Running is Mental

30th Anniversary Sonny Murphy 10 Mile hosted by Kilnaboy AC was on this Sunday. One of the old four Munster Spring 10 Mile races. However since the series has stopped this race has had a reduced number of entries mainly because of the time of year its ran and the nature of the course. While the course is your usual scenic route its is undulating and hard. A lot of runners avoid it because of this and that its not PB material.  Another low set of numbers again for the run must have the organisers scratching their heads. There was 107 entries on the day and the vast majority of these where club runners, so for some reason this race is not appealing to the non club runner. If the race is to continue then Kilnaboy AC need to address this as I like many other club runners would hate to see its demise.

Not racing the watch

I didn't really have the appetite for a crack at sub 70 as Connemara was still a bit in the legs but I was going to race this. A local runner who I have a history with beat me narrowly in this race 2 years ago so today was about extracting a victory. Plan stay with him until mile 8 and the go for home at the water station by running through it. Even with so little runners at the start my target lined up at  the very front with me 3-4 rows back, he took off like a bat out of hell and I got caught in traffic. After a mile he had opened a 200 meter gap but it wasn't getting bigger anymore, the only issue was we were going under 7 minute pace. With the breeze behind us this wasn’t too difficult so I was quite happy to be able to hold the gap but I was now on my own which was a worry with the head wind breeze that we would encounter soon. Once we turned right after mile 4 he was starting to open the gap mainly because I was easing back the pace slightly. I was now starting to worry that maybe I was not going to be in a position to challenge him later in the race. I kept going at race effort and if he beat me then fair dues. Passed halfway in 35:05 and the pace was starting to become a real effort when suddenly my foe was coming back to me big time as in he was walking. Flew by him and he ended up with a DNF. So game over what do I do now, well I decided to keep up the race effort but the combination of a stitch (glupped down 2 cups of water too quick) and the long drag up to Corofin with the stiffing breeze saw the pace drop that through mile 7 I was 50:24. On the climb up I was passed by a runner from Galway, so I put the head down and I stayed with him. There after we had a mile of passing each other out, I surged on the downhill section through Corofin, he caught me on the flat, I skipped the water station and kicked on but he again closed the gap and passed me once more. As I had ran the last 2 miles in the warm-up I made the plan to stay behind up the hill before the 9 mile marker, switch to left hand side as we crested and kick open a gap. He was better on the hills so I needed to end this before the final climb to the finish. Executed to perfection as I finally managed to open the gap which he could not close. Kept the pedal down until I could no longer hear his footsteps behind and then dropped the pace to 7:30 for the final climb to the finish. Crossed the line in 1:12:20 slower then Dungarvan but very happy with how the race transpired. My foe for the last 2 miles was Brendan Kennelly from GCH who shook my hand after he came through the finish line. I have no doubt that should we meet again I will be in his sights. That's racing for you, sometimes you don't have to beat the watch to have a good one.

The Sound of Silence

Getting to the start line.

With a week to go to Connemara it was likely that I may have to skip it. I never looked at the Marathon start time when entering and only realised that it was a 10:30 start on the Monday before the race. As usual I had an afternoon music gig lined up which was to be a 6 PM start in Newcastle-West Co Limerick. All was not lost as I contacted the RD and he agreed to let me start with the walkers at 9:30. Getting there on time would be the next issue. I decided to drive to Maam’s Cross and park at Peacocks and maybe get on the bus if it stopped. First one was full and I missed the second one, so while waiting in the cold James the race starter for the Marathon took pity on me and gave me a lift together with Eileen and Bridget to the start. Finally standing at Lough Inagh and about to do my first run in this part of the world, I understood why Thomas looked of bewildered at the expo yesterday on learning I never had ran the course.

A tale of Two Halves.

Most people say that halfway in a Marathon is at Mile 20 well that's not the case in Connemara it consist of 2 equally measured halves in distance but as regards toughness the first really gives you a false sense of security. We set off with the walkers and walked until we where out of site from the start where myself, Eimear,Colette, Lillian and Brenda (doing her 50th) set off at an nice easy trundle. The girls aim was 5 hours and I was happy with this. The hardest part of the first half was trying to hold my balance in the rocking and rolling portoloo at mile 6 while trying to make myself presentable to the world again. The girls thought they had got away from me but I soon caught up with them with 1-2 8 Minute miles. So far the day was turning out to be very pleasant, great company, fantastic scenery, whether was holding up, wind at our backs course going down hill. Passed the half way spilt on 2:19 dead so the Ladies where well on their way to sub 5. We proceeded to walk up the climb after Leenaun but this is where I had to leave my running buddies. My calves were starting to cramp when walking but okay if I jogged at this point I said my goodbyes to the others, and hit away at a relatively easy pace. On my own with the silence and my own thoughts I really enjoyed the next few miles. The silence was only broken by the sound of feet from odd faster runner overtaking me from behind. Soon pretty much most of the faster half marathon runners had caught and overtaken me and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Gusting wind from all directions with showers one of hail made miles 16 to 20 quite difficult. Luckily this part of the course offers some shelter. At this point most of the half runners around me where running at my pace and I soon found that my pace was picking up so I had to bring it back into check. I recalled Johnny Healy’s advice from yesterday “Hold something in reserve for climbing The Hell”. Very soon we where making the right turn and heading for the Hell of the west. It is a difficult climb mainly because of where it comes in the race and the fact if you look up it seems to go on forever. I just kept my head down and kept on going until I crested the top. I look at my watch @ 24 and thought that with a push I could get a sub 2 second half. Unfortunately @ mile 25 it was not on so I eased backed and finished out the race comfortably for a sub 4:20. Managed a massive negative split of 18 minutes but that was due to the manner in which I ran it. Only 5 other runners did a negative split which just shows how difficult the second half is, it is also an extremely hard Half Marathon course.

After Party

This I missed and judging by the photos floating around Facebook everyone was in good spirits and had a good time. There was the usual presentation of medals to MCI members who had reached completed their Marathon Milestones on the Day so congratulations to Brenda (50), Collette (25) and Eugene (25). Brenda also got a big Chocolate cake and I am hoping that she kept me a slice but its very unlikely given most Ultra/Marathons runners are known for our sweet tooth.

Back to Basics

The latest instalment sees me coaching some very new runners in the club. We have started a Couch to 5K program and I will be one of the coaches. Hard to imagine that over seven years have passed since I was thankfully forced to start this road due to been unhealthy and overweight, I think some of the participants where shocked to hear that I was not this super human skinny marathon runner, and maybe it will make the program more realistic to them if they can see what can be achieved by making such a small change to your life. Our group consists of 15 or so and we even have 3 gents. First night was 60 sec run 60 sec walk, a struggle for some but all got through it. It brought back memories of my first night so long ago doing this and been totally shagged and out of breath after it, but buzzing that I couldn't wait for the next night. I hope that our new recruits got the same buzz on Tuesday and continue with us for the next 6-9 weeks and maybe future then that.