Tom Brennan Memorial New Year’s Day 5k

It’s only 4 weeks ago since my last 5k, and since that had been just 5 weeks after the Dublin marathon I was confident that a new PR was in store today. There’s just no better way to start the New Year than with a PR, isn’t it? Since it’s out of the question to get a childminder at New Year’s Eve it meant Niamh and I took it easy on the booze the night before, and unlike the rest of the country we awoke without a hangover.

I had done the race last year and was therefore familiar with the location and the race course. The one change from last year was the later start; it didn’t start until 1pm, which I guess was due to the organisers bowing to the demands of the New Year’s Day sufferers. It also enables me to bring the whole family for a change, Niamh and all 3 kids were there to admire Daddy. Unfortunately the weather turned nasty just 10 minutes before the start with rain and sleet coming down, and the wind picking up. It stopped soon enough, before the starting gun, but it meant my personal fans were frozen and miserable even before the race had started. In the morning I had said to Niamh how I don’t like 5ks, because they hurt a lot for the whole duration of the race, and now I was going to test that. My previous best had been 20:47, and I was hoping for 20:30. Despite this I started at a measured pace, it felt slower and more controlled than on previous 5k races. I still managed some decent pace early on, which I could tell by the fact that ever since the first few hundred meters nobody overtook me, but I kept going past other runners throughout. I got to the first mile marker in 6:18, which is a lot faster than my usual 5k pace, but I felt good enough and confident. The course is over two laps, and soon enough I passed the spot where Niamh and the kids were screaming and waving. Unfortunately this was also where the lactic acid in the lags started to be truly noticeable. I tried to push on as hard as I felt prudent, but the second mile marker did not appear until the watch said 13:51, which would make this a 6:33 mile. That is still faster than my previous PR pace, but quite a bit slower than the first mile. Having said that, a good bit of that mile had been into the wind, which explains at least some of the difference. I pressed on and kept overtaking a few more guys. I kept being afraid of anyone passing me (not sure why), and each time I heard someone behind me I just pushed harder. We soon turned the last corner, from where it is about half a mile to the finish. There was a guy about 10 meters ahead of me. I kept thinking if I started my sprint now I might catch him, no wait, maybe now, no wait, no wait, no wait, .... damn, now he’s accelerated himself. I tried to push as hard as I could, but try as you might I couldn’t close the gap. I was just about to be really annoyed with myself for delaying my final burst when I managed to glimpse the official timer as I crossed the line. Wait for it: 19:52. What? I couldn’t believe it and had to check my own watch. There it was, 19:52, and that was gun time, my net time was probably more like 19:50 or even 19:49. Wow! Even Niamh realised that this was a lot faster than I had anticipated and asked “was that really your time on that clock?”. She and the kids were frozen throughout, and while the four of them were cold and miserable despite being wrapped in scarves, gloves and hats, I was happy, ecstatic and feeling the inner warmth despite being in shorts and t-shirt. It meant I really could not ask them to wait a bit longer so that I could cool down properly; we had to march straight to the car, pack everyone in and leave. Never mind, I don’t want to put them off the experience. Lola said she wants to race with Daddy in future, but she might have to wait a few more years.

As far as I know the race distance was accurate, and it certainly was the same distance as last year. If anyone thinks it was short, don’t tell me. I really want to keep my sub-20 5k time.

Just yesterday I was thinking about (running) goals for 2007, and the thought of a sub-20 5k did cross my mind. But you only better your 5k time by a few seconds each time, so I decided it was too ambitious a target for this year, and 2008 was more realistic. Gracious me, was I wrong. What next? At the moment I don’t care, the glow is still there. Happy New Year!

1 Jan: 5 or 6 miles including 5k in 19:52 (gun time), 6:23 pace, avg. HR 179