A Tall Order

Another week done. I've been trying to get out for my runs as close to peak temperatures each day to take advantage of the heatwave we're in right now. Expecting race day conditions to be very similar to those in Dublin this past week. Nothing exciting to report. Disciplined is very boring but it's getting me closer to where I need to be.

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday

60' easy - 10Km, 6:07/Km, 143avg HR - Early morning sluggish run. Unexciting route. Just glad to get it done before work commitments.

Wednesday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:10/Km, 140avg HR - got out at lunchtime with as much of my race kit as possible. Felt good throughout. A bit of a different route to normal which was nice.

Thursday

60' easy - 10.5Km, 6:01/Km, 142avg HR - Just another easy run in the heat. Ticking the days off.

Friday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:02/Km, 140avg HR - Trying to enhance my attempted heat adaption so I added a long sleeve base layer hunger the short sleeved running jersey. HR consistent throughout with no real spikes as time passed.

Physio visit - I had remnants of a dead leg on my right quad. Whilst it wasn't causing any issues on my runs, the maranoia made me book a session to get it worked out. All good now.

Saturday

65' easy - 11Km, 6:01/Km, 146avg HR - another late run in the heat. Added 3/4 length leggings and snood to yesterday's long sleeve base layer. Definitely felt the heat in this attire. Kept the water intake steady throughout.

Sunday

1hr45mins very easy - 16Km, 6:35/Km, 133avg HR - Final long ish run of the taper. I'd to try out some race day tactics like mixing maurten on the go and also applying sun cream. I got some run/walks in on the hills too. I think this pace is close to race day pace. I'll know more when I see what the conditions have in store on race day. I started to look at long range weather forecasts and they were all different. I have ceased torturing myself. No more looking at them.

Total

69Km for the week. 2 weeks until Comrades and just 8 days until departure 😊 A lot of planning/research being done at the moment with regards to what I need to pack, shops near the hotel, local sports massage upon arrival, race day bag etc. My schedule for the week is drawn up and being updated with great enthusiasm every time I remember something else needs to be added 😅 Feels like I need to wrap myself up in cotton wool and start interacting with the kids via Zoom from the home office to avoid any sniffles they might come across on their daily adventures 🤣 Pure excitement at this stage of the process. Over 1,000 days since I booked it. Never thought it would be here but it almost is (touch wood).

Race day tomorrow. I'm traveling up to the start line in Pietermaritzburg a day early to get an extra hour or two of sleep on race day. Start time is 5:30am so sitting on a bus for 2 hours from Durban at 2am was not appealing. Plenty of international representation out here. The hotel I'm staying in its full of runners from all corners of the globe. Breakfast is filled with jerseys from running events or athletics clubs. Then there's the famous Comrades red Toyota caps that can be seen everywhere. Taxi drivers, hotel workers and everyone else all wishing the runners the best of luck. A fantastic buzz about the city.

Monday - Rest day

Tuesday - 45' easy - 7Km, 6:08/Km, 144avg HR

Started traveling at lunch time. Sat on Dublin tarmac for 3 hours which did nothing for my anxiety levels. Another hour and I'd have missed my connection to Johannesburg. I started to notice other participants at the gate in Heathrow. I got chatting to a few on the flight you Durban, all very nice people with many Comrades medals in their locker.

Wednesday - Rest day - arrived in Durban at 11am. Got settled in to the hotel at about 2pm. Sports massage early in the evening to relax the muscles after a days worth of travel.

Thursday - 35' easy - 6Km, 6:02/Km, 142avg HR

I got down to the expo to grab my number before midday as it gets busier on Friday/Saturday as more people arrive in to town. Did a quick loop of the expo, stopping to look only way the official apparel, then headed back to the hotel.

Friday - 40' easy with 5 * 20" Strides

Drop bags dropped to the 3rd party vendor who was recommended to me. I'll have a bag with supplies at 30/50/70Km.

Saturday - North Beach parkrun - 5Km, 6:08/Km, 138avg HR - first time doing a parkrun outside of Ireland.

It's a straight out and back along the North Beach promenade and less than 500m from my hotel. The sheer number of runners/walkers/cyclists (in additions to 800 doing parkrun) along this stretch meant it was fairly stressful trying to navigate the 5Km. It may have been wiser to go a few Km away to a quieter event. Escaped without injury.

Total

25Km for the week. Less than 24 hours to go. I'm excited but very very nervous too. I've followed the training that was required so that is settling me somewhat. I've got a pace and fuel plan. I've covered the best part of 2,200Km for the year thus far and gone up/down plenty of hills. PMA!

Comrades 2022 race report

Comrades race - 90k from Pietermaritzburg (PMB) to Durban. This year was a "Down" year which sees you do more descending (~1,800m) than ascending (~1,110m). There is a 12 hour time limit with no exceptions. If you're a second past the 12 hour mark, they don't allow you to cross the finish line. Evidence here and here of how brutal it is.

The goal - finish within the time limit. A stretch goal of sub 11. Different medals are given to different finishing times.

Race morning - I wake up at 1am which is 2 hours earlier than I would have liked. There's a Christmas morning type excitement in my bones so I can't get back asleep. Read a book until I'm ready to start my final race prep. Consume a maurten 320 mix about 2.5 hours pre race. My pre booked taxi arrives at 3:45am and I'm at the start line at 4am. Drop the bag off (will come back to this later) and make my way my preassigned pen - G. These are assigned based on your qualifying time. The quicker your qualifying time, the closer you are to the start line. As race time starts ticking from the gun, you can shave a few minutes off your overall time by being in a higher seeded pen. Apart from my race kit, I have a hoodie to stay warm and a stolen airline pillow to keep me from getting too cold whilst sitting down on the ground for the next hour. Others close by have taken this approach so I am grateful to the Australian race ambassador for the tip. I am 1 row of people away from the front of my pen. Good banter amongst those that arrive early. The pens start to fill up pretty quickly.

5:15am - they start opening up the pens from the very back. H pen racers move right behind G, and so forth until all racers are bunched together. I've been warned by a South African lady beside me that this will get tight and to have my elbows at the ready. I see people from H pen move up ahead of me, whilst I see people from the pens originally ahead of me start to move behind as they were like a deer in the headlights when the pen behind them opened up. I'm still in an OK start position.

5:20am - they start with usual start line ritual. South African National Anthem, Shosholoza, Chariots of Fire, Max Trimborn's cockerel crow and finally the cannon/gun to start the race. The race crowd is buzzing during this. Lots of singing. Then the cockerel crow sounds and the race is a few seconds away.

0-10Km - the cannon goes, everyone cheers. Where I am, nobody moves. It's going to take several minutes to get across the finish line. Goosebumps and adrenaline aplenty but there's nowhere to go. I trudge slowly in the crowd towards the start. Clock is ticking. It takes over 5 minutes for me to reach the start line. Running commences and then quickly stops as there's a slow down ahead. A hundred metres or so later as we're finally running. There are hundreds of people lining the streets in PMB supporting the runners. Helicopters above and TV cameras scattered along the initial stretch. First Km is slightly downhill and then we hit our first hill. Light jogging up the hill but soon get in to my plan (and recommended to me and everyone else by official coaching team) of walking the uphills and running the flats (come back to this later) and downhills. Most people have discarded their outer layers over the fence at the start line but some have opted to just drop them by their side as we are a few Kms in to the race. There is massive congestion still. The first water stop is chaos. People running across from one side to the other to grab water/energy drinks. I've got my running vest with maurten gels and drink mix so it is rare I have to collect refreshments from these early on. It is very congested and some of the surfaces are pretty poor. Potholes or damaged road from trucks who had no business travelling on them. Very early in the race I know I'm going to have to visit a portaloo. I hang on as long as possible but with the congestion, I do this just shy of the 10Km mark on the descent of Polly Shorts. Between queuing and doing my business, I lose probably 3-4 minutes of time.

11-20Km - After the pit stop, we're going up/down Little Pollys before climbing for the remainder of this 10Km section in order to reach the highest point in the race on Umlaas Road. We cross the first cut off at just under 2 hours, 40 minutes to spare. The time cut offs are generous early on to allow for the undulating terrain and added distance for those in the lower seeded pens. This is located at Lynnfield Park at at about the 16Km point on the course. There are still lots and lots of people lining the route. BBQ, beer and wine all being consumed at 7/8am in the morning. Legends. The maurten mix/gels are going down nicely. We're quite early on in the race but I see one woman kneeling down hurling her guts up and several people stopping to stretch. It is going to be a long day for them. I also notice several runners running barefoot or wearing sandals. I'm feeling good physically and mentally. I need to stop during this section to adjust my right shoe as it feels tight where the laces are tied. Probably 60-90 seconds lost from slowing down and sorting it.

21-30Km - This 10Km is full of rolling hills. This section is net negative in terms of elevation but the hills are relentless. There is no flat section. It is either up or down. About the 25Km mark, there's an incident, will touch on later. At this point I have been chatting with many South Africans, all of whom are exceptionally friendly. The beauty of the race numbers provided by the organisers is that they are packed with information. Name, number of races completed, local/internation runner etc. As this is my first year I had a 0 for number of runs completed so I had runners and spectators wish me well. Prior to leaving Ireland, I got a family member to stitch two small Irish flags to the front of my running vest. "Come on Ireland" was heard throughout the 90Km. Temperature had reached about 20 degrees at this point and the sun was high in the sky beaming down. At the end of this section, I picked up my first drop bag. The organisers don't provide support so "seconding" (race support) is seen as a way to help out your friends/family/club runners whilst they are traversing the route. As I traveled solo, I acquired the services of a third party who have 3 locations along the route (30/50/70Km) where I can pick up my supplies. Again, big thank you to the Australian race ambassador this info. Load my supplies in to my running vest and I'm on my way.

31-40Km - At the next ascent that I am walking, I dig out some supples that I just picked up. I apply sun screen and sort out a maurten drink mix. I also hit the Cato Ridge 31Km cut off with 50 minutes to spare. It is this section where I start finding the ache on my foot coming back. Not a show stopper right now and hopefully doesn't develop in to one later. With the weather still a little warm, I have been taking my cap on/off depending on how I am feeling. One particular town we pass through was very warm and an old South African lady tells me to "Put on your darn hat". I do as I'm told. There was a bit more descending through this section but we're approaching the infamous Inchanga towards the end.

41-50Km - As we're ascending Inchanga, I look at my watch and see that we're at about 5hrs 15mins of running. The leaders will be at the finish right about now and I've not reached the halfway point. Not disheartening but makes you realise how insanely gifted/athletic those people are. I tell myself that I am getting to spend more time on the roads, thus getting better value than them :) Inchanga is a tough climb for about 2.5Km though the descent the other side is lovely and allows me to open up the legs a little bit. 1 full marathong done at this point. On this descent, I take a snap of the 47Km to go sign and send it to a few friends/groups who are following me online... "full + parkrun to go". That's another strange (evil imo :D ) thing with this race, the signage goes in reverse. So at the start, the first sign you see is "89Km to go". You really do need to keep your head in the game or you will get yourself in a rut. I did notice plenty of supportive messages on my phone which was very uplifting, though I didn't get to read them in full. I'm not running looking at my phone but on the ascents you are walking up, it is easy to check it or send photos. I am also providing more updates to my wife and parents to ensure them that I'm ok. When I had a disaster in DCM2019, she assumed the worst when my tracker stopped providing updates. Well that's what happens when your legs crap out and you've to walk to the finish. With all the climbing we have been doing, the 11 hour bus (this is what they call pacing groups) is long gone and the 11:30 bus has been stalking me for a long time. They have a flag declaring which pacing group they are but they also have this very very VERY annoying rattle in the bag or on the flag. It is torture listening to it come up behind you, as you can feel your race potentially unravelling. I knew that most of the ascent comes in the first 55Km so I was comfortable enough being passed by the 11:30 bus. I am also fortunate to remember to pay tribue to Arthur Newton at "Arthur's Seat" about halfway through. Shortly up the road, there is the "Wall of Honour" which is where any Comrades finisher can purchase a plaque and have it mounted here in perpetuity. I somehow miss this. No idea how. It is rather large and long. Derp.

51-70Km - Another drop bag picked up at the start of this section. I had packed my secret weapon in to 50Km and 70Km bags... a tube of Wine Gums. I'd watched all of the webinars from the official coaching team. They mentioned that if you are to take a "gamble" with any of the sections, it is the section from 55Km onwards as it is largely downhill for about 25-30Km. It is this reason that I start asking South African runners or bystanders if we are on Bothas Hill? No?! How far? ... rinse/repeat. I should also note that I'm in to uncharted territory in terms of distance. I've never gone beyond 50Km but physically/mentally I am in a good place. Energy levels feel good due to the maurten and my secret weapon. Some of the water stations have small cups of coca cola so I've been having the odd cup of that as we've gone on. Very refreshing. We finally reach and crest Bothas Hill. I've been waiting for this. I pick up the pace on the downhill for a good 15-18Km. The Kms tick by fairly easy without issue. I pass the 11:30 bus with ease and am now hunting the 11 hour bus. There are parts of this section where we are descending on a 4 lane road. For some reason... people are following the lanes instead of following the racing line. Later after the race, I see some people have done as much as 92.5Km when the official race distance is 89.99Km (you could add on 0.5Km for those back in pen H). Down this stretch I can hear the 11 hour bus' rattle... but I can't see it due to the winding nature of the road and how enclosed it is with forest. This will be the last I see/hear from the 11 hour bus, bye bye sub 11. I get talking to another big unit (6'+ and 100Kg+) and we agree that Comrades probably wasn't created with us in mind.

71-80Km - "Down" year does not mean it is all downhill. There are still some brutal climbs late in the race. Whilst I am deep in conversation with a South African runner, I miss my final drop bag collection. I still have fuel in my running vest so I should be ok till the end by picking up some fuel late in the race from the water stations. I get to Fields Hill and I still have some pep in my step on the descent. This is to be the last real effort I make at catching the 11 hour bus. Tis gone for good. We make our way on to some motorways at this point and whilst you would think they are ok to run on, there are some serious off camber banked turns along the way. I can feel my feet moving inside my shoes on these and the outside of my legs are feel it too. There was about 12-15Km left. The official coaching team are out supporting all the runners along this section. I give one of them, a fellow big unit, a high five and thank him for the advice he gave to me at the expo a few days earlier. There is a moment when we have a small climb and then a descent on to a motorway and I knew then that my legs were cooked. I couldn't descent anymore. Quads no worky. The ache I had on my right foot has gotten a little worse and I've got it on my left foot now too. My hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes ache.

81-finish - Counting down the Kms at this stage. They're going very slowly. Whatever the terrain is, I am operating on a shuffle/walk alternating pattern. At every water station, they have massage therapists. I ask one of them to give the bottom of both my tibalis the once over. A waste of time. No relief and probably 2 minutes lost doing this. Barring any injury or major cramping, I feel like I have it in the bag. Also at every water station, I am now double fisting Coca Cola and/or Fanta. We're on a huge motorway leading in to Durban. 4 or 5 lanes wide with what can only be described as a march of The Walking Dead rolling towards the city. You can see the Moses Mabhida stadium from here... so close! Everyone is done at this stage. The 11th hour rolls by. Still, there are hundreds of people lining the streets. Still encouraging us. Hollers of "You've got this"... not until I have that medal around my neck good sirs. 5Km to go sign appears, quick snap and send it on to friends/family again. The end is nigh. This is a parkrun. The longest parkrun that I can remember. Many calls of "Last hill coming up" come from the crowd. Bullshit. It looks flat on the route profile but there are some lumps in there that made the legs wince as they begun crawling up them. I tried to get in to a light jog but the body was uncooperative. A shuffle like motion for several hundred meters at a time was all I could muster. Approaching the stadium you can hear the noise from inside. You reach the stadium promenade and it is covered in fake grass to prevent last moment slips. You make a sharp turn in to the tunnel and the noise coming through gives you goosebumps. On to the grass in the stadium and just a few hundred metres to go. I try and take it in whilst eyeing the time ticking down. A sub 11 hours 40 minutes is still on! (who gives a toss once I finish within the time limit... there were 2000 people who finished in those remaining 22 minutes). I break out in to a light jog and cross the line. Pump both my fists in the air several times and scream out "yes". Unbelievable Jeff!

A huge wave of joy, relief and disbelief comes over me. I had visualised this moment for a long time. I was expecting to be very emotional but the tears never came. I smile from ear to ear as they put my medal on. So many training runs finished and a small amount missed. After 2 years of safely navigating the pandemic, catching covid in March, 2 months before my qualifier. In late June, an idiotic DIY mistake that resulted in going under general anaesthetic to get 4 stitches in my eye. Safety first folks. Coming out of the general anaesthetic doped up to the gills, asking if I can still run... cue laughter from doctors and nurses at the giant crazy guy on the operating table. Having to wear an eye patch for a week so no running. Cancelled flight after cancelled flight. The final and worst kick in the stones was the person I was raising funds for passed away 2 weeks prior to the race. My best friend lost his sister and I lost a friend. F#ck cancer. Today was for you. In permanent marker, I wrote two things on my arms prior to starting. "<friend's name> never quit" and "Don't stop". They got me over the line. Life is tough, running is easy.

The aftermath - no injuries to note. In order of worst to least pain - tibialis, quads, glutes, hips and hamstrings. Calves never got a workout through the entire race. There simply wasn't any flat terrain until the end of the race when I was completely goosed. Initial inspection I thought all toenails were intact. Upon further inspection, 1 is gone and 3 more are going to follow. 1 very large blister and a couple of minor ones. These were not painful during the run. Lower legs and feet are very swollen. Any of the muscular aches got sorted today at the physio so I'm hoping to be back to normal tomorrow or Friday. A couple of good nights sleep will help with the inflammation. I'll get out on the bike once my feet can fit in to my cycling shoes. Perhaps some easy running next week.

The bad - the incident at 25Km. A male runner was on the receiving end of a defibrillator and CPR. I learned afterwards that he unfortunately did not make it. The taxi driver who took me to the airport informed there were 2 other fatalities. I have not confirmed this yet. I mentioned by bag drop at the start of the race. When I collected it at the end of the race, the main pocket and a large side pocket were opened. Nothing was missing but I didn't leave any cash in there because we were warned not to during the official webinars. Not cool. There also wasn't enough bins along the route. The litter from water stops was atrocious.

Next - DCM in October and Malaga in December. Nothing planned for 2023 as of yet. A return to Comrades may be on the cards but there are some family events in the calendar for June so I am waiting to see when the race is. Wife also told me that this was the first and only time I was doing it... back to back medal sounds good though!

A very big thank you for all those who messaged me on Boards/Strava/WhatsApp. <3

Took just under 2 weeks off from running. I was itching to get out. I did so last weekend and managed to run pain free for 30 minutes. The legs felt odd/weak so it's been a bit frustrating having to deal with muscle/strength loss but it is what it is. it is mainly the hamstrings that feel weak. I'm assuming the cycling/walking I have been doing has been keeping the other leg muscles in tact but not the hamstrings. With the legs the way they are, I've had to consign myself to not running DCM. I've also dropped down in distance from 26Km to 13Km for Run the Line and I'm waiting to find out if I can go from the full to the half in Malaga too. I wouldn't have the strength for the longer distances right now so I'm going to start building for a marathon next Autumn and then Comrades in 2024. I got a PFO from the Tokyo lottery. I've entered London and Berlin 2023 lotteries but not banking on getting in to either.

Week of 3rd October

Monday - 35' easy - 5.8Km, 6:04/Km, 140avg HR.

Tuesday - 35' easy - 5.6Km, 6:16/Km, 138avg HR

Wednesday - 40' easy - 6.4Km, 6:18/Km. 138avg HR

Thursday - 40' easy - 6.5Km, 6:08/Km, 141avg HR

Friday - 40' easy - 6.7Km, 5:57/Km, 149avg HR

Saturday - Marlay Parkrun - 5Km, 4:54/Km, 169avg HR

Sunday - Rest

Total - 36Km.

Parkrun yesterday was tough. I may have got in to the 23:xx time range had I pushed on in the first Km. It wouldn't have been much quicker than how it went though. It is good to see where my fitness is right now.

It is great to see all the LSRs coming through this weekend. I'm hoping to be out cheering for friends and fellow Boardsies at DCM in a few weeks. Enjoy the taper folks.

Week of 17th October

Monday - 55' easy - 9Km, 5:58/Km, 162avg HR.

Tuesday - 55' easy - 9Km, 6:00/Km, 144avg HR

Wednesday - 55' trail - 8Km, 7:02/Km. 154avg HR, 250m elevation

Thursday - 55' easy - 9Km, 6:04/Km, 146avg HR

Friday - 65' easy - 11Km, 5:50/Km, 141avg HR

Saturday - 90' Trail - 14Km, 6:35/Km, 155avg HR, 480m elevation

Sunday - Rest

Total - 60Km

3rd week on the trot with a full compliment of runs. This has me feeling like I am back in the swing of things. Wednesday's trail run was an early morning affair. 2 loops of Cruagh wood in horrendous weather. Saturday's outing started at Kilmsahogue lane, up past Three Rock, headed west beyond Two Rock, then north to head back to the wicklow mountain trail... then east to go back to Three Rock... well, route planing a trail run on Strava did not end well. I ended up running through a stream for about 1Km until I came out near Three Rock. Never again. Survived but feet were drenched. Headed for the car in Kilmashogue car park then. Really nice day up in the hills on Saturday. Legs were tired afterwards. 3 pints on Saturday date night with the wife had me feeling like I had drank 10. Sunday was a rest day.

Got my PFO for London 2023 this afternoon. That's 2 for 2 on the lottery rejections so far having been told to PFO by Tokyo earlier this month. Roll on Berlin rejection!

Week of 31st October

Monday - 65' easy - 11Km, 5:59/Km, 136avg HR.

Tuesday - 65' easy - 11Km, 5:56/Km, 139avg HR.

Wednesday - Workout - 20' easy, 20' @ 10 mile (4:44, 4:46, 4:51, 4:56, 4:46), 20' @ easy - 10.5Km, 5:43/Km. 158avg HR

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - 65' easy - 11Km, 6:00/Km, 138avg HR

Saturday - 65' easy - 11Km, 5:56/Km, 139avg HR

Sunday - 105' easy - 17Km, 6:03/Km, 139avg HR + Junior parkrun

Total - 73Km

Got signed up to DCM so that's 2023's main race scheduled. My task this week is to schedule 10Km, 10 mile and a half races throughout 2023 that will fit in to the training plan. Early research has Enniscorty 10Km in February and Waterford Half in June. Still on the lookout for a 10 mile around late March or throughout April. Cobh 10 is on early April but it may be too far to drive and too hilly a course.

Good running this week. Wednesday's session was done in horrid wet and windy conditions so hopefully a bit milder for the session this week. Between the conditions and tight hips/glutes/hamstrings, I'm not sure if the paces were bang on target. That muscle tightness persisted the rest of the week so I'm off to physio this morning to get work done on them. The mild PF that I have has eased a good bit. I'll continue with the exercises and hold off on the trail runs in the Hokas. Unsure if it is the shoes or terrain causing it but it has certainly eased since dropping both.

The 2 young lads were a bit dejected when they didn't PB once again at junior parkrun. Welcome to running lads 😂

Week of 14th November

Monday - 60' easy-very easy - 9.5Km, 6:19/Km, 139avg HR.

Tuesday - 60' easy - 10Km, 6:02/Km, 133avg HR.

Wednesday - 60' easy - 10Km, 6:04/Km, 146avg HR.

Thursday - 45' easy - 7Km, 6:12/Km, 138avg HR

Friday - 35' easy - 6Km, 6:05/Km, 136avg HR

Saturday - Run The Line - 11.7Km, 6:18/Km, 171avg HR

Sunday - Rest day.... walking around Ikea... :(

Mileage for the Week - 54Km

Mileage for the Year - 2,686Km

A good week completed. I was due a workout on the Wednesday but poor sleep due to kids meant I went with an easy run. Lowered the duration of the runs coming up to RTL on the Saturday.

Run the Line - I arrived up to The Gap with plenty of time before my wave of choice (medium pace) was due to depart. Registration queue was mega long so I hopped in to the queue and slowly trudged towards the desk.Due to the registration queues being so long, they announced the race was going to be delayed. As we got closer to the tent, we got word that the queue everyone was in was for the long course. This needs to be organised better in future though this the only negative thing I have to say about the race, everything else was organised to perfection. Got my bib and went back to the car to get it attached to my t-shirt. Got the heat turned up in the car to keep myself warm. With about 10 minutes to go until the medium wave was due to go, I started trudging down to the start line. Got there and saw quite a large wave get their countdown. "What time is the next wave off at?"... "That's the last one" ... er, it was supposed to be delayed. Anyway, took off the running jacket and loaded it in to the running vest as taking it off later would be a hassle and result in lost time.

1st/2nd Km - straight away, you're going up. I've a clear path for most of the 1st Km but I'm soon on top of the wave that has just departed. There is a long line of people 2-3 wide which are slowly jogging up the path. This is going to be really frustrating if I stick behind this. I opt to run along the grass verge and overtake a large amount of people before getting in to the forest at about the 1Km mark. Same congestion in the forest so go slightly off trail and overtake people while running/jumping over tree roots and berms. Legs feeling good but lungs are working hard as this has all been on uphill trajectory. As we approach the turn for "The Foxes Climb" (strava segment name), congestion is unavoidable so it gives the lungs recovery time.

3rd/4th Km - "The Foxes Climb" is the hardest climb in the race imo. It is constantly above 20% gradient with plenty of rocks, it is more of a hike then a run. Due to fires up in the mountains in 2020/2021, the gorse on the left hand side is now gone. Near the top, most participants have moved out to the left to more manageable terrain, though still steep. The legs worked hard going up here so some walking near the top to give them a brief break. I also take off my gloves/hat/buffs to allow the body to cool a little. As we veer off towards Two Rock, I start running again though met with congestion around Two Rock until the path widens and spiders out in to multiple directions. I take the least travelled path with plenty of puddles and mud. Once past the muddy/wet section, I can open up the legs and start passing people regularly. Not sure if most within the wave I started behind are inexperienced with trails or being conservative (perhaps smart) but they're taking it fairly easy over the rocky descents. I take the route with the higher drops and it allows me to get past people with ease. At the bottom of this descent, we turn right (left if the long course) on to the Wicklow Way for a slight incline.

5th/6th Km - This descent is pretty intense. The path surface is great though there are regular large rocks that cross the entire path and they also have gaps between. Fast but careful along here. Pass more people as the path occasionally widens. At the end of the path, we're on to the path which leads up towards Three Rock. Water stop here, whilst I have my own, I walk for a brief period to consume of the Maurten 160 in my running vest. Back running and we get a few hundred metres up the road before we drop off the path on to what is usually an MTB path. Technical single trail descent which occasionally widens and I pass as many as I can given the chance. Tweak my left ankle along here so a reminder to be careful with my foot placement. Single trail widens out on to a fire trail so plenty of room for manoeuvring around people.

7th/8th Km - Ascending up what appears to be a rocky stream for 200-300 metres. Everyone hiking until near the top of this ascent. "Low" hanging trees not doing anything to help me here so plenty of minor scrapes on my head. Once the ascent is complete, we're in to a technical single trail descent. This is probably the rockiest section of the race. Bit of congestion here with 2 people ahead of me but as the trail widens I take a couple of large drops in a few steps to get past and open up the legs. The descent shortly ends and we come out to be surrounded by 3 large masts. The deforestation around this part has my bearings a bit off but I'm following those ahead as we trudge up a sharp ascent. More mud and puddles around this part and we're in to congested single trail as we climb once again. It is about this time in the race that I start to do the mental maths with regards to how much distance is left and whether or not a PB is on or not.

9th/10th Km - Mental maths has me comfortable on for a PB. This is the last Km of ascent and it is a steep one at the end of it. Strava has the highest gradient at 40%. We are all hiking but hands are on the ground to maintain balance. Plenty of rocks and tree roots to carefully navigate. Once at the top we are out on to Dublin Mountain Way path. I get running straight away whilst others are recovering from the suffering of the hike we have just endured. This is probably the flattest section of the race. We're going along this path or about 700 metres when we take a slight turn off and are up/down over berms.

11th Km/finish - On to the final descent and this is the only part of the race which covers the same ground on the way out/back. The forest path here is wide enough for two people but there are a number of groups which appear to be taking the race as a social event so I'm off to the side over berms as I was on the ascent. Out of the forest and come across 2 more groups of 2 but they kindly move to the side to allow me to pass. This part is winding in parts so I'm not sure if there's many ahead of me. On to the final stretch which has a bridge to traverse and a couple of minor hairpins. I move over to the grass verge as my heavy footsteps on the path and heavy breathing are probably terrifying those ahead of me. Approach a minor hairpin turn which I cut and take the drop off the grass in my stride, passing the last person of my race. Continue to keep the pace up and as we approach the finish line I can hear someone catching behind me so keep my focus and get over the line without getting overtaken.

I got home in 1:13:30 which is a 12.5 minute PB. Upon review of 2019 vs 2022, it seems they changed the route at around 9Km. This year's iteration appears to be about 500 metres shorter in distance and 50 metres short in elevation when compared with the 2019 route. Somewhere between a 3-4 minute addition to my time would have me at similar distance/elevation when compared with 2019 so still a good showing. This was a very well organised race (registration needs work) and I had lots of run running over a mixture of terrains. As I finished in the top 25%, I would probably opt to move up to the fast wave the next time I run it. If training goes well in 2023, there's a sub 1:10 in there for the short course.

The legs were sore on Sunday and worse on Monday. Physio worked them out on Monday so we're almost back to normal at this stage of the week.

Malaga half coming up in 3 weeks. Not sure how I'm set for that, will need to have a think on how to approach it. I think somewhere in the 1:45-1:50 range is realistic.

Thanks... So was I 😃

It's a fast flat course. Elevation of 50-100m for the half so will see how I go.

Temperature today is at 20c which would be no good but next week is showing low-mid teens.