up Donard in an hour?

[whoRya]

I had another solo charge at it this morning.  1hr 20 mins again. 

I reckon that is my level, if I was super fit there could maybe be ten minutes I could take off it.  Not sure I could go any harder than 1 hr 10 without actually speeding up to a run on some sections.

[LandyLiam]

well the wee cubs did alright today and most of them made it to the summit (even the 4 year old !) but i had to sit at the saddle with a few stragglers and wait 1.5 hrs for the main group to get back down from summit, still the weather was nice  total time for the group was 7 hours up and down, painfully slow  but no major injuries 

[LandyLiam]

i might enter this one to get me back on track as i haven't done donard in 3 weeks now  #

The annual Slieve Donard Race will be held this year on Saturday 2nd July 2011.  The race will start from the Newcastle Centre at 2:00 pm. Changing facilities will be available at the Newcastle Centre.  There will again be a 'beat your age to the top' category. All runners must carry full body cover. A preview report will be posted soon.

http://www.newcastleac.org/?p=1944

[LandyLiam]

Well I never made it to that race and just as well as I'm not on form, up here now in 1hr 7mins (well what else would I be doing today.   ), an improvement but not quite there yet. Just bagged the geocache up here so not a wasted effort 

[twentyclicks]

Well done Liam. Getting there gradually... it'll be sweet when you get it. 60mins vs 67mins, 3600secs vs 4020secs to look at it other ways...
Basically you need to go 11% quicker. It's doable, but may take a little time. Saying that, remember you lose 10% performance for every 1% dehydrated, and most people set PBs in late afternoon due to circadian rhythms etc. so these can be factors to use to your advantage when you feel ready for another blast!

The times those racers do it in are insane - inspiration for sure!

[LandyLiam]

The weather was perfect for the trip, cloud from half way up to keep me cool(ish). I tried walking most of the way (approx 95%) in the hope it would conserve energy enabling me to walk faster up the steep bits, so i reckon i'll just have to jog from the top of donard forest to the river crossing and if i can muster the energy to walk the rest i'll have the hour cracked  interestly it took me the same time getting down  despite some fast jogging down, but i did stop a lot to chat again  i wore my road running trainers for a little extra bounce but they had no grip whatsoever coming down, it was like wearing skis at times 


thick mist from half way up



oops i found a boggy bit



i reach the summit



with my makeshift sash 



then nabbed the donard cache which i have struggled to get to before due to satnav problems



met a dirty dog on the way down



he literally rolled in every puddle he saw!



back down, met the family in town for a bite of lunch at mauds



then in the afternoon my sister wanted to go up the mournes so i picked slieve croob, a nice easy one 



it was the first time i'd been up here without mist and the view of the mournes was spectactular



happy families...
until we got back to the car park and found my sisters car had been broken into 

[suspectmonkey]

67 mins is pretty impressive Liam!  So how many times do you reckon you've summited Donard in the last year?!  Think they are going to have to re-name that mountain Slieve LandyLiam

Not so good about your sisters car though, that sucks!  Whereabouts was it parked?  Do you think it was a planned theft or vandals?   

[LandyLiam]

So how many times do you reckon you've summited Donard in the last year?!

11 times, plus as many trips to the ice house, and i still think its a boring mountain 

Whereabouts was it parked?  Do you think it was a planned theft or vandals? 

dree hill car park at slieve croob, when we arrived car park was near full (about 10 cars) so it felt safe, only  3 cars when we got back, fortunately one other walker saw a blue 306 acting suspiciously and they sped off when he arrived so could maybe have been worse.

[twentyclicks]

The break-in sucks, but that dog couldn't be happier 

[MG1]

Crackin views of the hills from Slieve Croob.

Thats shitty bout the car mate.

[LandyLiam]

oh my legs hurt today 

[LandyLiam]

had another go at this today for my birthday (i like doing donard on my birthday  ) and only managed to equal my best at 1hr 7mins again, although it didn't knacker me as much, had to slow a bit near the end due to cramps in the leg, otherwise might have knocked a few mins off but still not enough for the hour, will try again soon

[RedLeader]

So close! Start closer

Happy birthday mate!

had another go at this today for my birthday (i like doing donard on my birthday  ) and only managed to equal my best at 1hr 7mins again, although it didn't knacker me as much, had to slow a bit near the end due to cramps in the leg, otherwise might have knocked a few mins off but still not enough for the hour, will try again soon

[Mourneman]

that's some going up donard in an hour,all the fell runners use the black stairs,but as you pointed out it would be better to have someone with you just for safety,again the weather is also a factor,you doing want to be running in wet condtions,anyway i'll speak to a few mate i have as they run it all the time ,see if i can get some tips for you

[Mourneman]

that's some going up donard in an hour,all the fell runners use the black stairs,but as you pointed out it would be better to have someone with you just for safety,again the weather is also a factor,you doing want to be running in wet condtions,anyway i'll speak to a few mate i have as they run it all the time ,see if i can get some tips for you