Wicklow Way Ultra

I have decided to run the ‘Wicklow Way Ultra’ marathon on Saturday 26th of March. This will be my first competitive marathon of the New Year, and will be very challenging. The Wicklow Way Ultra is about 32 miles long (51km), and runs across the Wicklow mountains. Much of it is on dirt-tracks and rough terrain, which include some very steep climbs; a few miles of it is run on railway sleepers. That will be the real test of balance trying to maintain cognitive skills after the steep climbs when exhaustion sets in. The extra six miles, on top of the climbs will really test my endurance. I have six weeks of full training to prepare for the run, and a further week of rest to let my body regenerate its energy levels and build core muscle strength.

My goal is to get five long runs completed in the next five weeks in preparation for it - 20, 22, 24, 26 and 30 mile, with an additional 10, 12, 14, 16 and 12 mile run’s on the following days, to work every muscle in the legs; especially ‘fast twitch’ muscles. These runs should help regulate lactate levels in the later stages of the ultra-marathon (in theory at least). Hopefully I’ll be able to do at least two of these long runs on mountainous terrain and will certainly include hills in all the primary long-runs. The benefits of been able to complete this ultra-marathon over rough mountainous terrain should really stand to me in the months afterwards as I begin to focus on speed-drills and building core-strength.. This should be a very rewarding marathon.

http://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/823/