https://www.strava.com/activities/12579275127
3 weeks out and this was the last hard and long workout of the block. Initially, the plan was to build into the race, hit marathon pace for the middle and then close hard if feeling good. If the feeling was not good and the body wasn’t responding, then it was hold on for dear life and get home.
Neither of the above 2 scenarios really played out as there were high winds scheduled for Saturday. Speaking to Seán on the Friday night, we reassessed and the plan changed to adapting to the conditions, letting go of any outcome, focusing on being smooth and then finishing strong. To a lesser or greater extent, all of these things played out in their own way.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early and had a big bowl of porridge with a coffee, chugged a load of water and drove to Clondalkin. I decided to park my car at Barry’s house, approximately 2.5 kilometres from the start, and was to use this as my warm up. After dropping the car off, using the bathroom and being told by Barry that it wasn’t windy, I set off on my warm up jog to the start line and was immediately accosted by the wind. Instead of being prolonged, it was quite gusty and was blowing north to south, meaning neither part of the run on the canal would be affected. The course was 3 loops of approximately 10K and a sizeable portion of each loop was along the canal. If the canal is windy, there is nowhere to go. When I arrived at the start line, the wind was not as bad as I was expecting and I found myself reverting back to the original plan.
10K: 37:42
The 3/4 marathon wasn’t the only race on today. The course was also hosting a 10K and a half marathon. Most (but not all) 10K runners had a blue bib and the half marathon and 3/4 marathon runners had a black bib. The race looked to be low enough in quality at the top end. There were a few really fast runners but they were few and far between and I did not see anyone I knew around the pace I wanted to run. For the first kilometre, I was in a big group along the canal that was surging and dying off more times than you could shake a stick at. By the time the 4th kilometre came, and we were climbing from the canal to Grange Business Park, I was now in a group with 3 other lads. These boys were only running the half but we were pretty consistent with the 3:45’s at this point so I was happy to jump on their train. There was a group a few metres ahead of us but they were all wearing the blue 10K bibs. There was nobody behind us. I had found my tribe. The rest of this lap passed by without too much hassle. The course had a long but gradual climb from the canal to the top of the Grange Business Park and then had a shorter, more defined descent back to the canal. For the entirety of this lap, the wind was at a minimum and I was feeling pretty good. I had initially felt a little stodgy on the start line but that had dissipated now and I was feeling smooth in my running. I had been carrying a water bottle since the start and that was now empty. Emma was positioned just before 10K to give me a new water bottle and I sighted Emma… but no water bottle. She cast me a confused and scared look when I asked “where is the bottle?”. Intuitively, I knew she would resolve this problem so I kept hold of the empty bottle for now. After the missed bottle, the watch beeped for 37:42.
11K – 20K: 38:02 // Half: 1:19:50
I was feeling good. I was feeling strong. The pace was coming to me about as easy as I could expect. When we made the first 90 degree turn, the group splintered a small bit and we were now down to two groups of two close to each other. I was running with a man from Slaney Olympic, stationed in the great town of Enniscorthy, who up to this point had been running strongly. The pace now had dropped to just under 4:00 pace and I was devastated. I was hoping to stick with a group for as long as possible but now a decision was to be made. There was nobody in front of me, the leaders way off in the distance, but I took off myself to try and hold the pace. Seemingly at the same time, the wind decided to make itself known. Still not blowing in my face in the canal, I could feel it blowing steadily across me and I knew I was now in a battle. We left the canal again, turned left for Grange Business Park and I got an almighty slap in the face. All alone and no group to even feign interest in catching, I tried to keep my effort consistent with what had come before but I could feel myself burning a candle or two. Such was the ferocity of the wind at this juncture that I forgot to take one of my gels and only realised this when I hit the down hill. Prior to this, I tried to take some water from a water station and, unable to pinch the cup as it was a thick plastic, my shoulders were the only thing being hydrated. I eventually got back to the canal where I spotted Emma with a bottle of water. Signalling to me to give her my empty 250ml bottle, I threw this at her to fill up and get back on the next loop. A true pro. Just as I was praising her in my head, the 20K split came at 38:02.
21K – 30K: 38:28 // 20K – finish: 45:20
I didn’t know at the time what the 20K split was but I was sure it was slower than the previous one. Even with going a little harder than I would have wanted, I still felt I was in a decent enough place. I took the last 90 degree turn and began the final loop. The runners in the half and 3/4 were now all merged into one and the path was very busy with a lot of runners. I collected my refilled bottle from Emma and took a big swig. The water immediately felt like it was sloshing around my belly, a problem I never usually have, and this was the first sign that I was now entering some sort of death zone. I had to focus a lot on weaving in and out of people and the smoothness of my running had been compromised and I could feel my form was gone to shit. I could also feel the beginnings of some cramping starting (thankfully it never materalised) and I knew this was down to the lack of water I had taken on. It was now time to lock into the initial, final goal – hold on for dear life. The wind had now taken over and there was no escaping the gusts. I paid no attention at all to the watch and arbitrarily picked out some runners on their second lap as targets to pick off and give me something to aim at. There wasn’t a sinner around to spectate in the Business Park and all of the runners I was going past had earphones in. I started thinking to myself what music would they be listening to and would I like it? It was a fools errand trying to guess but it was very likely I would have thought it was shit anyway. All these little mind games made the middle stretch of the last loop while away quicker than I expected. When I got back to the canal, the wind was still blowing hard but I was able to pick up the pace a small bit and closed in a 3:42 and 3:43, with the previous kilometre splits all being closer to 4:00. I crossed the finish line in 2:01:02 with an average pace of 3:48. I had a good bit left in the tank and had not buried myself here but 3:48 is right at the wrong side of the average pace that I will need to hold to break 2:40, which is realistically the goal. Overall, the race was a success as it definitely beat doing that effort on my own in the Phoenix Park and I feel I got a great stimulus from it. Hopefully there is a fitness boost to follow. 3 weeks to go!
Buckets of Rain 