewhat warmer in the south of france this time of year than what we are used over in this part of the world,it will be very important to keep an eye on hydration levels throughout the race.

With John Collins,Kevin Belton and Jeff Fitzsimons keeping a watchful eye over us and keeping us fuelled throughout I'm very confident we'll be in very capable hands.

The rest is up to us............  

Before all that though I will be making my first outing of the year on Sunday when I take to the start-line in Maam Cross for the Connemara Ultra(39.3 miles).

This should be a good training run for the Euro's and give me an idea of what to expect in 3 weeks time.The Connemara course isn't the easiest of runs so it will provide me with a good test of speed endurance and also allow me to experiment with various pacing strategies and pratice taking on fuels and fluids in race conditions.

So it's all systems go from now on.Hopefully I will have some good race results to report back with over the coming weeks  !!!

Dan Doherty and myself after last years world champs

SKECHERS TO SPONSOR IRISH INTERNATIONAL ULTRA MARATHONER

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                

Skechers Performance Division is delighted to announce that they will be the official footwear sponsors for Irish international Ultra marathon athlete Keith Whyte. Keith will wear the Skechers GoRun2 in his first race of 2013 in the Connemara Ultra marthon in the west of Ireland this coming Sunday. He is then hoping to be selected for the Irish team which will compete in the European 100km Cahmpionships later this month in France.                                                               

Here is a list of Keith's achievements from 2012.......

Anglo CelticPlate 100km Champion 

Longford Ultra marathon Winner

Dingle 50 mile Ultra marathon Winner

Represented Ireland in both European and World Championships

Finished top of the European rankings and 2nd in the World rankings over the 50 mile distance

http://skechersperformance.com/running/all

               

DOHERTY WINS ANGLO CELTIC PLATE 2013

I'm absolutely thrilled for my Irish team mate Dan Doherty who yesterday won the Anglo Celtic Plate in a personal best time of 7.05:24.

Dan was representing UltraRunning Ireland as an individual and won the race outright just as I did last year.It is a fantastic achievement for Irish athletes to win back to back titles especially against such stiff opposition.

Dan has been in flying form of late and won quite a few races in the lead up to the event,and well and truly delivered yesterday in Scotland.

Dan and myself are hoping to be selected for the European 100km Championships later this month in France.
If there was ever a year in which Ireland can win it's first ever team medal at a major championships in ultra running this is that year.

IRISH ULTRA RUNNERS OF THE YEAR

I

The members of the Irish 100km men's team are the Irish Ultra Runners of the Year for 2012.

.

The team - which comprised John Byrne, Michael Collins, Dan Doherty, Thomas Maguire, John O'Regan and Keith Whyte - finished a fantastic 6th in the World 100km Championships in April 2012.

Furthermore, individual members of the team performed brilliantly in other ultra events throughout the year.

Among these performances, John Byrne finished 5th in the World 50km Trophy Final, an event he qualifed for after winning UltraRunning Ireland's national 50km title in Donadea. In second place on that occasion was Barry Minnock, who went on to run a 2:17 Olympic B standard marathon later in the year.

Keith Whyte represented UltraRunning Ireland as an individual in the Anglo Celtic Plate 100k and made history by becoming the first Irishman to win this Home Countries international .

John O'Regan took the Irish men's 24-Hour title and Dan Doherty won the Welsh Coastal Ultra 100k, the South West Coastal 100 miles (UK), and set a new course record in the Mooathon in Donegal.

Michael Collins finished in the top 5 in the World Masters 100km Championships and Thomas Maguire, the Irish 100k and 24-Hour record holder, has been re-inventeing himself as an ultra runner in Australia.

It should be noted that the Irish team, which was captained and led home by Dan Doherty, also set a new Irish team record of 21:49:48 hrs at the World Championships

Like I said in my last post I was contemplating running the Longford Ultra and the Dingle Ultra.Longford because I wanted to defend my title which I won last year,and Dingle because I have never run it before and the thought of racing long distance through such picturesque scenery really appealed to me.
So what was the problem? Well,there was only 6 days between both races and the fact that I was still in recovery mode from July's ACP 100k,meant it was going to be a tough ask to be competitive in both races.
Going in to Longford I was unsure what to expect because I had done very little quality training since the ACP.I knew that I would be nowhere near my winning time from last year,but I went out at a similiar pace and said I would try and keep that going for as long as I could and then just hang on!



As it turned out I was feeling pretty comfortable until around the 30 mile mark and then I started to tire.I had been leading the race from the gun and I didn't know how much my lead was but I knew that the second place guy was only a couple of minutes behind.With nine miles to go I figured my lead was somewhere between one and two minutes.My pace had slowed in the latter stages but if I could maintain this pace for the remainder I knew I should have just enough to get the win.

My mind then turned to Dingle.I maintained a steady pace towards the end of the race without having to over exert myself.I used the last few miles as a "cooldown",whilst at the same time I was conscious of my slim lead.Luckily for me I was able to ease back on the pace and start my recovery for Dingle in 6 days and retain my title to make it 2 in a row in Longford.
Even though I was 12 minutes slower than my winning time last year,a win is a win and I'll take it,especially given the fact that second place Maurice Looby ran a fantastic race finishing just one minute behind me.

So...one down,one to go !!

                                  

No post race celebrations from Longford.It was time to maximise my powers of recovery.After the 2 hour drive home it was straight into the ice bath for the next few days and drinking lots of high anti oxidant rich fluids for muscle recovery.
During the week it was all about recovering from Longford and being in as best shape I could be for Saturday's race.

I finished work at 6pm on Friday evening and then made the journey for Dingle.I was staying in a hostel 6 miles west of Dingle and arrived shortly after 10pm and was greeted by the owner who offered me a cup of tea.I politely declined explaining I would try get some sleep as I was running in the morning.The woman seemed amazed to hear that I was running the Ultra!She continued to state that I didn't look like a runner,nevermind an ultra runner!!I didn't know if I was supposed to be offended or flattered by this remark.When she asked how I expected to do..I told her I would win!She laughed and said good night!

The Ultra start was an early one.The race itself didn't start til 7am,but I was up at 4.30am for breakfast.As usual there was no problem getting up at that hour because I never sleep the night before a race.
In Dingle town the ultra runners were bused to the ultra start line 24 miles away.
There was a real sense of nervous excitement amongst the runners.We all knew it was gonna be a tough day out but everyone seemed to embrace the challenge.

As soon as the gun went I found myself in second place for the first 6 miles.When I finally caught up with the leader Ray Lanigan,we introduced ourselves to one another and over the next few miles chatted about all things ultrarunning.Ray explained that his pre race plan was to run the first 5-6 miles hard and then ease in to a steady pace.After the 10 mile mark he said he would be dropping back and I then pushed the pace slightly and we said our goodbye's and wished each other luck.

Seventeen miles in and I was feeling good despite the driving headwind.
Enter the Connor Pass....
This was the section of the race which I knew was going to knock the stuffing out of me!
A 3 mile climb up Ireland's highest mountain pass.
The pace slowed dramatically and at times I felt that I might have been quicker walking given the severity of the inclines and the gale force winds!

Eventually we reached the summit and it was down hill in to Dingle where we would meet up with the marathoners and half marathoners.
Twenty four miles done(and a tough 24 miles I might add),and a marathon to go!
I had been running on my own at the front since mile ten and now once I reached Dingle town and headed west along the marathon route and found myself having to weave my way through the thousands of marathon and half marathon runners.
I was no longer running alone.As I worked my way through the field of marathon runners it made the latter stages of the race feel somewhat easier and as the race continued I seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

With 13 miles to go and nearly all the climbs out of the way I did a time check and reckoned if I could push the pace slightly I was on for a sub 6 hour finish.
With 4 miles to go we had our last climb to overcome and then it was a straight 3 mile road in to Dingle.A quick time check....I needed to run the last 3 miles under 20 minutes to achieve the sub 6.
Running in to the finish line to a massive supporting crowd was unbelievable.Winning in a sub 6 hour time(5.59:25) even better,and smashing the course record by 23 minutes topped off a fantastic day and remarkable week for me.
                         

So mission accomplished......two ultras in 6 days,two wins and a European No.1 ranking over 50 miles.
Not a bad weeks work!

Since Dingle training has been going very well and I feel I'm in good shape.I've also gained a lot of confidence from my last 3 races and am keen to continue my winning streak.

I have plans to run another race before the year is out.Maybe a 100km or maybe a long distance track race.I haven't decided on anything just yet but while I am in good shape and injury free I don't feel the need to end my season so early.I think I have one big one left in me.

Watch this space....

Race,recover,adapt and........RACE AGAIN ??

                      

Well it's been a busy few weeks,even if I have been on holidays since the ACP.Plenty of celebrating with family and friends and a break from the the demands of ultra distance training.
However this week I returned to the day job in the garage,and with that came a return to the daily grind of training as well.

I scheduled my holidays to fit in around the ACP to allow for enough recovery.I pulled my calf muscle during the ACP and this needed time to heal.I thought I would be out for a few weeks,but thanks to Leon's healing powers and a certain set of needles I was back in action again after 5 days!Leon also gave me a foam roller for self massage,which I had never used before but now that I have started using this I cannot recommend it highly enough!It is a must for anybody looking to increase recovery time from workouts and so easy to use.And because it is so compact it can be brought anywhere.For more details check out Leon's website http://www.physiozone.com/

My return to training this week has been somewhat painful to say the least!Two 100k races in 3 months have taken there toll and my recovery is slower than usual.This week I got in 2 long runs,a speed session(10x1k) and a hill session,but it was the long runs which I found the more difficult for a change!
But in saying that I am happy with the quality of my sessions this week in my first week back :)


Today was my first long run since the ACP and also my first opportunity to try out Craft's range of heat training gear.Even though the sun has been absent of late it has been extremely hot and humid.
So with a 3 hour run ahead of me with temperatures in the high 20's it was on with the Craft Ventilation tee and my arm coolers.What a difference wearing the right clothing can make to performance.When you are running in hot temperatures for a long period of time it is crucial that you are wearing the right clothing,so that your race performance or training session is not deteriorated in any way.Craft's Ventilation range not only look good but they are extremely effective in hot temperatures.
                           

As for the next few weeks....There are a couple of road ultras coming up at the end of the month(a 40 miler and a 50 miler),which I have not decided on yet.I will see how my body responds over the coming weeks before I make a decision.It would be very soon to run two more races especially with them being only 6 days apart,but we'll see :)

The overwhelming responses which I have received from family and friends since the ACP has kept me in a positive frame of mind and will hopefully drive me on to continue working hard and become a better athlete.

So in the meantime it's continue training hard and work towards the next big day out.