Race recap - Run Galway Bay Marathon

In 2011 I ran my first ever race. The Athenry Fit4Life 5k in just under 36 minutes. On Saturday I ran my third marathon in 3 hours and 33 minutes. It wasn't my A goal but I can't be disappointed in a 21 minute PB!

So the details....
The lead-up to race day went fairly smoothly. Had a bit of a sniffle the week before but due to judicious use of hot whiskeys, vitamin C and lemsip it never really developed into a proper cold. I slept poorly the night before but then who gets a full night sleep before a marathon?
Saturday morning was cool and perfectly calm - great race conditions! Myself and the SO got up around 6......it was great to not have to get up at stupid o'clock for this race! We were out the door for 7:15 and parked at the Cathedral car park for 8am. Five minutes later we were at the race start area so we were there in loads of time. Plenty of portaloos for the small numbers meant no queueing...yay!
There was some mild panic just after we arrived when there was an announcement that the marathon was about to start.......I was still in my long tights and a few layers...WTF!!! Anyway it turns out that was for those aiming to finish over 4:30 so they could take advantage of the road closure.

The main event
About 5 minutes before the start we all moved over to the start area and the pacers arrived. There were two 3:30 pacers and it was easy to line up right behind them. Again the small numbers a major advantage here! We started off bang on time and headed off on our first two small laps before our 4 big laps out through Salthill and back. The first mile was right on pace.....just under 8min/miles. I did notice that when we hit the first marker (this was for 1.1 miles) that my watch said 1.13 but didn't take much notice at the time. In retrospect this was a mistake!!!

The next 12 miles or so went by very uneventfully. I took my gels on schedule and the pace felt easy. Each mile split on my watch was just under the pace so around about 7:55min/miles. As there weren't markers for each mile I wasn't aware of any discrepancy at this point....I was just chugging along happily with the pacers, chatting occasionally with the group. I saw the SO all over the place.....he kept popping up offering gels or water.

At 13.1 miles on my watch I noticed how far away we still were from the 13.1 mile sign. Oh dear! I think the pacers realised about this time too as all of a sudden the pacers I had been almost clipping the heels of set off like bats out of hell. I though for a while I had just hit some kind of wall as I felt like I was going backwards but I looked at my watch at the time and it was steadily in the 7:40s - looking back on the mile splits, the next 3 miles were way too fast and this and losing the pacers put me a dark place. It was the third lap and all that kept going through my mind was "I can't believe I have to do this bulls*** again after this!"

The next time we came through the start area was at the 20 mile mark and I had stopped looking at the watch at this stage. This is where I saw the parents so I made an attempt to not look too much like I was dying. Shortly after that I passed the SO again. He was carrying my backpack with all my clothes, money, phone, keys etc and was wearing about three layers but I told him I wanted him to run with me and he did. We had talked about this in advance so he was ready to jump in for that last lap if necessary. It did run through my mind to tell him my parents were close and to drop the bag with them but saying all those words seemed like a lot of energy so I didn't. I feel pretty bad about that now! On the other hand if he was trying to prove himself then 6 miles with multiple layers and a pink backpack will do it every time.

The next few miles were off the pace but I really didn't care at this stage. None of the miles were slower than 8:30 pace and that was as all I had at the time. These last few miles were quite congested with the faster half marathon crew coming through and lots of walkers on their first lap. I found this quite difficult as there was limited room on the course and the last thing I wanted to be thinking about was how I was going to get past a line of people or a dog walker! The last mile in particular was so hard. I know I was in pain but the amount of times I had to step off the path to get past people was ridiculous and in the last 100 meters I had to stop and ask people in a big group on their first lap to please allow me to get past. I gave up and ran through grass in the end to reach the finish area. So annoying!
What wasn't annoying was crossing that finish line with 3:33 on the clock. I hadn't been looking at my watch since about 18 miles so I hadn't a clue what my time was. I thought I had lost way more time! I was and still am ecstatic about my time!

My thoughts on the race
This was the first year a full marathon was available along with the more established 10k and half marathon. Numbers were kept to 200 and to be honest in the format the race is right now I don't think they could have had many more. The course was simply too congested in the second half once the half marathon started and can have only gotten worse as the majority of the field were still out on the course.

All of the volunteers and marshals that I came across were fantastic but there just weren't enough of them. More people along the course making sure there was a relatively clear path for runners would have made a lot of difference. I know in Limerick they have the three events together and I don't remember there being as much of a problem but then that's a much larger course so not the same space issues. Also good luck with stopping Galway people from walking their dog or cycling along the prom while a race is going on........not going to happen!

So was the course long? I don't know and it doesn't really matter. Whether it was or not my watch says we rock steady on the pace until about half way and then something happened so the next few miles were super fast so something was up and it wasn't just me. More and clearer signs would have allowed us all to be more aware of any difference sooner and made the later miles less painful!

The race T-shirt is excellent. It is properly sized, technical fabric and ladies fit so it will get loads of wear. The medal is grand. I don't really care about medals so I'm not the one to ask about this! There was pasta, crackers, biscuits etc available after the race which was good.........I bypassed this though and went to the Salthouse for two pints of Erdinger and a bag of crisps followed by pizza from Monroes for the car home :)

Race recap - VHI Womens Mini Marathon

So anyone in the island of Ireland knows that yesterday's weather was a wee bit on the wet and windy side. This made waiting around for this race to start a little bit miserable. Added to this the fact that there was little to no room to warm up in the start area and I was not having the good feels!!

Luckily I met up with L from the club and we had a good old chat to help the time pass.We also arranged a meeting spot for a celebratory drink after....priorities!

We were let off at two on the dot and although I was only about 20 feet from the front I had to start weaving immediately to get around walkers. Why do people do that?? I would hate to be passed and elbowed for an entire race. It has to be bad for your mental health or are they oblivious? Rant mostly over. 

So between that and usual race start congestion routine the first mile was 7:25. I felt great though despite the short warm up and long cold wait. The pace felt super easy. 

The next couple of miles were mostly great with music and spectators and I was really enjoying the course itself. I was feeling the headwind but it was all still really good fun....these were 7.07 and 7:10. 

The halfway point came on the out and back part of the course along the Stillorgan dual carriageway. This was the only bit of the course I genuinely disliked as we got the full force of the wind at the same time as an incline all the way out. The great thing was I got to see the lead ladies coming back and had enough breath to give them a cheer and a "Well done!" 

As I turned and finally got the breeze at my back I looked down to see the last mile had been 7:17. Poo! Enough of that!

I picked the pace up to take advantage of the tailwind and some nice downhill to bring mile 5 in at 6:59 and my only sub 7 mile of the day. I was starting to tire now and I felt as if we turned back into a swirling headwind here. The slight hills were starting to feel like mini marathon mountains. 

Mile 6 was 7:01 and I was desperate for the line now. There was a bit of back and forth going on with a lady in a Drogheda AC singlet (I stared at this one for a while trying to read it as it has a bit of a Turkish sort of flavour to it! See below) and a lady in a purple fundraiser t shirt.

Courtesy of Drogheda District AC Facebook Page - There has to be a story to this one surely?

Anyway so they were really strong and I kept passing and being passed again just when I thought I was safe. Luckily I got a whiff of the finish line and my legs took over, sprinting past like a woman on a mission. I don't know where that comes from but its great when it happens. Doesn't feel like it has anything to do with me though! Finish time 44:42. Not a PB but I'm happy with that in those conditions. I'd love to run another race on that course on a different day. I really really enjoyed it!

First win

So on Sunday I won a 5k! A very small one but I'm savouring it as it may be the only time I'm the first lady across the finish line.

The race is the same family sponsored 5k I came second in last year - Garrafrauns family fun day 5k.

I knew lining up there was a good chance I could win as I've improved a lot in the last year, but I didn't like to count my chickens. There was a slight element of performance anxiety as a lot of my family were there to watch and some cousins were running themselves. I really didn't want to disappoint them!

My warm up was quite long as I feel I've missed out on a lot of longer runs lately due to racing at the weekend. Three miles warm up got me to the start line.

I lined up in the second row behind a row of fit looking guys and had a chat with some old schoolmates while we waited. We set off on time and I must admit the first mile felt very comfortable. This was the fastest part of the course though so my mile split of 6.39 for this mile is to be expected.
Mile two we turned off the gravelly backroad we were on onto a tarmac road and into a head wind. I had forgotten this bit was quite hilly and got a bit worried that I was expending too much energy and wouldn't have anything for the last mile which was all uphill. Oh dear! Anyway I obviously let this get in my head as the next mile was 7:04. So I was obviously slowing but it didn't feel that way as I kept passing people.

The last mile was a painfest as expected. I didn't manage to lift my head to acknowledge family members toward the end.  A glance at my watch with 500 meters to go told me David Rudisha would be hard pushed to covert the last part on time to get in under my pb.
Spoiler alert: I am not David Rudisha (although my son's school principal does talk about him a lot)

I tried to pick it up a bit and sprint for the finish line but don't know how much I sped up. My third mile split was 6:57 and my final time 21:17. I was initially disappointed with the time as I really really wanted something with a 20 at the start of it but that's life. I may have to choose the course wisely for another attempt at this.

It was lovely to win something though and my family were so proud. Great to get the family name on the perpetual shield!

Loughrea Easter 5k Run - 6/04/2015

So where was I? It's taking me forever to get back up to the present with these long gaps between posts. Must do better!

Easter weekend started well with a timed charity mile on the Saturday morning on the track. Good fun but didn't break any land speed records. We jumped in the car straight after and headed West to spend the weekend with my parents to eat too much chocolate and drink too much wine.

Of course I brought my runners so I got in a twelve miler on Easter Sunday a little later than planned due to a raging hangover. This was pure misery but I deserved every bit of the pain. Monday dawned dry, bright and without any plans and I saw there was a 5k being held in Loughrea. The parents were willing to come along and get some lunch after so we decided to head off together and then me and the kiddos could hit the road once the race and lunch were done. Sorted!

We arrived at the location quite early and found the hall for registration and then went out for a warm-up. I had noted on the facebook page that the previously lakeside route had been changed last minute. A brief jog down to the lake explained why.........as soon as I got near the water I was engulfed in a cloud of tiny flies (maybe Mayfly?) They were in my eyes, up my nose, everywhere and that was only after a few seconds! I decided a warm-up away from the lake was a better option.

I lined up at the startline a few minutes before the start and got chatting to a few people there. As I was hoping to get close to a specific time I asked one of the club runners there who I should stick with for that time. They pointed out a girl a few rows ahead and I introduced myself and asked if she would mind if I tried to keep her in sight and she was fine with it. Then we were off! Aaaaand she shot out of the start like a bullet. I tried to stay on her shoulder but looking at my watch it was showing a 6:00 pace and I knew I wasn't close to being able for that. I let her go and concentrated on just being able to still see her at the end!

The first mile was grand. My legs were feeling good, the route brought us through the town twice at first so there was good support and I saw my family which was nice. Mile two brought us out of the town a bit and my legs sort of died a bit here. I could feel every mile of the previous few days running in them and hoped I could hold on without walking. "Don't walk! Your family can see!" went through my head a few times. I concentrated on watching the legs of the girl in front of me and keeping them in my field of vision. And also on passing the guy in full firefighting gear. This should have been a good moment but it was ruined by my stupid brain that kept telling me how slow I was if I was only passing him after 2+ miles of a 5k! Well done Mr firefighter!!

Mile 3 was predictably ick but I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (not an actual tunnel as it was a gorgeous sunshiny day but you know what I mean) Also I noticed I could still see club runner girl so I couldn't have slowed down as much as I thought. Or else she had drastically. I'm going to pretend it was the former as it makes both of us look better.

The finishing straight was loooooooong. It's essentially one long straight for the last kilometer and I thought I'd never get to the end. The legs were a bit wobbly at this stage and I was really feeling the unexpected heat. The original club runner girl was out of reach but there was another girl in a local singlet between me and her so I gave it socks and went to overtake her........at which point she slowed right down and sort of drifted into my path so then I had to go around her to avoid running into her and then over the line. I really hope I didn't look like a total spanner overtaking here just before the line but I genuinely thought she was about to pick it up for the finish. Oh well! Anyway I was over the line for a new PB of 21:15. Yay! I thanked the ladies in front of me for dragging me around and went off to collect my all important free participant Easter egg. Priorities!

Kildare Senior Road Championships - Leixlip 29/03/2015

There was barely time to recover from the Intermediate and Masters in Naas (and the night out after) before it was time to start looking forward to the big one........Seniors in Leixlip.
The good thing about this was we would have a strong team with some of our stronger runners eligible for this. The bad thing......the competition would be tough for a senior county medal!

The weather was back to cold and blustery so I was glad to get a good two mile warm-up in before the race with our clubs fastest female........way too fast for me to be warming up with really but it was great to run with her and pick up some tips on how long to warm up for, how long strides should be etc.

There were some seriously fit looking ladies lining up at the start but I tried not to get too intimidated. At least I was getting used to this starting line business. Whereas I had previously stayed towards the back of the pack on the start line one of my teammates, the lovely O insisted on pushing me up further towards the front.

And we were off! The start was predictably horrible and straight into a headwind. So far so miserable. The two strongest girls on the team were already stretching off into the distance which was fine and totally expected. I just needed to make sure there weren't too many people between me and them.

As we turned the corner to climb up a steep hill I was feeling strong. Two younger girls were near me, one I recognised from the local Parkrun as a circa 20 minute 5k runner. I used the hill to my advantage and overtook both, hoping I wasn't going to regret this on the downhills and flats.

The next section to the roundabout and then back to the same hill again in reverse was a bit of a mindf*%k but I held my position here and wasn't passed. I can't really remember if I passed anyone here as it's a bit of a blur. Whatever about the negative points of this section it was nothing compared to getting back to the main road again in the direction of the start and being directed the opposite direction and then into a sideroad to run around a tiny roundabout.......this was the point at which I really wanted to stop with every cell in my body. I deperately wanted to find somewhere to lie down and the fact that the tightness of the bend made me come to an almost complete stop didn't help. I tried to pull myself together and get my legs moving but they felt so heavy and my vision was starting to blur.

Coming back onto the main road we were directed across the road and up onto the curb onto the wide footpath......I stared at this curb as it approached and thought "I really really hope my legs know how to get onto this footpath thingy" I was definitely feeling a bit loopy. This is the point I think that I was passed by a tall blond girl who annoyingly didn't even seem to be working that hard. Oh no!!!! There was no way in hell I was going to catch up to her, I really didn't feel I had anything left and just wanted to get to the finish.

It was at this point I became aware of lads from the club standing along the edge of the course shouting encouragement. It's a good job they were shouting as I couldn't really see anyone, it was definitely the voices I could pick out. I'm not sure what happened but I got this shot of energy knowing I was in the last few hundred meters and knowing I had someone to catch. It also crossed my mind that there were people out there that really believed in me and if I could do more then I should. My tired heavy legs were suddenly turning over like never before and before I knew it I was passing the girl who passed me and praying she didn't have anything else. This was it for me so if she had something more I didn't have an answer (I think....although I didn't know I had this either so there is that!) I don't remember much for the next ten minutes. Presumably other people finished too.....maybe I talked to them but I don't really know. I know I tried to put my jacket on for most of that time but couldn't figure out how the arms worked so couldn't. Runners. We are totally sane.

Soooo.... by the time I found my mind again and made my way over to get some coffee the results were in and we were Senior County gold medalists!!!

Tubbercurry 10K - St Patricks Day 2015

After getting back into the mindset of racing I knew I had a couple of things I wanted to do before spring was out, namely a 5k and a 10k. I wasn't too pushed about the location but as March was busy with club races at the weekends then it would be difficult to find other races that wouldn't interfere. Luckily this year St Patricks Day fell on a Tuesday and I knew somewhere had to be holding a race. As I was in the West visiting my parents anyway the Tubbercurry 10k seemed to fit the bill.

I've never been to Tubbercurry on purpose so had no idea about this race, its history or the terrain. From what I've learned it's a long established event with some good local rivalry going on and the athletics clubs singlets were out in great numbers. It was a perfect morning for a race - dry, a light breeze and a slight chill in the air still. I got parking right by the start line and made my way to race HQ where I was delighted to receive a well stocked goody bag for my few euro and I could see there was a spread of sandwiches, tea/coffee and homemade cakes being laid out. A good spread usually means a well organised race in my (limited!) experience.

At this point I realised I'd forgotten my Garmin but decided not to get too worked up about it and just go by effort and see what happened. I hadn't run a 10k since 2014 sometime so I had no idea where I was in comparison.

I did a nice leisurely 1-2 mile warm-up and noted that it wasn't the flattest town in the world but didn't think any more of it. Hmmmm.....

Once I finished the warm-up who did I see but my mother and daughter walking towards me. I couldn't believe it! They hadn't told me they were going to come along so it was lovely to see them there. After a brief chat I went to the start and had a chat to some of the other runners there. All very friendly and hills were mentioned but I think I was in denial at this point!

The startline was on the main street heading towards the town square. On my left was the short loop I had done for the warm up - we were at a slightly higher elevation to this so the loop was downhill for the first half a kilometer or so and then back uphill to the start and into the town square.  The rest of the race was on a larger loop out of the town so the total effect was of a slightly asymmetric figure eight.

The start itself was a little crowded as we were motioned through a starting gate that was only half the width of the road which resulting in starting the race at a shuffle which is unusual for a 10k! Anyway we were off and proceeded to do that first small loop I was familiar with and run up through the town square. As soon as we got onto the road out of the square the incline hit and kept on hitting for the next 3 miles. I only wish I was wearing my watch for the Garmin stats on the elevation as I've never run anything like it during a race.

So in short I was thinking about quitting at 2 miles in and I wanted to stop for the vast majority of the race. It didn't help that hardly anyone knew I was running it which made it a bit easier to think about stopping. There was a young bloke beside me - probably late teens early twenties for most of the race, wearing the vest of a local athletics club and about 20kg lighter than me but I was slightly encouraged by the fact that he seemed to be suffering every bit as much as I was. On each hill I would pull ahead of him slightly and on the flats he would pull ahead. I should remember more about this race but in fairness it was quite a while ago and my mind has blocked out a lot of the horror at this stage.

The summary is..........every step was awful, I wanted to quit from mile 2. I dragged my sorry ass to mile 5.5 and then the last 0.7 of a mile I thoroughly enjoyed as I could finally breath and I could see the finish line. At this point I had no idea at all of my time. My previous PB was 46:xx and I hoped I was under that but I hadn't a clue really........its not like I had breath to waste asking anyone what pace we were going at!

I didn't spot the clock until the last ten metres before I crossed the line and nearly fell over when I saw a 43 on it. Over the line in 43:56 a chip time of 43:43 and a PB by almost three minutes! To say I was delighted would be an understatement. My family were waiting for me and seemed delighted.......or maybe that was the two scones they had had while they were waiting. Two!

The next mission was to get a snack into me and get back to the car to text the SO with my result. Almost as satisfying as the result itself.

Back home for the traditional St. Patricks Day lunch of salad and burgers on the BBQ followed by a glass or two of red. Sure why not!

Kildare Novice Road Race 22/02/2015

I was sooooo nervous about this race! I hadn't really raced in a while so had gotten a bit gun shy..when I'm racing regularly the fear goes off it a bit for me, whereas if there is a bit of a gap I'm a mess.

Anyway we didn't have enough for a team for this race due to various injuries, events and other team members not being eligible (you're not eligible for novice county if you have won anything at that level or higher in the previous three years.....I think that's how it works anyway!)

So the day dawned wet, windy and cold cold cold. What a lovely combo! There was one more girl running with me Laura V so I was really glad of the company and we mutually made the decision to trade a long warm up for staying dry inside instead. I think if we had a team then we would have thought differently but really this race was all about seeing where our training was coming out of the winter so I wasn't too pushed either way!

We were lucky to have a strong mens team from the club so they were good company while we waited to start. There is something really special about being part of a club and having that support around you at an event.

The start line for this 3k race was quite a trek away from the hall we had gathered in so we actually got a lift over......how lazy is that!! Anyway we jumped out of the car and proceeded to run up and down the road a bit. It didn't get any warmer. The good thing about this was that as we gathered at the start line I got more and more anxious for the race to start as I just wanted to get moving at this stage.....any icy shower straight into your face is not that much fun in shorts and a singlet.
Unfortunately one of the girls in front of me talking about her 5:15 1500m time at the national indoors wasn't exactly filling me with confidence!

Finally, after a wait for some latecomers we were off! I felt like I started out well but I seemed to be behind loads of people. Maybe I was going to be last? Oh no!
The first couple of kilometers were into a strong headwind with a couple of sharp rises to go over. I like hills (it's a love/hate thing) so was able to pass a few here. I concentrated on not letting anyone pass me on the straights and reeling in the girls in front of me one at a time. By this point I knew there was no way I was catching the front pack so this was a bit demoralising but I focused on not looking at my watch in case I found out there was more than 1k to go....this would have been the end of my race!

The finish was slightly downhill just past a corner. I'm pretty sure I was drooling at the mouth and and I knew if the finish was much past that corner I was goosed but pushed hard up to it and then luckily it was right there. I don't know if I would have had anything more as there wasn't anyone close enough for me to pass and nobody behind chasing me so didn't really have that adrenaline buzz of a close finish.

Result: 5th overall so I was happy with that on the day. I was a bit annoyed with myself that I didn't warm up beforehand but at best I could have been 4th...........the lead three were in a bunch all together most of the way and were cruising, only doing as much as they had to.
I was happy with my effort and had temporarily gotten over the fear of racing. Oh and someone finally got a running photo of me where I look like I'm running so totally worth the pain!

Also we got to see the mens teams race after that which was lovely, especially in multiple dry layers knowing we were already done. Bliss! And they won gold.......yay!

Race recap - Naas Parkrun

And yes I know it's a timed run rather than a race but for the sake of consistancy I'm calling it a race recap. I had asked E from the club to give me a call some weekend if she was going to do Parkrun. This Wednesday at the track after she kicked my ass again she said she might be up for it this Saturday. She is much faster than me but coming back from having a baby so temporarily more my speed! She had run a good bit faster than me at the cross country over a shorter distance so I knew she would be a great pacer for me to push myself a bit over the 5k. Oh and she is also a sweetheart and it's nice to catch up with friends first thing on a Saturday so there is that too! Another lovely running friend O came along too but was just hoping to get around as she hasn't been training much due to some family stuff. It was so nice to catch up with her too. Have I mentioned I love my running friends? Probably many times, but I do!

So anyway Saturday dawned clear and not too cold (unlike last Saturday) and we arrived at Naas racecourse with about 15 minutes to spare. Not ideal for warming up but nothing I could do about it. I got to it straight out of the car while the others went looking for the loo and then we jogged up to the course together and around the long way to the start line. The warm up exercises were almost done by the time we got there so there was just enough time to shed layers and we were off!

I didn't get caught up too much at the start and settled in about 10 meters back from E and hoped I could hang on for as long as possible. The first mile was uneventful but I felt like I was breathing very hard already. Would I be able to keep this up or was I going to die in the second half? 7:14 on the garmin. Not too bad!
The next mile was a bit of a slog but I always find this middle one hard mentally. E seemed to be further away from me and I had to fight to keep the pace going especially on the parts of the course where we had a headwind. Mile 2 7:17. Was this a sign of things to come? Was I going to be slower again for the next mile?

At this point I started to really feel like I might have a bit more in the tank so I let myself push a bit more as I knew there was only a mile to go. How does that happen when you swear you don't have anything previously? Anyway I started to bridge the gap with E and was right on her shoulder for a while. She told me after she knew it was me as she recognised my breathing from the track! Anyway she gave me a "go on!" gesture with her hand and I thought she had lost it. There was no way I was going to be able to go past her was there? But her faith in me gave me a bit of a lift and I looked up and saw we were on the last bend before the long stretch to the finish. I might as well give it a try anyway.
I tried to relax and push hard at the same time if that makes any sense and my legs kind of took over. I used all my mental games to keep it going all the way to the finish line.........counting, swearing I could stop at the next fence post, promising myself I never had to run again after this. The usual! I didn't look at my watch here but according to garmin the third mile was 6:57 pace and the final segment was at 6:07 pace. I'll take that!

The time on my garmin at the finish was 22:06 so a PB by over a minute and on the same course too. The time Parkrun gave me was 22:02 but I don't think that can be right so I'll go by the higher one to be safe. E was a few seconds behind me for a post baby PB and O was about a minute after. Not bad for a bunch of old(er) birds!

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!

Race recap - Clarinbridge 10k

So November has been eventful in my life outside of running. Lots happening on the personal and professional front, mostly good. All this has meant that I seem to be always in motion, going from pillar to post and rarely getting time to sit down and take a breath.
Most of this is through my own choice so I'm not exactly complaining (well only as much as any Irish person can not be complaining) but still, I'm looking forward to Christmas for a chance to slow down and take stock.

What I have been doing is lots and lots of running. My mojo seems to have survived the marathon and I'm feeling really strong. Fingers crossed this continues! Well at least until after the cross country tomorrow anyway.

Two weeks ago I set a new parkrun PB of 23.10 without breaking too much of a sweat. Last weekend I got to do my new favourite 10k in Clarinbridge and set a new PB there too. In fairness I haven't managed a 10k all year so the target was not that ambitious.

I was at home in Galway for the weekend to celebrate my cousins engagement. Catching up with friends and family was the priority not a race and to prove that I consumed plenty of wine and stole most of the naan bread while heads were turned. Runners need carbs right?

The day dawned frosty and bright and I wasn't hungover so I packed the kiddos into the car and headed off towards Clarinbridge in plenty of time (I thought!)
Unfortunately due to being stuck behind a van being towed and every Sunday driver in County Galway it was 12:10 before I arrived in Clarinbridge and the race was starting at 12:30! I darted in and registered, pinning my number on with trembling hands. I hate being late......and being late for me includes not being very early.

After a very brief warm-up I lined up well back in the bunch. It seemed to be almost all club runners and I hadn't a clue where I belonged so I didn't want to get in anyones way. We set off right on schedule and I held a comfortable 7:28 pace for the first mile. This felt easy but then it should do in mile one!
 We then moved briefly onto a forest path which was narrow in places and quite rough underfoot. I was fairly happy here as I'm used to rough ground and wanted to move on a bit faster but I was caught up in a bit of traffic. I wasn't confident enough to be aggressive here.
What if I pushed past someone aggressively and then then cruised past me a mile later? I'd feel like a total tool! Anyway this mile ended up at 7.45.....not too bad but would have like it to be faster. Thats me in the pic below in the background. I'm in my green singlet tucked in behind the lady in black and the lady in orange. Lovely running form as always! Photo stolen from Amphibian King West.

After this we moved back onto a wider path and onto the main road. It was good to have more space but it was mostly uphill. I remembered this section from the 5k series and knew there would be more hills whenever I thought it was over so I didn't let myself get psyched out. I started to push a bit to pick up the pace. This mile was 7.33. Still feeling grand at this point and was actually having fun!

The next two miles were more up and down but I was starting to believe I wasn't about to crash and burn plus I was loving overtaking people. Is that bad? It's a really nice mental boost. I couldn't believe how well I felt at this stage of the race. These two miles came in at 7:19 and 7:24.

At this point we re-entered the park we had started in and I knew it was mostly downhill from here. I seemed to still have loads in my legs and was having a ball! Mile 6 was 6.54 and I sprinted it in to finish in 46:11 almost 2 minutes off my previous 10k PB (which I have always had a sneaking suspicion was on a short course anyway)
My kiddos were waiting for me just after the line and I was able for a hug and a chat almost straight away.

So what do I take away from this race?
Well, I'm fitter than I've ever been right now. This marathon training cycle has left me in shape to PB at every distance and I feel like I'm getting faster and stronger every week.
I'm too easy on myself. I already knew my 5k PB was soft but this sort of made a mockery of it altogether. I'm not trying hard enough early enough as I'm so scared of blowing up.

In a 5 or 10k would it really be the end of the world to see how fast I can go? Someone with a lot more experience than I have pointed that out to me this week and I have taken it to heart. I need to stop looking at my watch and being scared of the paces I'm running at. I'm stronger than I think.

SSE Airtricity Dublin City Marathon 2014 - Race Recap

So as I mentioned before the last few days before the marathon were not ideal. Our flight was cancelled and we spent Sunday morning trying to get through to the airline. Thank god for the youngest and her twitter account as we wouldn't have gotten to talk to anyone until the lines opened at 1pm if it wasn't for her! Anyway our rebooked flight wasn't going to leave London until 6 so I tried to rest up, hydrate and basically make up for spending the whole of Saturday on my feet.

The flight itself went fine and we were in the car within about 15 minutes of landing. From there I drove straight into the city to pick up my race number from my friend and then back on the M7 to be home for about 9pm. Not great but could have been a lot worse. Ominously it was still quite warm and very breezy at this stage but I tried to forget about this and concentrated on getting my race number pinned on and laid out the rest of my gear for the morning. I was so wrecked at this stage that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke at about 5am and knew there was no point trying to get back to sleep at that stage. It was marathon day finally! Despite a total lack of interest in food I managed to force down two cinnimon raisin bagels with butter and honey along with a couple of pints of water and a strong black coffee. I felt ok. Not buzzing but fine. At this point I was still mad early so decided to throw on some BB cream, some blusher and a bit of mascara which is more than I usually manage on a work morning but what can I say......I was bored! Anyway it was worthwhile as my "glamorous" look was commented on by some club members who were out supporting. This possibly has more to do with the state they usually see me in than anything else!

Leaving the house was a bit of a drama as my parents had stayed the previous night to be close to the airport as they were heading off to the USA for 5 weeks. I did have to pretend I wasn't totally focussed on hustling out the door asap. I'm not positive I fooled anyone! As soon as I started my car I noticed the temperature gauge was reading 15 degrees and the sun wasn't even up yet. It was also quite blustery. Oh no!! The two things I had specifically said I would hate!

The trip up to Stillorgan Park-and-Ride was uneventful, as was the Luas journey in. Although I did feel for the poor souls who normally have the tram to themselves in the morning and were now cheek to jowl with a load of runners. At least we were clean and fresh smelling at that stage!

As soon as I arrived at the bag drop I knew that a final loo stop wasn't going to happen at the portaloos. The lines in the baggage area were huge and I remembered from last year that the lines in the wave holding areas were even worse so I hadn't a chance of getting there on time. Luckily I have a friend G who lives on Upper Mount Street which meant I was able to pop into her place for a proper loo. Heaven! I chilled out there until about 15 minutes before the start time and then made my way to the start area. A bit of bobbing and weaving later and I was up near the 3:50 pacers and just as I got there the gun went for the start of the first wave so I knew we only had ten minutes to go. I had my first gel and tried to relax.

The early miles - Start to the PP
The advantage of being in the first pace group at the start of a wave is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of congestion in the first few miles. I'm not the best at running in groups but I never felt boxed in at the start. I did feel that the pace was a bit fast right from the off and I was conscious that this should feel really easy at this stage and it never did.
In fact I was quite relieved anytime there was a bit of congestion and I got to back off the pace a bit. I didn't have the urge to chat to anyone around me either and usually I'd be quite talkative in the first few miles. It does usually take me a while to settle into a run and start to feel comfortable though so I decided to be conservative and see if my legs felt a bit springier later.
Most of this section was around the city on the way to the park gates so there was plenty to look at to keep the mind occupied and I tried to do this and let myself relax a bit. I was keeping the same distance from the pacers at this stage but was being passed constantly.

The PP to Chapelizod
Between the wind and the long incline I had decided before the race to take the park very easy. I tried to not expend any extra energy going up the hills and allowed my pace to slow fractionally here. I did try to find a group to block the wind for me a bit but as I mentioned earlier it wasn't that congested. Maybe if I had been right up beside the pacers I could have done that but I certainly wasn't wasting energy trying to catch them. At this point I was getting a bit concerned that the pace still felt quite challenging. During training runs I had had to hold myself back or my pace would drift towards 8 minute miles. I don't think I could have run an 8 minute mile yesterday at any time! I took my first gel on schedule at 5 miles. At this stage I had been through two water stations and was already starting to douse myself with water to cool down. This would continue all the way to the end!
Halfway through the park I was spotted by a group of supporters from the AC included the two girls I did my long runs with until they got injured. It was great to see them and they made me feel like a total rockstar shouting my name and generally making a spectacle of themselves. It was great!
The section where we exited the park briefly was downhill and I let myself speed up on these sections. I wasn't particularly worried about frying my quads on the downhills as I train on hills so I should be used to them by now. The crowds around the hills at Chapelizod really took the sting out of them although again I was being passed like mad on the uphills. Every time I felt like pushing on a hill I kept repeating to myself "Think of mile 22!"

The long stretch of death (Crumlin Road)
I hated the next section of the race last year when it came earlier in the race so I didn't have any illusions about the area from the park out the Crumlin road and up to Fortfield. I knew it was going to hurt so I just tried to do damage limitation. The wind was straight into our faces for most of this stage. The pacers were still in sight but I hadn't seen any signs from my legs so far that there was going to be any picking up of the tempo so I just concentrated on not messing up. The marathon tide was starting to come back the other way here so even though I wasn't speeding up I was passing people constantly which was encouraging for me but probably a sign that it was a hard day out there! I was delighted to see a club member with her 3 month old at mile 17. It gave me a real boost and at least made me try to look up instead of at my feet!

Regroup at Bushy Park
The section from Bushy Park to Milltown is a lovely part of the course. If only I hadn't been running a marathon I could have really enjoyed it! This bit was all about making sure I had enough energy for the hills. The legs were really starting to ache now but a respectable finish was starting to feel doable despite my lack of energy. I had let go of the pacers and was concentrating on running my own race with the legs I had on the day.

Milltown and UCD
I think I spent so long dreading the hills and the flyover that when they did arrive it was a bit of an anticlimax. What did I think was going to happen? Big boulders being rolled down the hill to crush me?
I used the same strategy of slowing down to conserve energy but it felt like I was flat out sprinting on both of these due to the amount of people walking. I honestly think it was about 4:1 ratio of walkers to runners. Walking was not the problem..........walking in a long line of five abreast is a problem if nobody can get past you! Got a great cheer from club members again here and T jumped in and ran with me for a bit although I don't think I was very good company. I apologised later!
I was so relieved to get past UCD I thought I was going to cry!

The last bit
The last part of the course is lovely and would be a delight if your body wasn't screaming at you to stop and walk. This was where the real countdown started and I had to use every trick in the book to convince my body to keep going. Again I can see by my splits that I slowed a bit here but runners were few and far between at this stage. I've never seen anything like it......but then again I was practically an extra on The Walking Dead last year so I can't remember much! When I got to 25 I was surprised by our AC coach out on the road shouting for me so that was a nice boost, although I was incapable of giddying up even for him. I must say I love the new finish. I loved being able to see it from quite a way out. The roar of the crowd really lifted me up in that last mile and I managed to get my head up and pick up my stride a bit. And after the longest 400m of my life I was finally on the finishing stretch, capable of soaking it all in and look around and together enough to put my arms up in victory crossing the finish line. A year later I finally got the marathon finish line I wanted!

Chip time 3:54:19
A 15 minute PB and quite honestly all that was in my legs yesterday. There is nowhere when I look back through my splits where I feel I could have gone any faster so this is absolutely the best I could do. It's not what I aimed for but there will be other days and I'm happier with this time than I thought possible. For now!

Great Limerick Run Half Marathon - Race Recap

I've been a bit uninspired to write recently but that doesn't mean I haven't been running.  Nothing fast since the Parkrun as I was cutting back on the intensity in the lead up to my first real goal race of this year, yesterdays Great Limerick Run Half Marathon.  It was my eldest's birthday over the weekend so both kiddos got dragged along to Limerick with me for the weekend so I wouldn't feel too guilty for being away from them.  Mother of the year award right here!!

We arrived at the race expo at the University of Limerick with the minimum of hassle just after noon on Saturday.  No queue to pick up the race number which is great but to be honest I've never really had hassle with that so I don't know why I worry about it.  There was a bit of a queue for the goody bags but that mostly seemed to be due to a gaggle of not particularly organised/bothered girls who were looking after that part of things.  They didn't seem to have any sort of system organised and they created a bit of a bottleneck with a lot of volunteers standing around with nothing to do just down the table from them.  Anyway I got out of there eventually and had a quick look around the expo.  I wouldn't have minding having a better look around or a cup of coffee there but as I knew I was heading into an expensive weekend I thought it was a better option to get out with my wallet untouched!

The traffic getting out of the expo was predictably awful and not helped by the first of the rain but we got to the hotel in the end and checked in.  It was fine....nothing fancy but comfy beds and not too noisy so that was what mattered.  Also about three minutes walk from the start line as it happens which was just lovely.  The joy of not having to use any of the portable toilets provided is difficult to measure in euros....probably well worth the price of the room alone.

I had a light dinner the night before the race and a fairly substantial breakfast (kaiser roll with 1 sausage and 1 egg) as I figured that with an 11:45 race start I would be starving if I had something too light but didn't want to go mad altogether and have a full Irish or something and feel like a nap at 10:30!
The nerves had set in by about 10:00 and I was raring to go but I managed to hold off on heading down to the start until about 11: 30....mostly cos I told a friend also doing the half not to let me go down too early!

I lined up about 10 rows back from the 1:50 pacers thinking that was plenty close.  This was a mistake and next time I'm going to superglue myself to them on the start line!  Not much fanfare for the start...a bit of a countdown and we were off!

The problem with the start area was that it was about 4 times as wide as the arch we had to go through for the start so by the time we got through that bottleneck I couldn't see the pacers at all.  Minor panic!  I caught sight of them a few minutes later but they were at least 40 seconds ahead at this stage.  Needless to say I decided not to do any sprinting this early in the game and set my mind to catching them by 5 miles.  This worked out ok and I did catch them on schedule but it did make my pace feel a bit harder than it needed to for the first few miles which was mentally a bit tough.  I found myself feeling a bit negative at how hard I was finding the pace and had to give myself a good talking to.  I concentrated on smiling even though I didn't feel like it (and it might have looked like a grimace to onlookers) and this helped my mental state quite a bit.  By mile 6 I settled in right behind the pacers and gave myself a bit of a breather.

From here until 10 I let myself relax and be dragged along by the group.  The pacers were great and didn't go too mad banking time but gave us enough leeway to not have to kill ourselves totally on the hills.  To be honest the hardest part of this section was keeping an eye out for kerbs, speedbumps and the infuriating traffic cones, the latter of which seemed to have been placed mostly at random!

By mile 10 I had gotten my breathing back under control and I knew I had to push on now if I was going to. I moved in front of the pacers on a downhill and used that momentum to give myself a nice little gap without blowing too much energy.  With 3 miles to go at this stage I knew I could afford to push myself further out of my comfort zone so I tried to keep the pace just under 8 minute miles.  I can't say it was easy but the sound of the pace group behind me was enough to gee me up...how embarrassing would it be to be passed by them after going off on a solo run? The last mile was tough as I was getting to the end of my rope and there were a lot of corners, curbs, a false alarm finish-line arch and a spectator who walked straight out in front of me when I was full on sprint/hobbling for the line.  But I got there in the end for a new PB of over three minutes of 1:48:18.  Yay!!

In general it was a well run race with some good and bad points.  The course itself was enjoyable.  Not as flat as I had thought but I don't necessarily love a dead flat course and the bits in the city centre were well supported with good music and crowds.  They could do with being a bit more organised at the start line so there isn't so much of a bottleneck and have the mileage marked better....I didn't see a single sign for miles or kilometers except sprayed on the road.  Fine if you have a GPS but not everyone does.  Water stations were good and not a war zone as I've seen at some races.  The finish went fairly smoothly and I got my medal, banana and water in short order.  There wan't any other food at the finish that I saw but I was rescued by the kiddos quite quickly and got my warm clothes and money so pizza slice and can of fanta it was!

I didn't use any fuel except for two fizzy worms that my son gave me and a few mouthfuls of water.  No stomach issues and I didn't feel like I ran out of steam, but then it's only 13 miles and I'm not sure I would have been alright for a longer distance.  All in all a successful day with lots of lessons learned!

Race recap - Kildare Novice Road Race

So I did my first and last county novice road race yesterday.  Last because we got 2nd team overall (Yay!) so will no longer be eligible as a novice at county level (Boo!)

The race was starting in Clongowes and was over 3km which is a distance I've never raced before.  To say I was nervous about pacing was an understatement especially considering that I'm really not speedy over shorter distances and on the track. In fact the other girls on the team consistently kick my ass on the track every single week so my main priority was not to let the team down and come in ages after everyone else. We only had four on the team too so every one of us were going to count for the team total so......no pressure like!!!

I have a really bad habit of getting very worked up before races so luckily I had a few distractions on my way to the race to keep my mind off it.  My plan had been to leave about 9:15 to be there about 9:40 with plenty of time to get warmed up etc before the race.  Shortly before I was going to leave the house a friend M sent a message to ask if I wanted to get a lift down with her and her adorable kiddos.  Why not! Says I....queue ominous music!

Well when baby number 1 projectile vomited half-way there I thought maybe that was why not?  The poor thing was promptly cleaned up and popped back in the car with very little ceremony so M could deposit me at the venue just after 10.
This is when we found out the start line was a good mile down the road.  Eeek! By the time we arrived at the start line I was thoroughly warmed up and within about 5 minutes we were off with no time to get nervous or psyche myself out.

Off I set trying to keep my breathing under control but stay in the top third of the field with the other girls in sight.  I was breathing hard right from the start but tried to relax and not think too far ahead and just concentrate on the person in front of me.  Forget the watch....there was no time to be looking at that in this race.

Before I knew it we were at the 2k mark and that's when things really got tough.  At that point you could see the gates of Clongowes and it felt like you should be almost there but when you get through those gates it's a long long way to the finish line!
I was definitely kept going only by keeping the other green jerseys right in front of me and knowing there weren't that many others ahead of us.  Couldn't let the team down by slowing down although there were definitely a few moments where I thought I might lose my breakfast (TMI?)  Kind of knew how the baby felt at that point!

Finally I crossed the line.  One of the lovely organisers was talking to me trying to get me to unpin my number but my hands weren't really working.  I was a mess!  But so proud because I know I couldn't have run a second faster than I did out there and what else can you ask of yourself really?  I finished in 12:58 which I was really happy with.  I can't see me finishing a 5k at that pace yet but it does give me hope to get down in the 22 somethings sometime this year.  Maybe after the half in Limerick I'll run a Parkrun hard?

The club had a fantastic day with the men's team winning 2nd and 3rd men and 1st team overall and the masters men winning bronze in the All-Ireland road relays in Raheny.  Not bad for a small club.
Adult beverages may have been consumed in celebration but was still home by midnight like the good girl I am!

Man that was a long post on a short race!