If... the Unforgiving Minute

Since my race last week, I have been keeping it easy, with a steady 6K thrown in on Thursday, followed by 10x100m hills strides. My HR was higher than usual during the steady section. Not sure if that was because I was not fully recovered or because I picked up a touch of the virus that has two of my "housemates" on antibiotics. Anyway I was back to normal by the weekend.

The last of the Fit4Life league races was due to be held on Tuesday and I had resigned myself to just taking part and not racing but at the last minute it got moved to Wednesday this week. Then I found out I had a work commitment that night, then that got changed to Tuesday, so I'm back on Wednesday - #fate.

It's a two mile hill run, starting at the bottom of a 300m tarmac hill, followed by an off-road up and down trail section and ending back where we started - should be good fun, especially the last downhill section. I know there was talk of an IMRA race around there one time but I don't think it ever happened. It's a pity because there are loads of good routes around here.

For Sunday's long run, I headed up towards Slieve Deane along the Sligo Way, hoping to find a trail that leads to the top, but failed. Any route I tried was still waterlogged and I did not fancy getting lost in a bog-hole or getting my new white Adidas Response Cushions all mucky - I know... I did find out that more of the Way had been improved and made passable with stones - another good hill race route if enough people were interested around here. Problem is there are too many races already - there really is a 10K every weekend right now.

Anyway I headed back down and did a few km on the smaller hills before going back up the same route again. I was not tracking distance but 1:37 at an average 147 HR was good enough.

After this week's 2-miler I will get back into my training plan, sticking fairly close to McMillan's 10K workout but keeping it hilly. I have not done track intervals for the last few weeks so I will get back into them too - looking forward to a few 5K pace workouts. I reckon I will feel the benefit of them when I try to turn the legs quickly on downhill sections. I will do a 10K then in a few weeks. Again there are loads to choose from. I am tempted by the Ballinamore 10K for a good time or the Horseshoe 10K for more hill pain, we'll see.

I had missed 2 of this series so I was out of contention for an overall place but wanted to do well on this last hilly trail run.

It started at the bottom of a steep hill, similar to the Curlews 10K I did recently. I was in a group of 1, with one faster guy 15s behind me and 45s to 2 guys ahead. I started off at a good pace and could just see the group ahead as I turned off-road onto the trail, continuing uphill. The path was muckier than I expected as we turned slightly downhill but I was starting to catch people now.

Back up the hill on the figure eight, I passed a few but I was aware how loud my breathing was - redline city already, keep pushing. Let it go down the hill, past a few more. Struggled to take the sharp right at the bottom, stayed upright. Nice stretch now, good place to overtake but everyone was flying along, needed longer legs.

Turned uphill again, this was tough, longer and steeper. A few people walking, no shame in it, just take a few steps, you won't lose much time - NOOOOO, keeping lifting the knees. Lungs on fire, heart rate off the scale, but I did not stop. I sensed a few people coming back at me, so I pushed it over the top and let fly again coming down. Turned left at the bottom this time, back towards the entrance. I considered hurdling the barrier, maybe even one foot on it, steeplechase style, but thoughts of slippy shoes and ending up flat on my back persuaded me otherwise.

I jinked around the wooden bollards instead. Still one guy to catch on the 300m of tarmac down to the finish, got him. Surprised to find there were only three more ahead of me then, including one bandit. Passed one, then eased back, finished third, with I think the fastest time 11:21.

Needed support from the wall afterwards, legs had turned jelly, head hurt, tongue tasted metallic, have not felt like this after a race since I ran a 400m flat out - good feeling but evil. Did a few very slow recovery miles after, will need some more to get it out of my system. That's the problem with hard racing - it reduces the ability to train hard, but it also brings you on a level and this one was worth it.

One of the great joys of running in the summer months is the ability to discover new places to run. The extra hours of daylight make it easy to find new routes and trails. In winter with long work hours and short days, I am restricted to familiar places and group runs.

Thursday did not feel like Summer however, as I was the only car parked near the Glencar Waterfall in the teeming rain. I planned to follow a path I had seen on a map that I hoped would take me "Where the wandering water gushes from the hills above Glencar". Fortunately there was a map in the car park that ensured I could not go wrong. The path was an old bog road built during the emergency to bring home the turf. During this emergency we can no longer dig the turf!

Anyway as expected the road veered upwards from the lake, turning from tarmac road to gravel path and later grass track. On a good day you could see Knocknarae from the top, but not that day. I was surprised I was able to ascend without stopping, except to cross the stiles, at about 5:30 km pace. The total elevation gain was 340m over about 3.5K so averaged almost 10% incline. I wandered off on a few other paths to try to make a loop but in the wet conditions I failed. I did come across an old TV and the engine and steering wheel of an even older car - amazing that someone went to the trouble of bringing them up here to dump them.

Going back down I kept it fairly steady at about 4:20 Km pace, not wanting to overshoot the hairpin turns or trash my knees. Down at the bottom, I finished with a swift 2K on the pancake-flat road along by the lake at sub-4 min /km pace. A good steady run that I thought did not take too much out of me but for the next few days I could feel the effects in my legs, expecially my calves and hips

Sunday's long run brought me to "Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake", an old favourite which I had run many times in the past. I had given up on this route as there were too many uncontrolled dogs and it was no different this time. The first 6K or so were along the road in about 27 mins, mostly downhill. I then turned into Slish Wood following the Sligo Way along the side of a babbling brook until I came to the car park, where I skipped over the used condoms and take-away boxes and continued along the lake-shore.

It was so long since I had run this way I could not remember the hill at the turn-around point, though I knew there had to be one. I remembered once I saw it and my calves reminded me of Thursday's run again. On the route back I was looking for a path that might take me up the nearby Killery Mountain on a future run but I could not find one. Back at the car park another loose dog dissuaded me from returning by the stream and I took my chances out on the road instead. The last 6K were about 27.5 mins this time. Overall an easy paced run, but as tough as I could handle.

To complete "The stolen child", I should run out by Rosses Point, maybe later this week. Key session this week is 2x2M + 2x1M at 10K pace. Next race is the Horseshoe 10K in less than 4 weeks. I would like to do the Ballinamore 10K the following week but I will put the hillier one first and then see how I recover. T-47 days to Warriors Run, tick, tick, tick...

Last weekend I planned a run on the Warrior's route for my LSR but with heavy rain and limited visibility on Sunday, I thought better of it. My family thought I was mad anyway going out in that weather, you would think they would be used to it by now. I ended up doing my longest run ever 1:54 (approx 23 km) - I am edging up towards the magical 2 hour long run. Kept the pace easy except for a fast few km to finish and averaged HR of 145 bpm, even though I saw a few unexplained spikes as I went along.

My second key session is 300/400s on the track every second week or 3x2miles every other week. Turned up at the track last night, expecting to join in with the club but there was no one else there - must be all on a summer break from track? Although I was tempted to change my plan and do something else, I went ahead on the track on my own. We did 400's last time so I went for 300's this time.

First one was 57s - a bit fast - I can never get the first one right, either too fast or too slow. I eased out to 59s and held it pretty consistent after that - overall average 59.1s for 16 reps. I kept the recoveries fairly short, a 100m jog in around the same time as the interval - actually averaged 59.1s for them too. The last time I did these in March, I was averaging 65s off 45s recovery. This time because I was on my own on the track, I could do half of them in reverse direction which I think had the desired effect of taking the pressure off my left knee.

My third key session of the week is alternating between a longish steady run and a steady hill run. On Thursday I will go back and do the hills of Glencar again - 3.5K uphill at almost 10% incline, then back down, followed by a few fast flat K's to finish - can't wait.

Ran the full race route on Sunday, I tried not to make it a time trial but did go a bit faster than I should. I started down at the seafront and the first thing I learnt is that stage 1 is more undulating than I thought. I reached the stage 2 mountain turn-off at about 23 mins. Looking at previous years results it looks as if that first stage is run a lot faster so I will have to be careful not to get dragged along too quickly in the race.

I did not follow the race route for stage 2 across private land and headed on to the descent/tourist route instead. I had planned to pick up the pace a bit on the hill but found my legs much heavier than I expected. I think it was from the hill run last Thursday more than anything else. I ended up walking on the steep parts which actually does not have that much effect on overall pace. I was up to the cairn in 11:20 and back down to the car-park steady in 7:25.

By now the day had started to warm-up and I could have done with a mouthful of water - there is not even a cool stream near there so I kept going. Again more up and down hills on the third section before the big downhill to the Church of Ireland. The stretch into the town is not too bad and even the hill up to Kelly's pub was ok. The last downhill km should be good to accelerate on if the legs are still there.

Had planned a few cool-down km on the beach but the tide was well in so instead I just cooled my lower legs in the ice-bath that is the North Atlantic Ocean. Overall 1:15+ - should be able to find the 5 mins or so on race day. Even though I did overdo it a bit, it was well worth the effort and no after effects on Monday.

Lessons Learnt:
Rest and hydrate well before the race
Take it easy on the first stage - lots of up and down little hills to tire you before the big hill
Walking on the steep bits is ok and does not really slow you down much
The weather is against you - wet, wind, heat - there will always be something to get in the way

Two weeks ago I did a steady 10K in 40:15 for this session average 4:01 /km. This week I tried to go bit longer but found it tough going. The first 6K in 24:48 were ok, averaging 4:08, but still my legs felt heavy and tired. The return loop, over similar small hills was a full minute slower in 25:51, averaging 4:19.

Once I realised that I was going to struggle with this, I decided not to beat myself up about the times and concentrate on maintaining an even effort instead. Heart rate was average 154 bpm on the first half and 156 for the second, which is about right for a run of this effort.

No more sessions planned for over a week, long run Sunday followed by easy +strides to give the body some recovery before 10K race Friday evening.

I kept it easy/steady since last Friday. I have been off work so I found it harder to fit in my runs, it's easier when there is a routine.

In the run up to last week's race, I could feel I had put on a few pounds but I avoided weighing myself as it might have a negative psychological effect. I checked the scales this week and sure enough I was 1Kg up in about 4 weeks which was another 1Kg above where I have been for a while. However I consoled myself when out shopping by fitting into a smaller jeans size than I have bought in a long number of years. Both measurements have served to keep my food (and drink) intake in check while I am out and about this week.

I did manage one good session this week a 6 x 1Mile @6min with 3min recovery today. Due to the usual watch problems I don't know how I did on the first 2 but on the remainder I averaged 5:50. It might not be exactly a mile but close enough to feel good about the session. With the rain bucketing down at the same time and a few hills thrown in on the trail, I have got a lot of confidence from this.

It felt different to run hard in the morning - normally I run my sessions after work and keep any morning runs easy. Despite the threat of seeing my breakfast a second time it felt reasonably comfortable.

Schedule has been a bit off this week too with summer holidays and travelling around the country with the family but still got out as planned.

Did a good hill run up Knocknarae last Sunday, warmed up on the Glen Road then started up the tourist trail and turned right after the stile, following the stone wall to climb up the North (?) side of the mountain. Back down on the race route in reverse direction to about half-way down, followed the fence for a while and then back up. Came down the toursit trail quickly then along Rathcarrick before heading back to the carpark. Over 90 mins of mostly running, distance unknown.

Wednesday was a steady 12K run with one good hill and finished with strides.
Friday I did another good hill run followed by vV02 workout of 8 x 300m in 60s with 150m/60s recovery jog, which felt like a good race simulation for total of about 14K.
The rest was all easy runs of less than 6-8K.

Finally fixed my watch problem too - bought a simple Timex IM stopwatch in Argos. Wore my two watches yesterday, to compare them. Glad I did 'cos my old one did another trick and forgot to save my workout.

Finished with the hills now. 7 days and 4 hours to race start - will keep it easy/steady for the week with strides to keep the legs moving. Not sure how I feel about my fitness at the moment but no specific injuries to worry about.

This week last year I did my first run after knee injury/surgery so its all progress.

This has been my target "A" race since I started back running exactly this time last year after 6 months out with a knee injury, so forgive me if I labour this report a little. My target changed from "finish it" at this time last year to 1:15 and by the time I toed the line I was saying 1:10. In the end I got 1:04 and 20th place from an entry of 850 so I was more than satisfied.

I had a ran this race in my head probably hundreds of times and had a detailed plan of action but I knew this could all change in the heat of the moment. Fortunately the weather did not play a part as it brightened up just before the race and the rain held off for the afternoon.

The start was a bit if a sardine job as we all filed in from the front - I was about 5 or 6 rows back and crossed the start line in about 3 secs. There was a lot of sorting out in the early stages and the first hill out of the village helped with that. At that stage I looked around for a group to settle in with but did not recognise many faces.

My plan was to keep it steady for the first stage and save energy for the hill. The first real hill is the tarmaced Glen Road and suddenly people started slowing. I saw a club-mate up ahead that I set my sights on and got up on my toes for the first time. At the turn-off, I clocked 17:05 - my target had been 18 mins so I was nicely on track.

The off-road section was tougher than I expected but it was tough for everyone. To be honest, some of the detail here is a blur. I walked more than I expected, hands on knees big steps as someone on here once recommended (donothoponpop, I think, thanks). At one stage I passed a guy who was running, while I was walking. After the first grassy bit, it turned rocky - some of this was familiar from my recce's, but it went on and on, winding. At times the upward slope was runnable but we were going across the face of the slope and one leg was 6 inches lower than the other, I thought of my (former) injured knee but it behaved. I caught up with my clubmate, he said something about it being harder than he expected, I could not even answer him. My breathing was loud, gasping. My tongue was stuck to my mouth, I could not think of words. He passed me again on the heathered section.

Finally the cairn came into view, I got another lease of life and picked up my knees as I reached familiar territory. I thought of the first run I did here one wet April morning. I passed my club colleague again and he waved me on, I did not see him again until the finish. At the back of the cairn I wanted to be about in the range 35-36 mins. I figured this was about half way, timewise. My watch showed 33:23 - I had not lost time with walking I had gained it. I still can't work that out. But for the first time I knew a good time was on if I held it together.

On the downhill, I let fly. I kept right of the main path as I had practiced and visualised, almost landing on a photographer at one point - I hope he got a good snap. Clarity had returned to my brain by now and I concentrated on remaining upright. Arms out, fast feet. I think it was here that I passed a runner from O'Hanlons AC in a purple singlet but then a mountain goat came past us both at break-neck pace on the steepest section, awesome stuff. I'm pretty sure that was Slogger-Jogger who finally finished one place ahead of me in the ranking.

The provisional results show that I was in 64th position at the timing mat at the start off the off-road section and that I was in 19th by the end. Although I was happy with my hill-running, I was not that good, I don't think I passed that many, I think the results may have errors. I took over 16 mins to get uphill and less than 6 mins to get back down.

At the bottom of the hill I grabbed a glass of water from Joe Cullen, Sligo's Special Olympic medal winner, thanks Joe. There were 5 water stations along the course and support and marshalling were superb. I heard my name called several times along the route, sometimes I saw and recognised the person, sometimes it was a voice in the crowd. At every corner, outside every second house, strangers cheered us on. Besides the major city marathons, is there a better supported race in the country? If there is put my name down for it now.

After the thrill of the off-road, I tried to maintain the momentum. By Grange cross-roads I was 3.5 mins ahead of my plan but now came the tougher bit. I took a mouthful of water at Rathcarrick woods and I felt my stomach retch, time to dig deep. The kms-to-go were marked out on the road and they passed quick enough but I felt like I was going backwards, they were kms to go weren't they, not kms done or miles - my brain was starting to lose focus. The mapmyrun profile shows this section to be up and down but overall its downhill and when I ran it in training it felt like net downhill, this time it did not. At one point my brain said "you walked on the mountain, you can walk here".... "no fcuking way!".

The black figure of the mountain goat was still in sight, maybe 50m ahead (sorry SJ I did not know who it was then and I had to personalise you) so I concentrated on reeling him in. A few quick looks over my shoulder showed there was no one close. I passed a few spectators who half-recognised me and gave me the wtf look as in "wtf is he doing this close to the front". WTF indeed.

My next marker was at the bottom of the big hill (Moxey's hill?) as we joined the main road 55:44, just over 2K to go should be 10 mins from here, deadly. More support and offers of sweets and water refused. Then out of nowhere the O'Hanlons AC guy I passed on the off-road section zipped past - he went on to over-take another two before the finish, great going. I vowed no one else would go past, I did not even look behind to check. Head down, keep it going, don't leave anything behind - any cliche I could think of.

I was warned about the little hill on the way back to Kelly's pub but I had the legs for it. The reward was a great downhill towards the finishing straight. Huge crowds at the finish, and the noise, unbelievable. I allowed myself a clenching of the fists as I crossed, a personal victory.

The overall winner was Emmett Dunleavy in 55:16, ahead of last year's victor Owen Gahan. Loads of other great performances out there too. The first O-45 finished in under the hour, t-runner was just after him. The first women was in 1:08, 5 mins ahead of her nearest competitor. Overall I was 18 in senior category - two O-45s ahead of me. At first I said never again, but then next year I would be O-45 and maybe in the running for a place, so maybe.. But what a race.