I should have known when my number didn't arrive in the post as promised that I should just give up on the Aware 10k in the Phoenix Park. Stubbornly I e-mailed the organisers on Friday and was assured I could turn up at the start line and collect a new number. So far so good! Right?
Saturday morning came too quickly and I reluctantly dragged myself out of my warm bed. I'm not one for lie in's but even a toe out of the covers confirmed it was a cold one. I pulled the curtains to see the surrounding countryside liberally dusted in white. Not snow but a hard frost. "At least it's dry and bright and still." I thought, trying to look on the bright side. Perfect morning for a race once I'm warmed up.
An hour later I was wrapped up and ready to go. Or would be once I got the windscreen defrosted. An impatient phone call from a friend J I was giving a lift to got me moving while trying to see out of one portion of my frozen windscreen. "Oh well! It's always a few degrees warmer in Dublin." I thought. Hmmm.
We arrived in Dublin relatively quickly and it wasn't until I went to park the car and it skidded a couple of feet that I realised how frosty it was on Chesterfield Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the park and the road a lot of the race was going to be on. I looked at J and got very worried for the first time that this race wasn't going to go ahead. My confidence wasn't helped by trying to get out of the car on the slippery roads.
Long story short, the race did go ahead but not with me in it. After a number of delays of the start to allow the course to defrost and warnings that the conditions were "very, very, very, very dangerous" (there may even have been another very) I knew this wasn't going to be a PB day for me. Considering that I'm mortally terrified of falling on ice I decided early on I wasn't going to run and encouraged anyone who would listen to do the same. We had already made the donation to charity. Why risk life and limb?
As we were there and dressed a run of some sort was in order so I let the much faster J drag me around on the grass of the Phonix Park for a bit of a cross country jaunt. It was heavy going and my hardish effort is a bit of a jog for him so it was a relief for both of us to get back on the now much safer paths later on for a faster final couple of miles. At least the morning wasn't a total write-off from a training point of view!
Showing posts with label cross country. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross country. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Sunday, 30 November 2014
Race recap - Kildare Senior Cross Country
How can two races be so different? If last weeks 10k was a dream then today was a bit of a nightmare. Well I suppose you can't compare cross country and roads anyway but I think I could have paced this better.
It was a perfect morning. Dry. Not too cold. No wind. After a last minute bathroom (furze bushes) break we lined up at the start just on time for the off. And I decided I'd see what it was like to go out fast. Good idea right?
Wrong! It was going quite well until about 1k in at which point I started to really suffer. This was going to be a long 4k! I managed to hold on to some kind of pace for the next 2k but after that I was holding on for dear life and not really caring if I made a holy show of myself. Tragic! I heard one of the other girls on the team approach from behind and then pass me at 3k and desperately wanted to encourage her but I just couldn't get words out.
I had nothing for a fast finish despite loads of great support coming towards the end.
The finishing chute was a blur with my vision greying out at the edges. I begged the girl in front of me to move on so I could fall onto the grass but that didn't work......or most probably I didn't actually say anything at all out loud, I just thought I did. What a wuss!
Once out of the chute I tried to lie on the grass but some club members were having none of it. Luckily for them I was too tired and sick to go for them! They definitely know better but I still think a little lie down on the cold wet muck would have done me the world of good. Or made me really sick. One of those.
In the end we got second team so pretty happy with that. I know I didn't have anything else in me but would love to be stronger for the team. Maybe next year!
The men had to do 10k which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, especially as we had probably churned the course up nicely for them. They did amazing and also got second team and I must say it was a lot more enjoyable to stand watching and cheering with a cuppa and some baked goods than to run the damn thing. Post race drinks and a dissection of the whole thing later tonight in the pub! Yay!
In summary: Cross country sucks really really bad but being part of a club and part of a team is great!
It was a perfect morning. Dry. Not too cold. No wind. After a last minute bathroom (furze bushes) break we lined up at the start just on time for the off. And I decided I'd see what it was like to go out fast. Good idea right?
Wrong! It was going quite well until about 1k in at which point I started to really suffer. This was going to be a long 4k! I managed to hold on to some kind of pace for the next 2k but after that I was holding on for dear life and not really caring if I made a holy show of myself. Tragic! I heard one of the other girls on the team approach from behind and then pass me at 3k and desperately wanted to encourage her but I just couldn't get words out.
I had nothing for a fast finish despite loads of great support coming towards the end.
The finishing chute was a blur with my vision greying out at the edges. I begged the girl in front of me to move on so I could fall onto the grass but that didn't work......or most probably I didn't actually say anything at all out loud, I just thought I did. What a wuss!
Once out of the chute I tried to lie on the grass but some club members were having none of it. Luckily for them I was too tired and sick to go for them! They definitely know better but I still think a little lie down on the cold wet muck would have done me the world of good. Or made me really sick. One of those.
In the end we got second team so pretty happy with that. I know I didn't have anything else in me but would love to be stronger for the team. Maybe next year!
The men had to do 10k which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, especially as we had probably churned the course up nicely for them. They did amazing and also got second team and I must say it was a lot more enjoyable to stand watching and cheering with a cuppa and some baked goods than to run the damn thing. Post race drinks and a dissection of the whole thing later tonight in the pub! Yay!
In summary: Cross country sucks really really bad but being part of a club and part of a team is great!
Monday, 3 March 2014
Race Recap - Slane 5k Trail Race
So this is from a couple of weeks ago but it was different to any other 5k I've done so I thought it was worth recording as I might like to do something like this again. Or remind myself why not to!
This race took place on an open farm with a tourist hostel on it. It's just outside Slane village in Co. Meath and is overall quite idyllic.....possibly more so if it hasn't rained almost constantly for a month and isn't located (quite famously) in a valley. More to come on this!
I arrived over an hour before the race start and parked in an already worryingly muddy field considering I was one of the first cars there. As I got out of the car to go pick up my number someone with a high spec car was already spinning his/her wheels trying to park.....as someone with a practical little runaround this made me a little gleeful and I might have had a little giggle/cackle. I'm not proud of this! They were fine in the end...don't worry!
I picked up my race number with no problems with a little bag of treats too - a bottle of water, an orange, some race flyers and a 10 euro voucher for wheelworx/runworx....not bad! There may have been more but I can't remember now. It was quite chilly at this point so went back to my car where I ended up meeting a girl I connected with on the facebook event page who was also running the race alone. Once we got our numbers sorted we headed up to the start area to people-watch, chat about our other races and generally make the wait for the start less awkward than when alone. God bless social media! We did a brief warm up which was worryingly difficult due to the already churned up ground before the race had even started. This is where I started to be very glad I had signed up for the 5k and not the 10K.
A few minutes before 12 people began to drift up to the start and the route was explained by one of the organisers. With not much ado the 10k people were off. Poor things! About 2-3 minutes later he let us go and we were away.
Off I went downhill about 200 meters into a sharp left through a gate where I became immediately very glad I had tightened my shoelaces firmly before the racc - someone left a shoe behind in the sucking mud! And I have a feeling this was not the last time this happened during this event. Around the bend we went and were faced with a truly massive hill. I was more shocked at the fact that I hadn't noticed it's existence at all than surprised that we were expected to climb it. Luckily I had done my share of massive hills in Achill the week before on a run out and back to Keem beach so I wasn't particularly phased by it but I knew I would have cried if I'd seen it a year or two ago. Started to pass a lot of people from the 5k at this stage and some of those from the 10k too but felt really strong so kept at it. The 1k mark wasn't long after the crest of the hill but we didn't get much relief as the next kilometer was marked by being single track trail in areas where it was very hard to overtake as well as very treacherous ground. This bit seemed to go on forever but going through trees as we were I could see the appeal of racing on this in better conditions. Trying to find the best line, dodging around branches etc. As it stood this wasn't really possible as it was all about staying upright!
The next couple of kilometers were mostly just very very wet ground with only very rare steps where you weren't up to your ankles in mud. There was also a small stream which in normal circumstances could probably be forded quite easily but I opted to go straight in to mid calf as it was too hard to see the stones due to the flooding. To be honest this was quite a relief just to get the clogged mud off the shoes at that stage!
During the last kilometer there was about 300 meters on road as we headed back towards the start area and this felt like running on clouds, fairydust and Beyonces backside. Of course I was so happy to be on road I sprinted like a fool and toasted my legs. I was in for a lovely surprise when we got back on boggy ground for the last run uphill to the finish. I may not look like Bambi but my legs did a damn good impression! Luckily I had left enough of a gap between me and the next competitor that she didn't catch me on this bit as I hadn't a hope of speeding up!
Was delighted to find out after that I was the 7th lady in the 5k out of around 70. Not bad for a slow coach.
Overall a really good first running of this event and I hope they run it again next year. I was sore up to mid thigh until the following Wednesday so just goes to shoe what different muscles these sort of events use over a road 5k. Hopefully these sort of things stand me in good stead for when I do my first road 5k or 10k of 2014 over the next few weeks.
This race took place on an open farm with a tourist hostel on it. It's just outside Slane village in Co. Meath and is overall quite idyllic.....possibly more so if it hasn't rained almost constantly for a month and isn't located (quite famously) in a valley. More to come on this!
I arrived over an hour before the race start and parked in an already worryingly muddy field considering I was one of the first cars there. As I got out of the car to go pick up my number someone with a high spec car was already spinning his/her wheels trying to park.....as someone with a practical little runaround this made me a little gleeful and I might have had a little giggle/cackle. I'm not proud of this! They were fine in the end...don't worry!
I picked up my race number with no problems with a little bag of treats too - a bottle of water, an orange, some race flyers and a 10 euro voucher for wheelworx/runworx....not bad! There may have been more but I can't remember now. It was quite chilly at this point so went back to my car where I ended up meeting a girl I connected with on the facebook event page who was also running the race alone. Once we got our numbers sorted we headed up to the start area to people-watch, chat about our other races and generally make the wait for the start less awkward than when alone. God bless social media! We did a brief warm up which was worryingly difficult due to the already churned up ground before the race had even started. This is where I started to be very glad I had signed up for the 5k and not the 10K.
A few minutes before 12 people began to drift up to the start and the route was explained by one of the organisers. With not much ado the 10k people were off. Poor things! About 2-3 minutes later he let us go and we were away.
Off I went downhill about 200 meters into a sharp left through a gate where I became immediately very glad I had tightened my shoelaces firmly before the racc - someone left a shoe behind in the sucking mud! And I have a feeling this was not the last time this happened during this event. Around the bend we went and were faced with a truly massive hill. I was more shocked at the fact that I hadn't noticed it's existence at all than surprised that we were expected to climb it. Luckily I had done my share of massive hills in Achill the week before on a run out and back to Keem beach so I wasn't particularly phased by it but I knew I would have cried if I'd seen it a year or two ago. Started to pass a lot of people from the 5k at this stage and some of those from the 10k too but felt really strong so kept at it. The 1k mark wasn't long after the crest of the hill but we didn't get much relief as the next kilometer was marked by being single track trail in areas where it was very hard to overtake as well as very treacherous ground. This bit seemed to go on forever but going through trees as we were I could see the appeal of racing on this in better conditions. Trying to find the best line, dodging around branches etc. As it stood this wasn't really possible as it was all about staying upright!
The next couple of kilometers were mostly just very very wet ground with only very rare steps where you weren't up to your ankles in mud. There was also a small stream which in normal circumstances could probably be forded quite easily but I opted to go straight in to mid calf as it was too hard to see the stones due to the flooding. To be honest this was quite a relief just to get the clogged mud off the shoes at that stage!
During the last kilometer there was about 300 meters on road as we headed back towards the start area and this felt like running on clouds, fairydust and Beyonces backside. Of course I was so happy to be on road I sprinted like a fool and toasted my legs. I was in for a lovely surprise when we got back on boggy ground for the last run uphill to the finish. I may not look like Bambi but my legs did a damn good impression! Luckily I had left enough of a gap between me and the next competitor that she didn't catch me on this bit as I hadn't a hope of speeding up!
Was delighted to find out after that I was the 7th lady in the 5k out of around 70. Not bad for a slow coach.
Overall a really good first running of this event and I hope they run it again next year. I was sore up to mid thigh until the following Wednesday so just goes to shoe what different muscles these sort of events use over a road 5k. Hopefully these sort of things stand me in good stead for when I do my first road 5k or 10k of 2014 over the next few weeks.
Shoes! Really this time...
As you can see, my orange-laced Saucony Omni 11's had passed their sell by date. I got these just before I started training for the marathon so they have got well over the recommended 500 miles on them. I do rotate my shoes but my other 2 pairs are both over 2 years old. Shame on me!!
These guys have served me well and I have had no significant injuries in them so far so I made the decision to buy the exact same shoe online. This meant I got last years shoe at a big discount which is ace as I'm broke :) I have supported running shops in the past and most probably will again in the future but right now due to the financial realities of being a working single parent of teens I am not in a position to spend 135 euro on runners I can get for 70 online. I will continue to pay my taxes, give to charity etc. but I'm just not a complete mug!
Can't wait to give the new one's a run out but yesterday, in the rain, on the curragh was not the time. In fact I didn't even wear the dirty ones so that's not even why they are filthy! I always wear a less cushioned shoe on the grass as I don't feel I need it as much and when it's wet or uneven I'm much more concerned about grip and contact with the ground than cushioning. I'm liable to topple over at the least provocation at the best of times so I need all the help I can get on uneven ground.
These guys have served me well and I have had no significant injuries in them so far so I made the decision to buy the exact same shoe online. This meant I got last years shoe at a big discount which is ace as I'm broke :) I have supported running shops in the past and most probably will again in the future but right now due to the financial realities of being a working single parent of teens I am not in a position to spend 135 euro on runners I can get for 70 online. I will continue to pay my taxes, give to charity etc. but I'm just not a complete mug!
Can't wait to give the new one's a run out but yesterday, in the rain, on the curragh was not the time. In fact I didn't even wear the dirty ones so that's not even why they are filthy! I always wear a less cushioned shoe on the grass as I don't feel I need it as much and when it's wet or uneven I'm much more concerned about grip and contact with the ground than cushioning. I'm liable to topple over at the least provocation at the best of times so I need all the help I can get on uneven ground.
Friday, 29 November 2013
Obviously rubbish at this blog business
So here I go again after another massive gap. How many posts is that in total? 5? Over 3 months? Big medal for me I think!
Right...so I did Dublin Marathon. Missed my time goal by 9 minutes but in the end I really wasn't bothered....just wanted to finish. Is it a cliche to say it was one of the hardest things I've ever done? Well it was. So tough that for days afterwards if I started thinking about it or if the subject came up with someone or over the radio I would find myself welling up. I realise that this makes it sound emotional in a quite sentimental way but it wasn't like that at all. I've probably only faced myself warts and all in the way I did over those last few miles of those 26.2 twice before in my life and both were during childbirth. Similarly to labour I had no interest in ever doing it again right after but starting considering it again the next day.....the mind is a really funny thing.
Wonder if it's easier the second time around? Anyway it won't be for a while...possibly not even next year, we will see! Maybe I should do a race report while I still remember it so I can compare to next time?
I felt like I recovered quite well from the marathon..no major problems. Did a half last weekend to round out the season while I still had the miles in my legs. Didn't love it as lots of it was on a beach and I now know that I hate to run on sand. Time was ok - 1:51:44.
So what's next?
Right...so I did Dublin Marathon. Missed my time goal by 9 minutes but in the end I really wasn't bothered....just wanted to finish. Is it a cliche to say it was one of the hardest things I've ever done? Well it was. So tough that for days afterwards if I started thinking about it or if the subject came up with someone or over the radio I would find myself welling up. I realise that this makes it sound emotional in a quite sentimental way but it wasn't like that at all. I've probably only faced myself warts and all in the way I did over those last few miles of those 26.2 twice before in my life and both were during childbirth. Similarly to labour I had no interest in ever doing it again right after but starting considering it again the next day.....the mind is a really funny thing.
Wonder if it's easier the second time around? Anyway it won't be for a while...possibly not even next year, we will see! Maybe I should do a race report while I still remember it so I can compare to next time?
I felt like I recovered quite well from the marathon..no major problems. Did a half last weekend to round out the season while I still had the miles in my legs. Didn't love it as lots of it was on a beach and I now know that I hate to run on sand. Time was ok - 1:51:44.
So what's next?
Cross country season! Have been training with the local athletics club for the last few weeks and I think the coach likes to throw everyone in at the deep end so I'm showing up a 4k ladies race on Sunday morning. Nobody is making me but I would never have volunteered myself so I guess I should be grateful as I'd never ever have even though to enter. Please please please don't let me come last! That's all I ask.
Everyone at the club seems to be really nice and friendly so hopefully this will all be positive. Keep me on the straight and narrow just a little bit longer before I let loose for the Christmas!
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