Baby Steps

What a pleasure it was to re-visit Ballycotton to make my debut in the famous ten miler, known through the British Isles and Ireland as one of the best road races either side of the Irish Sea. On first view it was easy to see why, with rugged coastline and long stretching views to welcome the annual pilgrimage for a race that has remained true to its simple values. Pity that a slight calf strain the day beforehand affected my final preparations but with an element of risk I took my place amongst the two and a half thousand strong crowd knowing that caution would be the order of the day.

Taking a chance with an injury so close to the main event is always fraught with danger but as there was no pain on the morning of the race it made little sense not to run. My eagerness for action was tempered by the longer view of the season as a whole. Throwing the dice in situations like this means you have to prepare for the worst case scenario of having to pull up early if things don't feel right. You're taking a chance and if it doesn't work you need to respect that and act accordingly before you do more damage.

Ballycotton Island and Lighthouse

Running one paced throughout in the glorious sunshine that held high above us, I felt good for the most part. Where normally around the seven and a half mile mark, I would look to start ratcheting up the effort; here there was no searching to be done. The mental doubt regarding my calf along with the tough uphill finish in warm conditions gave me reason to think that getting home in one piece would be a success in itself.

Finishing in 63.45 was hard work in the end, with the steady climb to the finish line proving tougher than expected even given my more relaxed attitude on the day. Taking the positive out of each performance while remaining truthful to yourself is key when reviewing race efforts. Learning to accept that not every day is going to be a PB day is another worthwhile lesson to become familiar with (not too familiar though, of course!)

Post Ballycotton week coincided nicely with what is the most enjoyable week of the year for some friends and me. Most people have Christmas in December, ours comes in March and it's called Cheltenham! All the build up and excitement for the preceding 360 or so days never fails to deliver the greatest four days sport of the year. Man and beast running for glory in one of the most spectacular settings I have been lucky to visit.

Cheltenham

Of course, with all the excitement there also comes some time to treat yourself and let go of the usually careful diet. Steaks, chips, burgers, pasties, pork rolls, coca cola, caramel cappuccinos and much more aplenty. You do have to live, as people remind me. I tend to overdo it though, I really do!

So with a few pound gained around the waistline and another few lost from a mysterious hole in my pocket, I attempted to get back into the daily training routine. I can honestly say that I found this the hardest few days training since taking up running twelve months or so ago. No matter how fit or otherwise you are, a break in the manner of which I enjoyed is going to make those first few days feel like you’re starting over again.

Ten-minute miles along the extremely flat and fair Tay Road seemed like torture, having to concentrate on your running form at this pace isn't what I'm used to thinking about. I do have to admit to having doubts during these few days. How would I get back to that pre-Ballycotton sharpness? How long would these seemingly easy runs feel like torture? When could we just get back to normal, I wondered?

Charlie + Alfie

As momentum was gathering in my training, into our world arrived another wonderful little baby boy, a little brother for one-year-old Alfie who we named Charlie. Thankfully the new arrival was delivered with the minimum of fuss by his amazing mother so our time in Cork University Hospital was brief enough. Yet, any small amount of time spent in a hospital has the affect of centering your outlook pretty quickly. You see people young and old dealing with issues far greater than what you quickly realize are your own somewhat insignificant ponderings.

Thanks to Victoria and the help of our family, I've been able to continue building back in to another training phase which will see me peaking for the Great Island 10 on April 12th. This Sunday's BHAA 10km race sponsored by UCC will serve as a good workout in advance of the main event two weeks later. 

Whatever happens this weekend, I'll surely have a PB in the bag by virtue of this being the first time I have raced over the 10km distance! That said, a realistic target here will be to break 38mins which would put me in a good position to run well on the local roads a fortnight later.

Hope your training is going well, don't forget to enjoy it!