Connemara 2012 - Running with the Irish Kenyans

Sunday was my third time running the Connemara Ultra but the first time I raced it without being forced to walk - although i'm certain there were times during my slog up the  2 mile "Hell of the West" that my running was at walking speed.

The Start

The day was warmer than expected. While it was cool in the shade of the buses that dropped us up to the start line from Maam Cross it was pleasantly warm standing around under a clear sky in the early morning sunshine chatting to Liam and Thomas. It was certainly going to be a warm day. Thomas travelled up to Galway with me the day before and we both stayed the night with Liam in his patents apartment in Salthill. To add a bit of excitement to the Ultra the current 100k world champion, Giorgio Calcaterra, was specially flown in from Italy to see if the magical four hour barrier could be broken on the course. Unfortunately the course record holder, David Kirkland (4:03:29), who was scheduled to run was out due to injury so it would be a one horse race at the front. Where else though, would you get the opportunity to not only meet but to compete against (ok - run the same road as) a world champion, even if he was only using it as a training run for the upcoming 100k world championships in three weeks time. The Italian interest didn't stop there though - The Italian TV channel Rete4 was covering the Connemarathon for their program "Correndo per il monad" which translated in English is "World Running" The broadcast was following the presenter, Roberto Giordano, as he competed in the ultra - more about him later.

 

My plan was to go out at about 7:30 pace and run by feel, which suited my lack of a GPS enabled watch. Thomas was planning 7:15 pace with a few other guys and Liam was heading out at about 8:30 pace. I was happy to run on my own as I could concentrate on my race. This was my first marathon/ultra in which I had swapped my usual carb loaded breakfast for a cup of coffee.

The First Half

It took a few seconds for me to cross the starting mat and in no time the world champion was out in front disappearing off into the distance, with Mick Rice and a few more of those capable of 4:30 and under following in his wake. I settled into a comfortable pace, ignoring the 168 heart rate reading on the Garmin. The first few miles were pretty uneventful. Thomas was in a group of 4 or 5 about fifty yards ahead, including last years female winner, Carol Morgan, which told me that I was more on less on my target pace. I missed the first mile marker but mile 2 came in 14:59 - bang on 7:30 pace. Mile 3 in 7:32 and 4 in 7:28 give me 29:59 for the first 4 miles.

I came on the shoulder of Gerry Duffy (of 32 marathons in 32 days fame and winner of the 2011 UK Decca Ironman - 10 in 10 days) who tells me he went out a little fast as his plan was to start at 7:40 pace and pick up the pace gradually with the aim of coming in under 5 hours (7:37 pace average). I kept to my pace and gradually pull away assuring him that he would probably see me again before the day was out - "hopefully at the finish line" he said. I had my doubts as I was sure Gerry was a better practitioner of endurance event pacing than I was. If I was to have any chance of getting under 5 hours I would have to bank some time for the last hilly HM. In anticipation of everything falling into place on the day I had two sub-5 hour pace bands with me. The first was a very ambitious plan to cover the marathon in just under 3:10 (1:33/1:37) so that I would "only need" 8:25 pace average for the last HM (1:50), which is what I though I would need, minimum. The second, which was more achievable for the first 26.2, was a 3:14 marathon (1:38/1:36) requiring 8:04 pace average for the last 13.1(1:46), which I knew would be very challenging. The choice was to either go out fast in the hope that I wouldn't blow up or go out more steady and hope that I would have enough left in the legs to power through the hills of the last half. Either way there was no easy route to a sub-5 hour finish and the clear skies and rising temperatures were only going to make it tougher. As it turned out the path I followed was somewhere in the middle - well, until about mile 35.

Over the next few miles my natural pace quickens and the gap to the group that Thomas is in gradually reduces. Miles 5 to 10 in 7:25 - 7:21 - 7:21 - 7:11 - 6:49 - 6:59 (10 miles in 1:13:05 - 7:18 pace). The sub- 7 minute miles surprised me but I wasn't too concerned as I was running comfortably and there had been a few downhills. This section of the course, on the main Galway/Clifden Road, was  littered with short sections of roadworks with traffic lights, which had us dodging in and out between queued traffic and at times running up on the grass bank to get by buses, as the road wasn't wide enough for the both of us. I eventually joined the back of Thomas's group as he stopped for his drop bag at the 10 mile water station. The leading lady was a few yards ahead. Shortly after we turn right heading for Lough Inagh and the marathon start.

We pass the leading lady before mile 11, with a group of 6 or 7 forming that would run together for the next 6 or 7 miles, the first time in a ultra that I ever ran in a group. Miles 11 and 12 come in 6:54 and 7:35 (could the mile markers have been a bit out?). We can see the marathon start off in the distance as the line of runners snake around the shores of Lough Inagh.

We are joined by the Italian filming crew following the exploits of Roberto Giordano, who happens to be in our group. The whole thing feels a bit surreal with this cameraman sitting on the floor of a minivan with the back door open and camera pointed towards us - The Irish Kenyans! - it certainly felt like we were Roberto's pacing group. At one stage Thomas got between the cameraman and Roberto, who was shorter than him, and we had a joke that we'd all be on youtube that evening - funnily enough a short clip appeared on the Irish National News that evening, showing that exact moment - the link is here (about 20:42 minutes in - RTE must have picked it up off the cutting room floor - Thanks to Denis Looney for the link as well as the loan of his running belt). A while later Roberto is interviewed from the side window of the van as we all run in the background. Over the next few miles he surges back and forth - probably to get a good shot of him passing us. I didn't see much of him after mile 15 or 16 (turns out he finished just under 5:30) We crossed the first HM timing mat just under 6 minutes after the marathon start - 1:35:54 on the Garmin. 

The Second Half

It didn't take us long to catch the back of the marathon field - shortly after the 14.1 mile mark, which came in 7:10. The encouragement we got as we passed down the left hand side of the road passing the continuous stream of marathon runners felt great and partially explained why the pace remained steady. We gradually reeled in another 2 ultra runners and the group was eight for a few miles. We didn't know how many were ahead of us as there were no other ultra runners on the horizon (As it turned out we were the pack chasing down the top 5 runners and we all ultimately came in between 5th and 18th place). Miles 15.1 to 19.1 in 7:04 - 7:04 - 6:54 - 7:34 - 7:07. I managed to pick up my first drop bag from the 16.1 mile water station without breaking stride as it was easy to spot my orange with black polka-dot bag among the more blander colours - quickly replacing my empty bottle with a fresh bottle of perpeteum, which would last me the rest of the race.

I knew the pace was a little too fast for me, but I decided to ride the train for as long as it would last, or as long as my legs would allow. Approaching mile 19.1 the group began to split up with three guys moving ahead of me and the remainder dropping back a little. I just kept the same effort going, not consciously increasing the pace to keep in contact with the lead group or dropping back to run with those behind me. I knew I would see them again soon enough.

We turn right onto the Clifden to Lenaun Road and the first real hill of the day. It doesn't feel too bad but I can feel my pace drop as my stride shortens and for the first time in the race I can feel myself pushing slightly against the boundary of my ability - the time in a race when the real work commences. Two Ultras pass me going up the hill. Mile 20.1 comes in 6:58, which I knew from last year is a short mile. Sure enough the next two mile split comes in 15:38 (I missed the 21.1 mile split)  giving 7:32 average for the 3 miles - the first sign that the days of the sub 7:30 miles were fading. I picked up my second drop bag (a few gels and a tube of bio-freeze - calf cramp insurance) at the 22.1 mile water station. Over the next few miles the road is undulating and I notice that I slow considerably on the uphill sections regaining my speed on the downhill and flat sections. One of the chasing ultras (Max from the UK) passes me here and quickly moves ahead. I salute a couple of marathon runners from Clonakilty Roadrunners - delighted to see a club from my hometown getting off the ground. Finally I am on the descent to Killary Fjord and I can pick up the pace a little, although the warm headwind adds to the discomfort of the rising fatigue. By now I feel that a speed (effort) limiter has been activated somewhere in my subconscious and while I am still relatively comfortable I do not have the energy/inclination/active muscle fibres to go faster. Miles 23.1 to 25.1 come in 7:32 - 7:04 (downhill) - 7:38.

With half a mile to go to the 26.2 mile mark Thomas and 2 other Ultras (Liam & Ray) come on my shoulder and pass me by. Thomas was sure that I would latch onto them but, while I was reasonably comfortable I had only one gear and with the hills to come I wasn't going to risk everything just to keep pace - it was a matter of conserving as much as possible to ensure I got to the end at the fastest average pace/effort I could maintain for the remaining 13.1 miles. There's no point in being a hero for 3 miles and walking 10. I forgot to take the split crossing the marathon mark but was a few seconds behind Thomas, who recorded 3:12:20 for the full - I give myself 3:12:30 (1:36:30 for the second HM). The best was yet to come.

The Third Half  (what an oxymoron)
The Connemara Ultra/Marathon/HM really begins in Lenaun - the rest is just a race to get to the start line the quickest. So here I am on the start line with a group of three who arrived just before me, with a mile and a half of a hill facing us. Unfortunately I have arrived in the poorest shape, which was quickly evident as the three in front quickly pull away. My performance going up hill is fairly pathetic today for some reason. The mile to 27.2  comes in about 8:35. Somehow I managed the mental arithmetic to determine that I need an average pace of 8:12 over the last HM to get under 5 hours. I can't remember how I calculated it but it was bang on for the 1:47:30 HM required. I decided to hold off on assessing whether a sub-5 was possible until I got to the top of the hill.

As the road levels out Mile 28.2 come in 8:16 - "This is not going too well". I plough on as the road in front of me gets busier as I hit the back of the half marathon field. Mile 29.2 passes in 7:45 - "That's an average of 8:00 for the last 2 miles, the dream is still alive". I pick up my last drop bag at the 29.2 mile water station - a bottle of coke and some jelly babies. The jelly babies are hard to take but the coke never fails to let me down and I hang onto it for the next 3 miles until it is drained completely.

While I take water at every station, all bar a mouthful is poured over my head, neck and shoulders to keep me cool so that less energy has to be diverted from the few remaining working muscles in my legs to run the air conditioning system. While I did not feel thirsty I suspected after the race that I was well dehydrated, which was evident by the fact that I took on plenty of fluids after the race but did not pass any until about 6 that evening. The next few miles are undulating and while I suffer on the ups I run reasonably well on the flat and downhills, noticeable by the increase in the number of runners I pass. Miles 30.2 & 31.2 pass in 8:15 and 7:45, yo-yoing around an average 8:00 pace.

I get chatting to a couple of marathon runners who quiz me on my training. Given our pace and the time on the clock I ask them are they aiming for a 3:30 finish (5:00 ultra finish) to which they respond "at the moment" - my sentiment exactly. They pull ahead on the ups but come back to me on the downs and flats. The next 2 miles pass in 8:28 and 8:30 and my 5:00 finish begins to enter the realms of fantasy. While my legs are turning over pretty well, maintaining a respectable pace despite the rising fatigue I know what lies ahead. The next 2 miles to the 35.2 mile water station pass in 7:48 and 7:59 but the toughest challenge of the day lies straight ahead, the 2 mile steady climb up through the saddle in the hills before the drop to Peacocks Hotel and the finish line. This is where I have to put the head down and concentrate on my own pain, ignoring everything going on around me.

Shortly afterwards, out of the blue I get an overwhelming urge to stop and walk "just for a minute" and I haven't even reached the real hilly section yet. It takes all my mental strength to resist, promising myself that I can walk in 2 minutes time - just hang on for another 2 minutes and sure enough the urge subsides, temporarily postponed - i'm a sucker for delayed gratification. Thankfully the mental trick works and the urge does not return with the same potency and my body is allowed to drag it's sorry ass up the hell of the west technically running, but going no faster that Michael Jackson's moonwalk. I get passed by another Ultra runner but can offer no resistance except to wish him well as even in my fatigued induced state I know he is pushing for the 5 hour target. My mile splits are shockingly slow at 9:33 and 10:09 (no improvement on last year there). There's certainly something wrong with my uphill running today.

I can't remember what exact time was on the Garmin when I crested the hill and the tower of Peacocks Hotel came into view off in the distance. But I calculated that I needed to run 6:50 pace or less to get there. I decided to push the next mile and see what split I got knowing full well that it was a fruitless exercise - but my ego needed feeding. So I push at what I think is a hard pace knowing that it is probably well short of the mark and as I pass the 38.2 mile mark after 7:55  I ease back a little - the sub-5 battle long lost on the Hell of the West. The first muscle spasms of the day hit my calves over the last mile so I ease back and dance around the road shifting my weight distribution to avoid the onset of full cramps. Mile 39.2 comes in 8:17 and I coast into the finish as the clock shows 5:02:32 (5:02:28 chip time). Delighted to be finished and a full 22 minutes inside last years PB.

The Aftermath.
 It didn't take long for my legs to seize up and the cramping to begin as I sat chatting to Thomas at the finish line. I met up with the guy who passed me going up the hell of the west (Aaron) to see if he got his sub-5 but unfortunately he was 53 seconds on the wrong side of it - still a great result. I got up and walked around to keep the blood flowing to/from the legs but immediately began to feel nauseous. I remembered then to lie on my back and raise my legs up against a railing for 10 minutes so as to allow the blood flow more easily from my legs (i.e. let gravity do the work instead of relying on my heart) and after that my legs were relatively ok and my appetite returned. Thanks to Jo and Niall for providing every assistance at the finish line - excellent care and attention - Niall even providing a quasi pillow while I lay on my back. Liam came in shortly afterwards in 5:44 or thereabouts and went through more or less the same routine, although his cramping appeared to have been more severe, judging by the profanities he uttered. After a soup and sandwiches and copious amounts of water we hopped on one of the buses and returned to Galway for the night and the start of the carb reloading. Liam and I made it into the post race party/gig in the Quays for a few pints of the black stuff, with Liam regaling a captive audience of half marathon ladies about his life as an ultra runner - you could see the look of awe and admiration on their faces. After our second endurance event of the day we crawled into bed shortly before 2 a.m. with my head competing with my legs for No. 1 on the recovery stakes the following morning.

I don't know if I could have raced Connemara any better. Going out a bit faster didn't cost me too much. It's hard to say whether or not I could have run the last HM say 8 minutes quicker had I ran the first 26.2 5 minutes slower, who knows. Maybe if the day was cooler, if I ate a decent breakfast, if I hydrated more, if I ran higher mileage in training, if I wore a lucky charm ...if...if...if.  All I know is that I did the distance justice this year as my legs (calves) were the limiting factor in previous years - I think the increased running in the vibrams helped to strengthen my calves over the last year.

Funnily enough I feel that it is my ability to recover has improved noticeably over the last year with no significant aches and pains or DOMs after Sunday - early days yet perhaps. However I joined the club track session this evening for 4 x 1 mile @ 7:44 pace and the most discomfort came from indigestion following the continuous binge eating since Sunday.

I don't know what it is about Connemara but since I first ran it I keep coming back every year just to get my ass kicked, pushing the limits of what I can endure and promising never to return - only to fall in love with it all over again once the pain subsides. Reminds me of a successful marriage.

p.s. During my lunchtime run with Brendan on Thursday he suggested that the Connemara Ultra was more like giving birth but since neither of us had experienced it we settled on a "typical marriage".

Another Farmers Tan

The imprint on my singlet is clearly etched onto my torso as I type and will be for the next month or so - except that the Eagle black on my white form has changed to white on a red. It looks like it will be the most enduring reminder of my third 39.3 miler in Connemara. I had learnt from my previous runs to save something for the third half  and true to form today I more or less ignored the lesson as somewhere in my deep subconscious I feel that if I have run two halves I must be done - and generally I am. Still I had a very good day and did not suffer too much from my foolhardiness.

My initial plan to go out at 7:30 pace worked well for a few miles but my run by feel strategy had me running a bit faster after warming up - getting me through the first half in 1:36, the second half in a similar time - I think I crossed the marathon line in 3:12:30 and paid the price over the Hilly third half,  but at least I did not have to walk (although at times I could have been passed by a few walkers) I crossed under the finish line in about 5:02:33 - a 22 minute PB - so I am delighted and while I was tantalising close to a sub-5 hour - running 2 miles up hill from mile 35 to 37 took away any cushion that I had (which was about zero).

I must go out for a few beers now with Liam (My Cousin, who ran his second ultra today in a very respectable 5:44 - especially considering his first ultra was last weekend along 51k of the mountainous Wicklow Way) and Thomas (who had an even better day than I - but you'll have to wait for that story).

Over The Hill?

I knew during the first mile of my 5 mile constant heart rate (140 bpm) evaluation run at the track this evening that I was well behind on my previous evaluation 4 weeks ago. Still I persevered with the 5 miles which I covered in 35:23 (7:05 pace) down from the 34:40 (6:56 pace) I recorded on 28th February. I wasn't too concerned given that the temperature this evening was about 5C higher than for all my previous evaluation runs, although I doubt that it accounts for the full drop in pace. Perhaps there were other things at play (maybe an off-day) as I doubt that I have lost that much of my aerobic base. Also the fact that the fastest mile was mile 3 suggests that the HR monitor may have been acting up.





  

Anyway, nothing I can do about it now - the real test of my endurance base is coming up on Sunday. Last year I averaged 6:53 pace for my pre-Connemara Maff test  but didn't get the chance to test my aerobic fitness as it was my muscular skeletal system that was the limiting factor. This year should be different.

My training couldn't have been more different than last year. My mileage for the last 10 weeks amounted to 560 miles (56 avg and 81 max) compared to 718 last year (71.8 avg and 114 max). Time to see if a lower mileage diet works just as well. On the plus side my average pace for the 560 miles was 7:37 compared to 8:01 for the 718 miles last year.

My primary goal remains a sub-5:15 finish, but if the body and conditions on the morning are both good i'll set a more ambitious pace and see what happens. I have a couple of pre-race ideas, but will be largely running by feel as opposed to being a slave to the watch. If the temperature remains high (it's forecast to drop) i'll certainly be heading out a bit more cautiously. As for fuelling, i'm less prepared (and less concerned) than last year. All I have taken during training is a few gels for my 30 mile long run, so I don't think I will need to pack like a mule horse - although I will make use of the drop bag system to stash the obligatory bottle of coke and perhaps a botle or 2 of perpeteum, left over from last year.

Mallow 10 By Numbers

It late in the evening so i'll be relatively brief. I got my 10 mile PB in Mallow today, but for the 28 seconds I knocked off my Ballycotton time 2 weeks ago (21 second PB) I went through a whole lot more suffering. Whereas in Ballycotton I suffered during the last mile (and still ran it in 6:02), today I suffered pretty much for the second half of the race. The race was also a polar opposite to Ballycotton, whereby my 55 second negative split two weeks ago was replaced by a 39 second positive split today - to be quite honest it felt as if it was worse, so perhaps the struggle over the second half of the race limited the damage.





Going Well to Mile 6

   

I started off a few rows back (in hindsight I could and should have started up front as there was no timing mat at the start and the first 400m was a struggle to stay upright as I dodged in and out between slower runners). I shared the first mile with Brendan and despite the fact that it contained a reasonable climb we managed to churn it out in 6:18. The road levelled out during mile 2 as we turned left onto the Cork/Mallow Road - Mile 2 in 6:15 (a bit surprised that it was not much faster). Clubmates Anne-Marie and Colin were 30 yards ahead (both with PB's well under 62), with John O'C 10 yards further ahead (PB about 61:58). I ran at my own pace and closed the gap over the gradual downhill mile 3 which came in a relatively fast 5:53. Turn left onto the Killarney Road - took a drop of water at mile 3.5 and joined a group with Colin and Anne-Marie - sharing the lead so as to shield the others from the frustrating head wind - Mile 4 in 6:07 (feeling relatively strong). Shortly after Colin and Anne-Marie began to pull ahead slightly - Mile 5 in 6:16 and halfway in 30:49.



Internal Struggle at Mile 6 or 7



I thought that if I could maintain pace and even split the race I'd get comfortably under 62 minutes. That was a big IF though, as there would be no repeat of the downhill 5:53 mile 3 during the second half. We turn left away from the headwind and onto a minor road with a few short ups and downs and I began to feel the pressure. Colin and Anne-Marie are about 10 yards ahead in a small group of runners, including Tom Sheehan of Bandon AC, whom I had shared a few of the middle miles of the Clonakilty Marathon with last December - he was looking very strong today. Mile 6 came in 6:16.

At this stage maintaining pace relative to those in front was becoming uncomfortably hard and there was no thought of trying to close the gap - just the negative thought of "when is the gap going to open up...I don't know how I can keep the pace going" To reinforce this negative feeling Mile 7 came in 6:26 which is my slowest so far and a real dent in my confidence as it is all I can to to maintain the effort. All i'm thinking of is the number of minutes left to run. A guy came on my shoulder on a short incline and I was fully expecting him to pass but I appeared to have a faster pace on the flat and declines and he yo-yos back and forth behind me for a mile. Mile 8, coming in 6:12 explains why I am still on the tail of Colin and Anne-Marie. I keep the leg speed going but the effort is becoming more and more unsustainable. Still I maintained pace compared to those in front with one or two of the group coming back to me. 1 guy , in particular shared most of the last 2 miles with me.

Mile 9 comes in 6:20. Just hang on for 6 more minutes. I keep the pace steady, knowing that I have nothing in my legs for the typical push over the last half mile. Left onto the Bridge over the Blackwater - 5 minutes left - cross the bridge and left again - 4 minutes left. The guy beside me begins to pull away, Colin and Anne-Marie also increasing the gap as the paces quicken in anticipation of the finish line. I am just hanging on, no zip left - just a minute left as we approach the last corner - I am passed by 3 guys in quick succession and have no response - legs like jelly - 50 yards left - I hear applause for someone behind and with the finishing line in sight my subconscious allows me to quicken the pace for the brief sprint to the line - 6:14 for the last mile - nothing like the strong 6:02 final mile in Ballycotton and 1:02:17 for the 10 mile PB. Glad of the PB but disappointed that I didn't get under 62 minutes.

I can't explain why I found the race so tough compared to Ballycotton - there's a fine line between comfortably hard and uncomfortably hard and I must have crossed it today. Certainly the day was warmer and the headwind didn't help - but I don't think they were much of a factor. Maybe there's a lot to be said for the slow start in Ballycotton - should I have aimed for a 31:00/31:20 first half so as to set myself up for a 30:40/31:00 second half? Still tough, considering my 5 mile PB is 30:24. Maybe last weekends 30 miler was still in my legs. Interestingly it took me more heartbeats to complete todays run compared to Ballycotton (627/km compared to 623 two weeks ago - and they say Ballycotton is tougher) Either way 62:17 was all I was capable of today and that's my first PB of the year, not bad for an old guy of 46 I suppose. The results put me in 78th place out of 1,088 finishers and 12th M45 (there's a few faster old guys out there). Well done to Mallow AC for puting on a fantastic, well organised race.

I'll leave you with another table comparing some of my shorter distance PB's with the corresponding times for these distances I ran today - maybe it's time for some short race training. Have a good week.

Sharp Taper

I ran a grand total of 19 miles this week, not by design but more because other priorities took over and as the work for Connemara is done there was no point in stressing out trying to get a few more miles in.

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I did complete my final race specific long run last weekend, covering just over 30 miles in 3:48 (7:34 pace @ 139 HR), although my pace did slow to 8:00 over the last few miles. Still, an encouraging run. A 12 mile recovery club run in the hills to the south-west of Cork the following morning went reasonably well at a very manageable 9:07 pace and equally manageable average HR of 108 - dropping to as low as 92 on one downhill section. My legs felt a bit sluggish for a few days but recovered sufficiently for my Tuesday "speedwork" which I cut back to a 5 mile progression @ 6:46 pace average (about 7:07 to 6:36). My other 2 runs of the week, on Wednesday and Friday, went off without a hitch - however tomorrow's Mallow 10 mile PB attempt will be the real test as to whether or not I am fully recovered. After that it's back to 2 weeks of easy(ier) running.

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Here's an interesting video on running economy I came across on the Natural Running Center Site.

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What's Next?

Recovery from Ballycotton has gone pretty well. While the ball of my left foot was quite tender it did not prevent me from running on it, albeit in normal running shoes. With the Connemara ultra now less that 4 weeks away I have only planned 3 specific runs between now and then.

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The first and only ultra specific run is this weekends long run, where I hope to run 30 miles or so (3:45 to 4 hours hopefully). This time i'm planning on taking on some fluids and maybe even a gel or 2.

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The second, on the following weekend (Bank Holiday Monday), is the Mallow 10, where I hope to break my 10 mile PB, given my Ballycotton performance. I know Paul advised caution so close to Connemara, but I think 13 days should be enough for recovery - i'll see how Ballycotton impacts on this weekends long run and reassess.

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Cresting the Incline @ Mile 7

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My third planned run is a final 5 mile constant HR evaluation run a week before Connemara to assess my aerobic fitness before race day. All my other runs will be based on feel with a few faster paced runs if the mood takes, always mindful of erring on the side of caution during the Connemara taper.

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Ballycotton 10 - Not What I Expected

My plan for today in Ballycotton was to run a sub-65 minute ten miler in the vibrams. To be quite honest at this stage I think there is no difference between what I could achieve in the vibrams versus "normal" running shoes. My strategy was to go out at a steady pace just below 6:30 miles. With no satellite reception on the Garmin I aimed to run comfortably hard and check my splits at each mile marker.

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I accepted a kind offer of a lift from Thomas who was en route from the Kingdom and filled up his car with neighbours Pat and Ian who were also running. The day was sunny, with a cold north westerly wind, which meant we'd have it at our back for the last 5 miles. As I wasn't heading for a PB I wasn't too concerned about placing myself near the front of the 2,500+ field. Having said that I joined the queue to the race start a little later than I wanted and spent most of the time before the start pushing my way up through the throngs to get reasonable starting position. With chip timing I knew that my actual run time would be recorded.

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It still took me over 20 seconds to cross the start line after the gun went and the first mile was spent weaving in and out to get ahead of slower runners in front. I quickly caught up with Brendan, who was running his first race in over 2 years (and his first as an M40) and knowing that his target was also sub-65 I decided to hang on to him. The timekeeper was calling out 7:0? at the first mile marker, while the garmin gave me a split of 6:36, not too bad for an opening congested mile, albeit behind target pace. We continued on with the downhill second mile, which came in a much faster 6:14 ,which I put down to the downhill. We continued to pass runners, maintaining a steady pace, as the field spread out Mile 3 coming in 6:20 - building up a bit of a cushion on the 65 minute target. As the Garmin was displaying lap time and HR only I had no idea of total time, which was probably a good thing, especially later on.

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Brendan began to show some signs of distress during mile 4 as his breathing became a bit more laboured, despite the fact that he had done his fair bit of surging during the previous miles. We continued to pass others, which is always encouraging. Mile 4 came in 6:24, still under target pace. At this stage I began to harbour notions of getting under 1:04 as all I'd need is to average 6:24 per mile - i'll see how I get on as there are 6 miles left. Running in the vibrams felt very comfortable with no sign of discomfort. The clock at the 5 mile mark displayed 32:10 as I Passed it - Mile 5 split of 6:16. 1:04 certainly felt achievable, provided I could maintain pace for the remaining 5 miles. We turned South East shortly after mile 5 and the wind was now at our back. As I had no idea of current pace I continued to run by feel and was reasonably comfortable, still reeling in runners in front of me. Mile 6 in 6:14 - the wind must certainly be helping. Crossing the 10k mark I saw 1:19 on the lap time (39:23 for 10k, although I didn't know at the time).

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I continued to reel in runners in front of me, albeit a bit more slowly, which must have meant that I was running faster than average pace - Mile 7 in 6:08 more or less proved this. I could be heard well before I was seen, and as I came on runners shoulders, they would instinctively look down to see what the hell was making all the slapping noise. I could see two Eagles ahead, in their distinctive Eagle singlets, but couldn't make out who they were with my myopic vision. I gradually closed the distance, passing Mile 8 in 6:09 and with about 1.5 miles to go I was on the shoulders of clubmates Vivian and Diarmaid. My feet at this stage weren't too bad although it felt as if blisters were forming on the outside of both my big toes - nothing that would trouble me during the race but possibly afterwards.

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We ran on together until we hit the hill before the 9 mile mark and the other 2 began to move ahead of me. This was the first time during the race that I felt under pressure as it was the first time anyone pulled ahead of me (except perhaps for the opening half mile). The timekeeper was calling out 57:0? as we passed the 9 Mile mark - garmin showed a lap time of 6:22, the hill blunting my speed. I had no idea of what finishing time I was heading for, other than it would be under 64 (conservatively adding 6:30 to the 57:0? called out by the timekeeper - forgetting the 20+ seconds it took me to cross the start line). I pushed on at a steady pace - my lack of any real speedwork training showing as the other two, particularly Vivian began to pull further ahead. In fact as we entered the last half mile Diarmaid began to come slowly back to me, the effort of sticking to Vivian probably taking its toll. I began counting down the time left with the last km broken down at 200m intervals......"800m to go"......I could hear the MC at the finishing line "120 passed the finish line so far".......push......through the narrow Main Street of Ballycotton, which appeared to go on forever.........."600m to go"..........counting down the number of strides left in blocks of 90 (about 1 minute)............"400m to go".........one lap of the track........Vivian was gone at this stage......my neighbour Pat just ahead (62:34 last month in Dungarvan) I must be doing good.........."200m to go" keep pushing, but no finishing sprint.....the end is in sight..........I see 1:03:04 on the clock just before I cross under it, stopping my watch, where I think the finishing line is (no mat just a gantry) - 6:02 for Mile 10.

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My overall time was 1:02:45 (avg HR 159), I couldn't believe it, just 7 seconds outside my PB. I wouldn't mind but I wasn't aiming for a PB, if I had I'd certainly have given myself a better chance at the start, do a proper warmup (instead of the half mile jog) and get in a better position at the start line (I wouldn't have killed myself going for a 6:20 opening mile). Although I think I ran a good race, going out relatively conservatively (in hindsight) and negative splitting by nearly a minute(31:50/30:55) An encouraging run, although my feet were quite sore afterwards - the outside of both big toes and under the ball of my left foot - enough to limit my warmdown to a slow walk back to the carpark with Brendan and watch Thomas (Great run he had) complete his two mile warmdown before getting a lift home. All in all a good day out. Someone told me after the race that if I ran in normal shoes just think what I could do - I reminded them that it's my legs and feet do the running, not my shoes. I'm beginning to think I'd be faster in the vibrams. maybe I should give the Asics an outing in Mallow in two week time.