Preamble:
Back in 2011, Bonnie and I decided to visit Northern Ireland to look up and connect to distant cousins of hers. Some of both hers and my ancestors were originally from Scotland but had spent two or three generations in Northern Ireland as a result of the "Plantation" program. Her cousins were in the Fermanagh County area. I decided to run the Belfast Marathon as part of our trip. However, I tore my right hamstring a couple of weeks before the race. I tried to run with the aid of painkillers but that wasn't possible. Fortunately, that year they had a marathon walk for charity as part of the event. I walked the marathon in a tad under 7 hours.
Fast forward to 2014. We had decided to make a return trip to Northern Ireland to revisit some of the distant cousins and to connect with a couple more. Obviously, I wanted to re-enter the Belfast Deep River Rock Marathon and run it this time.
Prerace:
We had an uneventful but tiring trip from Buffalo, New York through Newark, New Jersey to Belfast over Thursday night. I was able to get about 90 minutes of sleep. We spent the remained of Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday resting and visiting with Bonnie's cousin Alan and his wife Christine. On Sunday evening we had a nice roast beef dinner instead of my usual pasta meal.
Race Day:
I woke up at 6 AM after a good night's sleep and ate a good breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns and button mushrooms. This was a departure from my usual Carnation Breakfast Anytime liquid meal that I normally have before races. The race, however, didn't start until 9 AM so I felt that things, digestion wise, would be okay. I was correct - no problems whatsoever.
At about 8:25 we walked the 800 metres to the start at Belfast City Hall. I did a short walk/jog to warm up and then Bonnie took my warm up items of clothing and I lined up between the 4:30 and 5:00 standard bearers.
After my tough Boston Marathon, I didn't have a firm time goal in mind but was thinking in the 4:30 range. I would decide how hard to apply myself as the race progressed. The course is made up of pretty much rolling terrain with a few long inclines and declines but no steep hills. There were two segments where the wind was bothersome as we were running directly into it with no shelter. Temperature for the race was good as it stayed around 8 C. It was overcast for over an hour and a half, then we had drizzle followed by a period of steady rain and we finished under overcast skies again.
Off the more than 17 thousand participants, only about 2500 of us were running the full marathon. The rest were relay runners. The relay part replaced the marathon walk as their main charity segment of the event. Because of this the field did not string out much and things were congested throughout the entire race. I just ran with the crowd and found myself finishing the first 5 km segment at an average pace of 6 min/km. I felt pretty comfortable with that pace and decided that I would try to maintain it. There was one major recurring problem with this race. The relay exchange stations ( four of them ) were a nightmare. Not only did the organizers not have a separate space for marathoners to pass by them but the participants were crowded in so that there was only a single or double pathway through. Add to that the stopping of people to exchange their chip and some walking back to connect with missed team members meant that I was brought to a complete stop a number of times. Other than that and a windy segment of the course near the start along with a 4 km run along the Irish Sea coast directly into a strong wind and rain, the race was excellent. I reached the half marathon mat in a shade over 2 hours , 7 minutes. I was right on my 6 minute average pace and felt good. I actually picked up the pace a bit for the second half. I felt good all the way to the finish and ran the last 2 1/2 km at a pretty decent clip. After the race, I felt much better than after Boston.
The finish area was complete chaos. I picked up my medal, a bottle of water, and a bag with my finishing shirt ( pretty bland white technical short sleeve T ) and tried to get to the food area. However, I had to leave the participants finish area and move through the crowds to a building nearby where the food was. I decided to struggle through to where Bonnie was waiting with warm clothing. I Put on long pants and a jacket and we walked the 2 1/2 km back to our hotel.
Overall this was an excellent race. I would not run it again though, unless they did something different with the relay situation and had a better situation at the finish.
Gun time: 4:12:29 Chip Time: 4:10:08 Garmin distance measured: 42. 53 Km
Finishing Position: 1128/2329
My 5 km split times are listed below along with my average pace and average heart rate for each segment.
#1: 30:05 - 6:01 min/km - 142 bpm
#2: 29:44 - 5:56 min/km - 150 bpm
#3: 30:19 - 6:03 min/km - 144 bpm
#4: 29:45 - 5:56 min/km - 146 bpm
#5: 29:06 - 5:49 min/km - 147 bpm
#6: 29:42 - 5:56 min/km - 145 bpm
# 7: 28:55 - 5:46 min/km - 149 bpm
#8: 29:14 - 5:50 min/km - 151 bpm
#9: 13:24 - 5:18 min/km - 155 bpm ( Segment 9 was 2.53 km )
Ken
Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
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Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
There you go again, doing a fantastic job! Kudos.
Athlete....Maniac 973....Marathon Maniac 6645
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
No stopping the energizer Tortoise!
I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
Love, like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive, yeah....Jason Gray
Running is a conversation with your body. Sometimes you listen and sometimes you tell it to stop whining and do something. - Ian
Love, like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive, yeah....Jason Gray
Running is a conversation with your body. Sometimes you listen and sometimes you tell it to stop whining and do something. - Ian
Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Great marathon. Ken! Nice negative splitting.
You are my marathon hero.
I love Ireland and this is one that's been ok my radar but your description of the congestion with the relay sounds annoying. It sounds like the full marathon is an afterthought.
You are my marathon hero.
I love Ireland and this is one that's been ok my radar but your description of the congestion with the relay sounds annoying. It sounds like the full marathon is an afterthought.
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Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Wow! Nicely done! Now BQ -15!
Congratulations!
Enjoy the rest of your travels!
Congratulations!
Enjoy the rest of your travels!
It's not the size of the dog in the fight...it's the size of the fight in the dog! 11K Marker post - 2010 ATB.
Introducing 2017
GoodLife Half Marathon.
TBD
Introducing 2017
GoodLife Half Marathon.
TBD
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Awesome .. Run Ken Run !!!
Race Results: http://itsmyrun.com/index.php?display=p ... unner=HCiD
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Congratulations! Nice job
Plan for 2016:
Jun 25: St. Malo Triathlon - Sprint - done
Jul 16: Morden Triathlon - Sprint - done
Jun 25: St. Malo Triathlon - Sprint - done
Jul 16: Morden Triathlon - Sprint - done
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Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Looks like a well excuted race Ken, and so soon after Boston. Nice work
Last edited by Robinandamelia on Wed May 07, 2014 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
20 minutes ahead of your goal, that's true revenge! What a life you lead!
next up:
This broken wing will fly again
One fine day
This blackbird's mute gonna sing again
One fine day
So all you sinners come out
And all you drunkards crawl out
Come into the light of one fine day
This broken wing will fly again
One fine day
This blackbird's mute gonna sing again
One fine day
So all you sinners come out
And all you drunkards crawl out
Come into the light of one fine day
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Congratulations. Well done!
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
I want to be like you when I grow up.
Well done!
Well done!
"Maybe I will be my own inspiration." - UltraMonk (Laura)
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have enough time." - Steven Wright
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have enough time." - Steven Wright
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
Very impressive running here, Ken, especially for a second marathon in two weeks. I imagine the scenery was nice along the sea coast--or were you too busy dodging other runners to see much of it? Anyway, congratulations!
"We are made of dreams and bones."
--The Garden Song
"By perseverance, the snail reached the ark."
--Charles H. Spurgeon
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
--Pablo Picasso
--The Garden Song
"By perseverance, the snail reached the ark."
--Charles H. Spurgeon
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
--Pablo Picasso
Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
PB’s (official race results)
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14
What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic
Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now - purdy65
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14
What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic
Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now - purdy65
- Spirit Unleashed
- Lynn Williams
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Re: Boston to Belfast in 14 Days
excellent jacket
Athlete....Maniac 973....Marathon Maniac 6645
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/
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