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A Slow Journey to Faster Times
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The Abbeyshrule race is being done as a fundraiser for the local canoe club i heard, i know the area reasonably well having grown up close to it. Depending on what route they make the 10k it could be very flat or like your race win a few weeks back they could make it undulating.
Cheers tang.
If you hear any news on the route can you let me know?
I'd really appreciate it
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Cheers tang.
If you hear any news on the route can you let me know?
I'd really appreciate it
Just got the low down on the route, its a two lapped course, you head out of Abbeyshrule village and cross over the river Inny, there you pass by a graveyard and take a left soon after from here you join up with the canal path running along the canal which brings you back to the start, it is flat a route as you get. They will be updating there Facebook page with a map of the route in the next few days i was told.0 -
Just got the low down on the route, its a two lapped course, you head out of Abbeyshrule village and cross over the river Inny, there you pass by a graveyard and take a left soon after from here you join up with the canal path running along the canal which brings you back to the start, it is flat a route as you get. They will be updating there Facebook page with a map of the route in the next few days i was told.
Thanks a lot. Much appreciated
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I signed up for this race as soon as I got back from Seville at the end of February. I absolutely loved it last year and couldn't wait to run it again. I knew I could knock a fair amount off my PB (34:23), and if I was going to go sub 30 this was the course to do it on.
Pre-Race
I was up before 8am this morning for a trusty bowl of fruit porridge, a banana and a coffee. Arrived in Terenure in plenty of time and picked up my number with no issues. Did a final few stretches and a few laps of the grass running track in the college field before heading down towards the start. Bumped into Pacing Mule (who is looking very, very trim compared to the same guy at the Xmas beers) and we had a chat about how we thought the race would go. I'd been feeling pretty lethargic the past few days and hadn't got any sort of a run in since last Wednesday. This meant I wasn't feeling as confident as I normally am in these circumstances and I told PM as much, but I was still going to have a crack at sub 30. If I blew up, so be it.
The Race
I lined up alongside the 30 minute pacers and decided I would let them do the work rather than worrying about the watch myself. The hooter went and we were off. Spent the first 200m dodging people who had no right to be anywhere near the front, but was on the pacers shoulder by the time we turned down the Templeogue Road.
Mile 1
As we moved down the long stretch towards Terenure, I felt we were going a bit too quickly. There was a lot of people around the pacers at this stage and most of them seemed to be blowing pretty hard considering it was the first mile. I heard one guy ask were we going too quick, but the pacer responded that we were fine and bang on target. I trusted what he said and resisted the temptation to look at my own watch. We took the sharp turn back up Terenure Road West where we now had a headwind to deal with. This was starting to feel like far too much hard work for the first mile. I had run a 5k at sub 5:50min/mile pace a week ago, so I shouldn't be struggling in the first mile here at 30 minute 5 mile pace! We went past the first marker and I glanced at my watch to see what I had suspected for a while now. 5:41!
Mile 2
I knew this may have already blown my race. I didn't know if I had 4 x 6 minute miles left in my legs after that. I slowed to that speed immediately. Some of the original group had already been dropped. Even though we had run 5:41 and I was now going at 6min/mile, the pacers were moving away from me. I vowed to keep them in sight, but to glance at the watch regularly to ensure I wasn't going any quicker. I felt another similar mile would empty me completely. This was a really tough mile. Even though we took a left turn at the KCR, the wind still seemed to be in our face. In the circumstances, I was very happy to see this one out in 6:04.
Mile 3
Another left down Wainsfort Road and around past our departure point for the third mile. This was a bit easier than the previous mile, but I deliberately gave myself a bit of a break here as I knew I needed to conserve energy for the headwind again in Mile 4. The pacing group were about 100 yards ahead of me at this stage and I was completely alone. Not sure how much of a gap there was behind me. Past the marker in 6:14. Knew I now had only one second in hand for the sub 30.
Mile 4
This was the hardest mile I ran today. Down into Terenure again before turning back into the headwind, I was frantically trying to hold the pace at 6min/mile. I knew if I could manage it until the 4 mile pole, the mental boost of knowing I just needed one more of the same would be enough to get me home. Having to make up time after the start I'd had might be beyond me though. At one stage in this mile I was at 6:1x pace. I dug in and put the head down as we moved towards the KCR, hoping that the next time I looked the watch would show 6:00. Halfway up the road, a guy came from behind asking had we passed four miles yet. "No, up there" was all I could manage to muster in my fatigued state as I pointed straight ahead. He breezed by me as if he'd only joined in. That didn't make me feel very good. Finally reached the 4 mile marker. Split 6:02.
Mile 5
I had done the hard work. The watch was showing 24:00. All I needed now was a 5:59. I knew I could pull that out of the bag with the finish in sight. We came out of the wind at the KCR and moved around onto Fortfield Road. I could hear the speakers from the finish ahead. Just go faster than you're currently going and you've done it I thought. I was holding the pace just below 6min/mile at this stage and didn't want to go flat out until I was sure I could see it out to the finish. I knew I was close to empty though. I think I passed a couple of people on this stretch, but I honestly can't remember very well. I was going to go for an arms up celebration for the finish line photo, but not at the expense of missing my time. As it turned out, when I saw the clock I knew it was very, very close. I couldn't afford the celebration. I pumped the arms and went as fast as I could under the gantry. 30:03 on the clock. I clicked the watch after I had passed the line and that said 29:59, so I knew straight away I had done it. Thank God for that! Last mile: 5:59
Official Time: 29:58
Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/501825874
Post-Race
After I went through the finish I grabbed some yogurt and water and glugged both of those down. Made my way to the school hall then where I grabbed another coffee and a banana. Results weren't long being posted and I saw I finished 62nd of about 2000, I think? Walked back out to the finish to see could I spot anyone else. Met PM, MarthaStew and Murph_D who were all delighted with their results too. After a while we headed back in so that MS could pick up yet another trophy! I also met digger2d2 & ClaraLara (who also won a prize) inside. Very enjoyable day out and a superbly run event as usual. I just noticed on my Garmin data that the race went off at exactly 11am. Exactly on time. Where else in Ireland does that happen??
Thoughts
I mentioned to digger that I thought the pacers had run the first mile too quickly. As I said on the other thread, I really don't want to be too critical but I think they were so afraid of losing time in the early stages that they overdid it the other way. I understand it's a difficult distance to pace as if you lose time, it would be very hard to make it back up so I sympathise there. I do think that first mile caused a lot of potential sub 30 runners to be burnt off though. I barely hung on (100 yards behind) and there wasn't anybody behind me who broke 30 minutes. At the end of the day though, you should run your own race and can only blame yourself if you choose not to. I think if I had paced the race more sensibly I would have ran a better time a little bit more comfortably, but it wouldn't have been much quicker and I got under the arbitrary 30 minutes so I'm happy.
This was my third race in 13 days and I must admit to feeling a little burnt out. I was only commenting the other day about how I felt I could run seven days a week following my current training regime, but because of my recent exertions I only managed four this week. I think I'm going to take a step back from the racing for a little while, ensuring I'm in peak condition for when I do line up next time. I was originally going to have a crack at another 10k on either the 30th May/8th June, but I'll probably wait until the Fingal race in July now with just the Portumna Half-Marathon in between. I've been happy with my recent results, but get the the feeling that another race in the near future could be one too many resulting in a disappointing performance. I know they're not marathons, but they take a fair bit out of you!0 -
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