Last of the Summer Wine

Cool. I’ve posted a strava link on the latest run so you should be able to check out the details of the various routes. I’ve borrowed some of them from previous boardsies (@PaulieYifter etc) so it’s always good to pass it on!

Week of 21 Mar

Still plenty of activity in the logs, hard to keep up with it all. Apologies if I've avoided a few for a while, been quite busy and it's a chore to even update my own.

The cold weather seems to have broken while I was away. Great to be in short sleeves again. Continuing the base build.

Mon 21 Mar

70 mins with 50 @ sub-T. 

GAA hour. It would be nice if the lad’s training session was a bit longer, as there isn’t enough time for the sub-T runs now that they’re up to 80 mins. I’ll have to start doing this one on a different day. I wondered would I be up for the effort after last week’s high mileage, but it was fine, and actually the shorter duration was probably a good thing.

Tue 22 Mar

42 mins recovery.

It finally caught up with me. Very tired during this, not helped by the muggy day. Was kicking a ball for a while afterwards with the ‘kids’ and my left shin was quite sore afterwards and a bit bruised. Careful now! Decided to take tomorrow off.

Wed 23 Mar

No running. See above. 

Thurs 24 Mar

100 mins with 80 @ sub-T

Up the Malahide Road, around to Kilbarrack and back via the Howth Road. The first few miles of the steady stuff felt fantastic - strong as the proverbial ox, despite the uphill going. But once hitting the Howth Road back towards town things got bitty - it’s a terrible surface really - bumpy hard footpaths, poor lighting in places, narrow going, street furniture everywhere. I’ll have to find somewhere else when doing these runs in the dark. Apart from that, really enjoyed this! I think it’s building the aerobic capacity nicely.

• This week: 40k (25m)
• This month: 272 (169)
• This year: 863 (536)

Week of 28 Mar

This week we have a one-mile club race, and (hopefully) Cobh 10-mile on Sunday. Cobh-id is rampant, seems to be closing in on me, so who knows? Still testing negative anyway.

Mon 28 Mar

62 mins easy. 

No sub-T run tonight, won’t bother with the two races on the cards. Opted for an easy hour in Clontarf and Dollymount during the GAA hour.

Tue 29 Mar

No running - late decision to bring the young fella and one of his friends to Lansdowne Road for the Lithuania friendly. Never before (in my experience) have so many balls been netted without impacting on the score. Great to get the winner with the last kick of the game, other than that a fairly dull affair despite all the (correctly) disallowed goals. The lad really enjoyed his evening, which was the main objective.

Wed 30 Mar

Winter League! (1 Mile)

Round Nine of the series. I’d missed the previous race, which had allowed someone to come into the frame and challenge for the coveted Division Three title. I’d have to make sure to finish at least one place in front of him in the next two races to hold him off. FBOT had signed up for this one so we warmed up with a couple of laps of the course before changing into the Vaporflys and doing some strides. Both of us felt lethargic warming up, so par for the course really.

There were 36 bodies in attendance - about normal for the series this year, which has seemed less popular than usual, no doubt some of that being pandemic-related. The League is less sociable without the tea and cakes in the (now abandoned and derelict) clubhouse at the end. But I’d been looking forward to this one, a first opportunity to race the mile against other people since the Day of Irish PBs in 2019. There’d been a few solo TTs over the past two years, but not on any known or well measured courses, so those times were pretty meaningless. There’d been the National Masters 1500 last year too - an extremely mediocre day out. With no speedwork of any kind in about six months, I knew I wouldn’t be at my sharpest, but was confident that the aerobic engine (thanks to DD's Lydiard guidance) is in as good a shape as it’s ever been, so I wouldn’t be likely to disgrace myself.

Stripped down to the singlet, but it was a cold night so I kept the hat, buff and gloves. Lined up close to G, the Division Three challenger, and off we went after the usual ultra-brief preliminaries. The strides had done the job of preparing the body for the shock so I felt OK during the congested first 400m. I’d decided to concentrate on each 400m separately, using the occasionally channeled Jimmy McGuinness ‘Focus, Commit, Believe, Achieve’ mantra to guide each 'lap'. Set the autolap to 400m so I’d hear the beeps and calibrate accordingly. The Focus bit was good: in the thick of it, embodied and aware. Early on, M ahead looking relaxed, going with the bunch, avoiding any trouble. After about 200m I went around G (no point in letting him develop too much confidence) and a few others, tucking in close to K, a faster runner than me who usually starts conservatively. It would be good to track him for the first leg of the triangular course, which I did, not worrying unduly when he began to pull away as expected. There were plenty of people behind, but no obvious target ahead. Commit! It was important not to become the target myself, and there were plenty of footsteps in close pursuit. On All Saints Road, the blustery wind started to make itself known, as the watch beeped halfway. Time to Believe - but in what? It was starting to hurt big time and on the track this is always the worst stage of the race, feeling the burn but still a long way to go. I just kept my eyes on K ahead and tried to prevent the gap from getting any bigger. The race was going by in a flash. Coach P is positioned by the road and offers the usual ‘Keep it going Denis’ with a bit over 400 to go. He name checks the runner behind too, so I know there's only a second or two between us. The fog is descending so I never get back to the Jimmy Mantra and Achieve - just concentrate now on rounding the corner onto Wade Ave and not being passed in the last 300. Run a good line (not everyone does, although there's a slight bend) and close things out as strongly as possible into the noticeable headwind. I was really feeling the fade here and glad the footsteps behind were falling back. Clubmate C usually shouts the time with about 100m to go, sometimes less. I heard a 5:27 as I passed, and knew I'd be in for a decent result, but the finish still seemed a good way off. A last effort - while it felt like a pace injection, more likely I was just decelerating at a slower rate. Over the line in 5:52 for 9th place - better than expected, as good as hoped. A good few more scalps taken - all the Division 2 participants and even a Division 1. Take that, handicapper!

• PB (road): 5:43 (Winter League, April 2019)
• Target: 5:5x low
• Actual: 5:52
• 9th place (of 36), VDOT 49.6, Age grade: 79.3%
• Verdict: solid

A few miles cooldown with M. We were both feeling the burn but I recovered a bit quicker than him, so his placing (5th) was well worked for. It’s quite a rush, doing these short races. Total for the evening: 10.2k

• This week: 21k (13m)
• This month: 326 (202)
• This year: 916 (570)

Yes, I'm very parsimonious with the Vaporflys, and I don't like doing the early warmup in them because they make you run too fast. I'd usually do a fe miles, then change in and do the dynamic warmup and strides. I'd normally change out for the cooldown too for the same reason but didn't bother last night because it was so cold - felt wiser to keep moving. Generally I like to keep the good shoes for the race - that way I really feel the good of them when it matters most. I know lots of people do all their session in supershoes now but I won't be one of them, although I DO use 'semi' supershoes for the tough stuff. I'm familiar with the 'faster recovery' argument for supershoe sessions but I'm sceptical about such claims, to be honest.

Week of 28 Mar cont.

Thurs 31 Mar

60 mins easy

Feeling good after last night’s effort. Got out in the afternoon from work, heading to Rathmines, turning at Palmerstown Park. A lovely part of the world, I always enjoy running in Dublin 6.

March total: 336k (209 mi)

Fri 1 Apr

Chained to the desk, and once I got home I opted for a beer or two with dinner, so no running. (Does anyone run after a beer, I wonder? Hopefully not. Why would you bother? Although there was that boardsie a while back who ran home 10 miles or something from the pub after a skinful, can't remember who it was!)

Sat 2 Apr

50 mins easy including parkrun no. 172 at Fairview. I must volunteer here again soon as I’ve visited a few times recently, and they have a small team who are very friendly and supportive. The RD’s elderly mother is a marshalling legend, directing traffic in a tricky area near the footbridge and cheering on half the field by name. Thanks M! Bumped into a few familiar faces which is always nice. A few extra kms around by Alfie Byrne Road before heading home to iron my singlet for Cobh. 😉

Sun 3 Apr

Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10 Mile

Report to follow.

• This week: 59k (37m) - 566 mins
• This month: 28 (17)
• This year: 955 (594)

Sunday, April 3

Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10 Mile

Writing a race report, always with hindsight, it’s easy to gild the lily, creating drama where it didn’t really exist. I am, of course, as guilty of this as anyone, and probably more than most. I’ll try to be objective about this one, because in some ways it was a first, despite being my 150th race (or race effort - I’ve included a few TTs in my racing log in the past couple of years, because there was no alternative at the time). And yes, I do keep a count of these things, isn’t that what Excel is for? 😁

If you’ve ever been to Cobh, and climbed to that outrageously oversized cathedral from the shore, you’ll know it’s a hilly kind of place. Mountain runners aside, I think most of us favour flat courses when deciding where to invest our hard-earned race-entry cash. Scanning the course description blurb, the two words we’re looking for are ‘Fast’ and ‘Flat’. Race organisers know this, of course. “Genuinely flat course all the way with just one bridge” (Charleville HM). “Flat, fast loop ” (Docklands 5k). “Flattest City Marathon in Ireland” (Cork). Fast is king, and flat is queen. Why would you sign up for anything else? (Actually it’s a pity this year will see no Terenure 5 - a race famously described by @AuldManKing as the “hilliest flat race in Ireland”, or words to that effect - a description that resonates with anyone who’s ever headed up Terenure Road West at 5-mile race pace.)

I should say here that I love running in Cork. I’ve done the full marathon twice and organised a marathon relay team another year. I’ll probably do the Half this year. Charleville HM twice, Ballycotton 10 twice. Cork has a lot of good races, always so well organised, often fast, sometimes flat. However the Cobh 10 is an honest race. It doesn’t claim to be flat, although it’s probably fair to say the entry process slightly downplays its undulations. All grist to the mill once you’ve actually done the race, of course. Sunday’s goodie bag included a postcard with an aerial picture of the beautiful seaside town of Cobh, with the text “A true test of 10 mile running. It has everything”. The quote is attributed to Sonia O’Sullivan, who lends her name to this, her hometown race, her club race. The description sums it up well, and what a 10-miler it is too. In some ways, it’s a mini-Boston: a net downhill point-to-point, beginning with a descent, giving way to multiple relentless hills interspersed with some flat bits, and of course everything that goes up, comes down, although you sometimes have to wait a very long time. This race comes down close to sea level three times, only to go back up again every time. That is not flat. And it’s not fast. 

Oops. I’m already falling into the hindsight/drama trap, because I’d expected this and it shouldn’t be a cause for undue comment. Except what HAD changed was my approach. Instead of treating it as a challenging training effort, I’d decided in the last few days to actually try to give it a lash and race this course. So a trip that had been planned (for 2020) as a kind of holiday weekend with a sizeable group of clubmates and St. Anne’s parkrun folk had gradually transformed into a less festive occasion, as (understandably) the two-year delay saw almost everyone changing plans for one reason or another. Myself, the mrs, M and A (@FBOT01 and @Mrs Mc) were the last ones standing in terms of travel plans. Then one of the boys goes down with the covid, the babysitter plans are out the window, and Anna, who is on a steady comeback trajectory but not yet at race readiness, gives me the green light to go down without her. This was generous, and I didn’t object. So I drove down on the Saturday afternoon, arriving in time for a pint with M and A, before a nice dinner, with a second pint, in the hotel. I was in bed before 10, but slept badly, cursing the uncomfortable pillows. So far, so Cork (I once tried to sleep in the bath to get away from the throbbing bass sounds wafting across the river from the Sextant, now demolished, sadly for Cork pub culture, happily for sleepy marathoners).  

I digress. Fast forward here to the race. The 10 mile race that has everything would have fantastic weather this year. It would have its hills, but it wouldn’t have any wind or rain, as the sun shone pleasantly down on the picturesque seaside town. Cobh is handsome at the worst of times, but on a day like today the place is breath-taking. The sea shimmered in the sun, yet the cool April morning was perfect for racing. My decision to race seemed like it might actually pay off, as the conditions could not possibly be any better. We all hiked up to race HQ at the Great Island Community Centre to pick up our race numbers. A relaxed vibe, although I had to fill in my details yet again for a race I'd signed up for more than two years ago. Surely myrunresults hadn't lost the data? 🧐 I warmed up with M, a couple of kms down the road, waving at our clubmate Mick Clohisey who would be returning from an injury break with this one. Then I left M to his pacing devices and lined up. 

Showtime.

The starting area was very relaxed, with no ‘pen-anxiety’ in evidence. People were well spread out back along the road, so it was easy enough to get a good starting position that would avoid any congestion in the opening stretch through the housing estate and get a good start and bank a bit of time in the opening two miles, as @DeepBlue had advised a few posts above. 

Countdown from three, a whistle blown, and we’re off. The going is indeed good at the beginning, an eminently runnable downhill gradient. I glanced at the watch and confirmed the fast start but that was OK - important to get a bit ahead of the game here. And unexpectedly there’s Sonia, with Rob Heffernan running alongside, just ahead. For a few seconds I didn’t know what to do, eventually summoning the courage to ease past with a wave and some words of appreciation, but feeling like a complete fraud (Sonia is one of my genuine sporting heroes). Sure, she's jogging around, but maybe she'll get bored and get more competitive later. I soon parked that thought because here was the first sharp descent, a long hill that straddled miles one and two (6:45, 6:40) before levelling out as the course reached sea level for the first time. I felt fantastic in these opening miles. Slightly concerned to be ahead of the pace so early but reassuring myself that the effort levels were low. But not for long - here’s the first climb as mile three takes the first bite. I’m not strong on hills and tried not to look too far ahead. Near the top, the 70-minute pace group caught up with me and I ran with them to the crest - 7:42, all the 'banked' time withdrawn already. Yikes. 

Mile four has some ups and downs before another sharpish climb to the highest point on the course (7:38). I’m feeling OK, but the course is certainly taking a toll. How much more of this will there be? DeepBlue said the hills aren’t that bad, but any kind of hill knocks the stuffing out of me. Pre-race, @Duanington had suggested I ‘back myself’ a bit earlier than usual, taking confidence from the strength built up in recent times. FBOT had agreed I should be more aggressive. I respect the advice of these highly competent runners, but it’s hard to know when to pull the trigger on a course you don’t know. For now though, I DO know that the next two miles are about making some hay, but I’m bunched after those hills and it takes me a while to consolidate and get my act together. On a downhill, a Watergrasshill runner flies past - I’d heard the chat at the start and knew they were hoping to follow the 70-min pacers for as long as possible. We’ve both been dropped by now but the pacers are still in sight up ahead. On a steeper descent Watergrass puts the brakes on and I go past. Probably could have gained more time in this mile, in retrospect - 6:50, and I note the halfway split at 35:35. 

Mile 6 (6:52) has another steep descent, and I tussle again with Watergrass, before a long, steady drag commences and they pull in front. The pace group drops out of sight. This is probably the moment of truth - four miles to go, feeling the pinch. Can I find some inspiration somewhere? Can I back myself? As usual, I haven’t had a sense of running with a group, more occasional skirmishes like the one I’ve just described, the odd runner who falls away or pushes on, depending on the lie of the land and the runner’s particular strengths or weaknesses at that time. A to-ing and fro-ing. In my part of the pack you are often racing with wiry aul lads and a good range of club men and women in their thirties, forties and fifties. The fellow M60s can be harder to spot, because we are relatively thin on the ground. There’s a West Waterford and a runner in a yellow shirt who might be contenders, although they’re probably of slightly younger vintage, but you never know. Not that there’s any prizes, but you can get a bit of motivation and if it works, it works. I try to stick with them now through the long drag of mile seven (7:19) that flattens out then gets steeper then descends sharply back to the coast at the end of mile eight (6:55).

Legs drained by the drags, and I know the quads will be screaming at me tomorrow after these sharp descents. Catching sight of the shimmering sea again at the end of the road I think, great, surely now a nice flat coastal run in will offer an opportunity to keep it going and finish well, maybe a good bit of that leaked time can be clawed back, and who knows? But no. It’s flat for a little bit then around a bend there is the demoralising sight of yet another long, relentless drag. But then again, only two miles to go. I try to pick things up and pass another runner or two, but I’ve been on the edge and the extra effort brings a brief spell of nausea that’s a bit disconcerting and allows at least one of the passed runners go by again as I falter slightly. But there’s a recovery quickly enough and I pass again. “9 mile mark just around the bend” says a steward, expertly stopping and starting the flow of cross traffic at a junction (7:23, a mile that needed to be faster). It’s not over yet of course. I’ve passed a few runners now in the past mile or two and don’t have a sense of anyone around me at this point. There’s Yellow a good bit up ahead, looks a bit laboured, but I don’t yet have the will to reel them in. I know from the pre-race reccie that the last couple of hundred meters will be downhill but for now, the climb continues. Then my name is being shouted and there in the middle of this final-mile drag is Mrs Mc and @Annie get your Run, who had ambled over from Mallow to watch the drama. My brain is a bit addled and while I mean to shout “F*ckin hills!” I can’t find the words properly and shout “F*ckin course” (they heard it as “F*ckin Cork”, I discover later). There can’t be too much hill left though, so again I try to inject a bit of pace, but there are footsteps and two Togher AC runners go past pretty solidly in that race finish frame of mind, along with a Sanctuary Runner shirt who looks vaguely familiar and I realise later it’s @opus, who I met briefly at Ward River parkrun last time I was in Cork. The younger Togher seems to be pacing the elder. I wonder again is this an age rival - hard to know as bald as a billiard ball can be deceptive. I try to stay in touch so I can contend on the downhill that can’t be far away now. 

And there it is at last. As sympathetic a finishing stretch as you could hope for, especially after what you’ve just been through. It seems I still had a little bit left as I throw caution to the wind and go by the three of them again. But they’re enjoying the hill too and respond. The crowds are leaning over the barriers, generously cheering everyone that moves, a cracking atmosphere. Ahead, Yellow shirt from earlier is hosed, and I realise there’s enough distance left to pass before the line and that’s enough for me to win this little mini-race, crossing in 71:09.

The immediate feeling is just intense relief to be finished one of the toughest courses I’ve ever run. Someone hands me a bottle of water and I have to drop to the ground for a few seconds to take the usual moment, wondering will I get sick. The stewards are attentive and I assure them I’m OK. I walk through the chute and take some fruit. The hotel had been a bit stingy about late checkout so I ditched any cooldown plans and strolled the 100m back for a shower. Checked the live result once in the room and was slightly disappointed to be listed 101st and 4th M60, disappointing as it would have been nice to see that final spurt deliver a less “missed it by one” result. But when the results settle the next day, I’ve in fact finished in 100th place, third M60 (must have been a ringer in there). I’m happy to be only 36 seconds off the Dungarvan PB on what felt like a much tougher course, even if the conditions were better. An improvement in real terms, I think. It’s my second best 10-mile time. Faster than Ballycotton 2016, which was the PB until only a few weeks ago. I’ll take it. And a few months ago I'd have taken your hand off for it.

And that’ll do nicely. Sonia never passed in the end, although she wasn’t far behind. A sprint finish with a legend would have been too much to ask for. And Rob didn’t bring his barcode, apparently. 

• Previous PB: 70:33 (Dungarvan 2022)
• Target: 69:59
• Result: 71:09
• 100th place (of 633) / 3rd M60 (of 18)
• VDOT 47.9
• AG 76.4%
• Verdict: Not flat. F*ckin hills!

(Loved it.)