So off I headed up to capital city on Friday evening, hadn’t run a step since Thursday evening and was feeling well rested come Saturday morning. A perfect morning for the race, blue skies, sun was beaming yet temperature felt ideal. I was staying in a friends just outside the park so after my ritual coffee, off I set at 9:30am and started jogging up Chesterfield avenue. I felt really light on my feet and full of energy, could have been the fact I was wearing racers but I just felt very good and confident I’d run a good race today, honestly I think the little rest played a big part in attitude.
The target was most definitely a PB, a generous chunk too I was hoping. The existing PB of 58:46 was ran down in Mallow in March earlier this year. I knew I’d come on a lot since then and having unofficially broken that PB during my last half marathon I knew if I ran to my ability that a PB was a formality, it was just a matter of how much. In terms of a time, a great result would be 56:30 but anywhere between that and 57 I’d be happy with. 5:40 pace was the target and based on my recent training I felt pretty confident of being able to hold that. I really don’t like to go out with a target pace in mind, it sort of suggests that once I’m hitting that pace I stay there and hold on to it without pushing anymore. I decided to allow myself to run more by feel today, to allow times where the pace would be slower and if I felt good I’d push on without running to a self imposed limit, seemed like a fair deal.
I got up to the start line having run a nice 2 mile warmup and feeling nice and relaxed. I met a few Donore lads at the start line for a chat and suddenly it was almost time to go. I was a good bit back, too far probably for what I was targeting but I saw no point panicking and trying to get up further, starting conservatively and working my way up the field has always worked well for me.
Miles 1-2
Off went the hooter and it was a good 10 seconds before I would pass the start line. I didn’t hang around just patiently made my way through the droves of runners, as usual there was a good lot of folk who shouldn’t have be starting up so far but fully expect it in the big races. I finally started getting a bit of room about half a mile in and was still so far back but continuing to pass a lot of people. Surprised to see a 5:38 pop up for the first mile, was feeling nice and relaxed and felt I could keep this effort going. We turned onto Lords walk and the field starting to settle as the initial excitement plateaued, now it felt more like the start of the race. I just focussed on feeling relaxed and keeping the effort consistent, hit the second mile a little slower but still in control.
Splits: 5:38, 5:43
Miles 3-4
We made our way around the back of the zoo and onto the North road which I knew would be a difficult patch. There was a guy just on my shoulder who then fell into step with me and I thought great we can work together up to the next group ahead. Effort was certainly harder now with the combination of a slight headwind and a gradual drag but I was feeling ok. I found myself out on my own again as the guy fell off the pace and I started closing in on a group of 5/6 ahead of me including a Donore runner who was leading the pack, that was my target. I hit mile 3 in a reasonable 5:44 and though I was off my target pace, I didn’t panic. I had a lot of miles left to run, I knew I had the training done and I had the ability to run quicker miles in the middle section so It was a case of ensuring steady effort and not stupidly chasing a pace when conditions weren’t optimal. I made my way up past the group ahead who were all slowing and to the Donore runner, who I didn’t even know at the time. He acknowledged me and then we ran alongside the last mile of the North road working together, starting to find it difficult but knowing that there were better miles to come. Too much watch checking here!
Splits: 5:44, 5:47
Miles 5-6
Coming off the North road I felt pretty good, I felt I’d summited a mental mountain and it was time to descend. Myself and the Donore runner turned back onto Chesterfield and headed up towards the Castleknock gate. I felt good and gradually starting pulling away from him and reeled in a few others ahead of me. After that it was an empty field bar a few specks in the distance so I just relaxed the shoulders and prepared for a long journey down the entire length of Chesterfield. Now I really started enjoying myself and just letting the legs do the work. The sun was beaming and I felt like I could run forever, terrific feeling. There was an official 5 mile mat and I had a quick glance to see 28:32 for the first 5 miles, good stuff and still on track. I knew the last 1.5 miles were going to be tough so I was going to make this next section count. At that point I knew I was running in the 5:30’s though I didn’t need to check. I was in a great place so I made the decision to turn the garmin screen off. I didn’t want any pace or time targets to upset the rhythm I had and constantly checking it wasn’t going to do me any good. I knew what I had to do and at this point so I just focussed on the road ahead and I ran what I felt was the right pace.
Splits: 5:37, 5:32
Miles 7-8
Onto mile 7 and though I wasn’t watching my time or pace, I had seen the mile splits flash up and knew I was going well, confidence was high and I was still passing people. There were 2 Donore singlets ahead of me, out in force they were and made for pretty good targets. I passed one just before turning onto Wellington road and I started reeling the other in slowly. We were always descending on this section so pace was still nippy and I finally caught up with my clubmate just after exiting the park at the Chapelizod gate. He tagged on for a bit but I was maintaining the same effort and gradually pulled away. I was pretty delighted to pass my sisters apartment here to see her standing on the footpath alongside my mother for a big cheer. No doubt I sped up and tried my best to look effortless for those 10 seconds and I think it worked, they bought it. Hit mile 8 soon after and I knew what was coming ahead though I was still feeling quite good.
Splits: 5:33, 5:35
Miles 9-10
Mile 9 and 10 were funny ones. I felt like I was flying still on the 9th mile, but apparently I wasn’t. The first half of it was along Chapelizod road and then we re-entered the park (apparently DublinRunner gave me a shout here but I was too rude focussed to acknowledge, so thanks!). Then came the climbs which in fairness I was ready for and knew was was ahead of me. I immediately felt the pace drop but I didn’t feel it was by too much, I shortened the stride a bit but was closing in quickly on a group ahead so felt in control. We hit the 9 mile mark up near the first section of the upper glen road and I saw a 5:57 pop up. It was a little surprising because I didn’t think I had slowed that much but again no panic, I didn’t know what time I was on for or what that actually meant to my end result so I just concentrated on the runners ahead of me who seemed to be really struggling badly with the hill. The 2nd and 3rd placed female runners (Scottish I think) were just ahead of me and I reeled them in quite quickly and started to feel surprisingly ok with the hill. I felt very strong after the initial climb and through the next drag I took another 3 lads before turning onto the Furze road for the finish. Now I was feeling a bit of burn but there was one more guy to take care of in a yellow top. I didn’t feel I had much of a sprint in my until I heard a shout from a club member who was watching, something like “Push it all the way” and I just though he’s right I’m not done yet, gotta push this all the way to the end. I found a gear and I put everything I had into that last section taking the guy ahead of me. I had no idea of my time until that point but then I saw the finishing clock just under 57 minutes. I gave it my all to duck under the 57 but realised quickly it wasn’t happening. I crossed as the clock hit 57:07 and I think I actually muttered the words “f**k it” as I crossed though I had no right to be disappointed with that time. Then as I gathered myself I was extremely pleased to look at my watch to see it reading 56:58 – I hadn’t crossed the line until 10 seconds after the gun went, I did get under 57!! My official chip time was 56:57, even better, get in there! I was really pleased with that last mile which was a tough climb but I had the strength to push through it despite knowing I had slowed considerably on mile 9.
Splits: 5:57, 5:40
Summary: 10 miles in 56:57 @ 5:40 min/mile (167bpm)
Overall Position: 47/4226
Post race thoughts: I’m really thrilled with that race, not just the PB but the strategy, the attitude and the belief I had in my abilities. The race was fantastic, a real mixed bag of emotions, times where I had to dig deep, to be patient and times when I felt on top of the world and nothing could go wrong. I once again took the tactic of “do the passing, don’t be passed” and it seems to work well for me. I really have had a fantastic summer of training and racing and have never been enjoying my running so much. This felt like the cherry on top of that great summer and I can’t wait to take on the next challenge which of course is the impending marathon training and then the actual marathon itself. No complaints about the actual race itself, excellent organisation, well marshalled, super atmosphere and what a bargain at 20 quid.
It dawned on me today that the pace I ran for that 10 mile was actually the same pace I ran for the Cheetah 4 mile race back in May. I think that sort of progress is a huge reflection on my coach and clubmates because I really wouldn’t be making these sort of improvements without them. I know it’s said a lot but I really have to agree that surrounding yourself and consistently training with better runners is a sure way to improve dramatically.