Unlucky Third Time

After two storming performances in a row I was hoping to complete the treble on Friday with a third personal best in a row. My preparation was pretty much the same as last week before the 5K, and as I was warming up while at the same time scouting out the finish of the course, I felt optimistic.

The Kilgobnet 4 mile race has a fairly small field but the quality on show is fierce. There were about 50 or 60 runners (plus a number of walkers), and someone pointed out “that” guy from Dublin who was going to be really fast. He wasn’t wrong.

Right at the start 2 guys took off, a group of 5 formed behind them, another group of 4 followed and then there was me. I thought I was already running hard and it seemed imprudent to accelerate further to catch up, but I ended up trailing those 4 runners by about 10 meters, running the same pace but not being able to close the gap.

Last week in Killarney I had run the first mile very hard and then clung on for dear life towards the end. I wasn’t running quite as hard this time but a first mile of 5:51 wasn’t exactly slow. However, every mile split thereon was slower than the previous, so I probably did not choose the perfect pacing strategy.

Not that I was the only guilty party. The group ahead of me contained 3 young guy, two of whom were constantly chatting to each other. I really felt like telling them to shut up and concentrate on running; the only other old guy in the group told me afterwards that he was highly tempted to do the same. Anyway, they eventually paid the price, before the halfway mark I left both of them behind and Seamus later told me that one of them started walking soon after and the other one eventually followed suit.

There was only the guy in a red top and another youngster in a blue top within reach. Both seemed a bit stronger than me, but the youngster eventually started walking as well, first towards the top of each little climb, and more later, until I finally passed him. He finished quite a few seconds behind me. I kept the other runner within striking distance but the last mile was uphill, the legs failed me and I lost contact. There was never a danger of me losing my position and I finished 9th overall, which would not have been bad but I was hoping for a personal best and missed out by a few seconds.

I was a bit disappointed with that, especially after my stormer last week. I had hoped with this race in the legs I would be sharper today but the opposite was the case. I don’t think I can blame my stomach troubles from Tuesday, that felt all fine. In the end it comes down to the fact that I did not run hard enough. Last week I collapsed at the end, gasping for air for a minute, this time I stayed up chatting with others, so obviously I did not leave everything on the course.

The winner was indeed the runner from Dublin who set a new course record of 20 minutes flat. 5-minute miles. Wow!

There won’t be another race for a few weeks, which is definitely a good thing; undoubtedly the coach would tell me that I have fallen behind of the recovery curve. There are two races in three weeks, a 5K in Killarney or the IMRA Mangerton race. I will have to make a decision.

29 Jul

7 miles, including:
   Kilgobnet 4 mile race, 24:20, 6:05 pace, HR 177
   9th overall, 2nd M40