I’m an early riser so woke before the 7am alarm called me from my slumber, I felt good despite a very un-race like preparation of a large BBQ dinner the night before. But there was no going back now, I debated if having a shower was required given the exertions ahead of me but my fellow competitors will be pleased to hear that hygene & the waking effects of hot water won out!

Porridge, oj & a banana went down well and I was off. I like being early and arrived in the Pavillions shortly after 8 and decided I need to relax a little for my next race given I was 1st into the car park. Contacts in, number on and a last toilet stop in the shopping centre and I headed off to scout the race start at about 9am.

15min warm up jog with a few strides thrown in, some stretches and into the corral at 9.40 about 50yds from the start line.

Off we go, I started on race strategy ‘A’ (all the moons & stars aligning and everything goes right) of 8min mile but with an 8:08 mile1 and 8:06 mile2 I quickly settled into my ‘perfectly acceptable strategy B’ of 8:10. I was happy to change to the slower time and glad that I worked it out early enough amd had the ability to adapt. I didn’t like the motorway section, there was little to do but think & run and no matter how gentle they were, I don’t like hills!

The turn onto the smaller back roads are much more my thing and I felt more at home on the terrain here. I decided to skip the water station, I didn’t need water and was being passed rapidly, an 8:19 mile3 was probably the reason! I had focused on one specific runner ahead of me, she was about my pace but was weaving a lot, it kept me entertained but she was obviously slower than I anticipated!

Half way point passed and I knew I was on to a PB, I just wanted to break 51min so had to keep the pressure on. 8:14 for mile4 and my mind was getting used to the pace (which was fast for me!) I tend to try to work my brain to help tick off the miles and thinking ahead to DCM14 and paces / times / paces kept me well occupied. While I very much appreciate the effort, I wasn’t 100% happy with the fire brigade shower to be honest, it was a decent idea but personally I wasn’t hot enough to need it and instead of a nice mist, I got soaked. Maybe I’m just being grumpy!

Feeling tired now and looking forward to the finish, in fact, counting down the yards on each step I took. The bend around the corner wasn’t appreciated and I was really working hard to keep going, I knew I’d finish, just how fast was the concern! 8:09 mile5 was a surprise and spurred me on. I was changing from being passed to being the passer and every shirt ahead became a target. The mood changed to focusing on leaving it all out on the course and I was off.

Really tired legs now, all I wanted to do was walk but 8:18 for mile 6 and we turned the corner for home. The sight of the finish gantry was the best thing of the day and a downhill finish is just a wonderful idea! Last bit of the race done in 1:36 (6:54pace)

Nearly saw my porridge again but didn’t, delighted on knocking more than 4:30 off my last 10k and there’s a couple of seconds to try to get for the Dun Laoghaire 10k in a few weeks.

Garmin time – 50:49
Garmin Data HERE
Chip time – 50:51
Average Pace – 8:09 per mile