Ep 16 Micheal Kelly: from alcoholism to Irish mountain running champion
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
Eoin Flynn talks to Micheal Kelly from Carlow, who overcame alcoholism to become Irish senior mountain running champion and run for Ireland. It is a story of bravery, family and hope. Simon Kelly has the latest on the IMRA AGM and the 2021 calendar, and René Borg takes a deep dive into the anaerobic system and how to train it the right way.
Simon reports that the IMRA AGM will take place on Zoom on Saturday 28 November, open to all members who register in advance. He covers the Art O'Neill Challenge, a fundraiser for Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue with clear refund terms tied to restriction levels, and Atlas Running's new Last One Standing and Last Team Standing backyard events at Florence Court in Co Down. He also explains his "blindly optimistic, but prepared" approach to planning the Waterville festival, and Eoin reports on Thailand by UTMB going ahead with around 1,500 runners.
René explains how the aerobic "combustion engine" and the anaerobic "battery" work together, and how to recognise the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds through your breathing. He explains why tempo runs just above threshold should be limited to about 20 minutes, why runs should progress from sub-threshold efforts to shorter threshold pieces, and how float intervals teach the body to recycle waste products. He warns that too much anaerobic work too early, especially for naturally powerful runners, can lower race paces even as aerobic fitness improves.