TRAINING: What lies beyond

With a great pinnacle and season-finisher coming up, it's no harm to look ahead at what comes next. I've talked of my desire to achieve more road PBs and compete in the cross-country season next year, and while that stays true, I have set myself a much more important target: To adapt a professional lifestyle as I transition into my new job at work.

I am hoping this new job, while challenging, will give me more flexibility and it will certainly give me more resources. I therefore want to increase my number of training sessions per week to thirteen - the standard for most elites.

This won't be done through an insane ramp-up in mileage but rather I plan to re-enter my volume face around the 90km and then build up to 120km. However, I will aim to always do a slow jog Mon-Sat of at least 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes in length. Ideally, this should followed by a quick morning session of strength and plyometric work on three occasions, but I may include this later.

I won't be very strict on the actual length of the morning jogs for the beginning, the main thing is to learn how to organise my life around this amount of training sessions and get used to being active for this period. Organising your life to suit your running is a fundamental requirement for maximising your potential. My great belief is that all athletes deserve the answer to the question "how good could I really be" and hopefully I can put a program in place that will allow me to answer it for myself.

There will be a few weeks where I know it won't be logistically possibly, such as my holidays in Denmark the last week of August. I believe this is fine, training should not be dogmatic but rather intuitive. Learning to train 13 times per week is an ideal to aspire to and to reach on as many occasions as possible but there are times when life must intervene.

So returning from England, I will have one more easy week before entering the next big step-up in training.

DIARY: Much to be excited about...

"I'm happy out," as they like to say in Wexford. Had the first of three days of easy jogging as part of my taper for Snowdon and it looks like I'll get a chance to meet Kenny Stuart while in England due to my Mud, Sweat and Tears connections. I'll be sure to write about it, readers we'll know he's a great inspiration of mine as I found the chapter on him in Feet in the Clouds particularly touching. Add to that he was probably the fastest out-and-out fell-runner in terms of athletic ability which his two 25-year old records at Ben Nevis and Snowdon attest.

I did a bit of thinking about speed myself today and looking at the fact that I've now lowered my own bar to 5:10 for the mile despite having very modest base speed on the sprint distances, I think it's time to toast to Lydiard again. Clearly, I'm simply using the modest speed that's there to the best effect because of the aerobic efficiency gained through the heavy base training.

There are plenty of sprinters out there who could put well over 20 seconds into me over 400m yet they would not be able to run as fast for the mile simply because they do not have muscle fibre composition or the aerobic training to effectively hold their speed for any significant amount of time. This should be comforting to any long-distance man out there who believes they have only modest speed: With proper conditioning and a balanced phased program whatever speed you have can be maximised. There's very little difference between the speeds I can run for the each classical distance (relatively speaking) and I think that's the sort of healthy aerobic profile that results from Lydiard's training programs.

My goal, of course, remains to run sub-33 for the 10k and hope to make the bar for the Danish team. Snowdon will answer a lot of questions of where I am at, but the autumn season will be full of opportunities as well. To run 33-minutes for 10k requires a mile time of around 4:37.

This sounds daunting, but I don't think it's as big a task as it looks: It's 2:55min/km pace or 17 second 100s. I'm quite capable of running 17 seconds for the 100s, I just can't do it endlessly. Some may start to do loads of strength training and endless repetitions of 100s with the aim of stringing together 16 of those and reach the time, but while some strength training will definitely make it easier on me to generate the speed, the more important part is just to keep increasing my aerobic base. At the moment my aerobic fibres probably contribute very little of the speed necessary to run 17 seconds for a 100m. But with a lot of years of training even the weakest of fibres can learn to run at this pace. And the bonus? Well, those fibres are up to 19 times more energy-efficient than other fibre-types, so will have no problem running 16 times the distance at that pace.

We've all got plenty of speed, it's the endurance to keep the pace that we lack...

Anyway, enough pre-race ramblings, just two more days...

TRAINING: A Sniff of a Mile

A sniff of a mile and a sniff of glory was the result of my last sharpening session before Snowdon. I had set an aggressive target of running sub-5 for the mile and the plan was to execute two 73-second laps followed by two 75-second laps.

Unfortunately, I decided to make it more "official" but using the official track measurements and not just rely on my Garmin. This proved silly, as I misread what lines were meant to mean what and didn't correct the distance for Lane 4 correctly (our lane 1 is generally blocked to save it) ending up with a distance of 1760m instead of 1609m.

This turned out to be a real pity as I did almost everything else right...

The First Lap - FAST!
The first lap of a mile must be run very fast, generally the first two laps are run quicker than the last two so there's not time to waste.

Luckily I got off to a blistering start recording the fastest ever momentary pace by my Garmin as I reached velocities of 2:24min/km at some stage. I was up on my toes and my feet only skipped the ground and there they practically stayed for the duration.

When I set my 5:11 PB I had covered the first lap in seventy-seconds (still my best ever 400m), today I paced it better hitting it in seventy-one seconds, the 70-second barrier will fall this autumn! Unfortunately, I looked at my watch and thought I was having a terrible day not realising I was running large laps and didn't get the "I'm on track boost" that would have been great here.

2nd Lap - New Best for the 800m
I kept on track in every sense of the word going into the second lap. During my last attempt I had run 2:29 for the first 800m (another best for me) and today I knocked another second off to get 2:28. I had slowed to 77 seconds per lap, while last time it had been 79. Unfortunately I thought the game was over and was just considering how to run home with some honour intact. Such a pity!

3rd Lap - 1000m and beyond
While I was getting more and more depressed I didn't know that half-way through the 3rd and penultimate lap I ran my fastest ever kilometre on the flat in 3:07.

I finished the lap in 78 seconds, remarkably stable now but well off my hoped target of 75 seconds. Then I was on my way into the final lap and readying my ultimate sprint for the last 100m...

4th lap - 1500 falls
I was quicker than ever to the 1500m with 4:48 against 4:52 last time, so was now four seconds up on my record (but wasn't aware sadly). I crossed the 1.61 mark in 5:10, one second inside the record but instead of jubilation I was still about to start my sprint 150m still from the finish line!

A decent sprint it was as I covered 150m in thirty seconds but not spectacular. I bend over and gasped for air in the knowledge that I had done my best but to no avail. Now, later in the evening, I can see events for what they were: A proof of great form with new PBs on the 800m, the 1000m, the 1500m and the 1 mile distance. My track times to beat now stand at:

• 100m: 14.88 seconds
• 200m: 31 seconds
• 400m: 70 seconds
• 800m: 2:28 minutes
• 1000m: 3:07 minutes
• 1500: 4:48 minutes
• 1 mile: 5:10 minutes

My new 1 mile time of 5:10 puts me at a TPL 23 which is consistent with the time run for the "5k" last week and one zone faster than my current half-marathon time showing my aerobic capacity isn't yet fully exploiting my full speed, but very close to. I can go into Snowdon knowing I have a very solid aerobic profile and the anaerobic systems seem to have now come together.

Three days of rest now will ensure freshness of mind and of legs.

TRAINING: Polishing off the form...

I'm almost ready for my third showdown with Snowdon and have looked at my programmes over the last few years' for clues to the best preparation. It's clear the I respond best to a short but very sharp taper.

Last year's training featured much too many hills in the final run-up, so I made Camaderry my last longer climb this Saturday (feeling really easy I ran up with Eamonn and Aoife in a very good 58 minutes for the 8k only two minutes off my harder effort).

I had hoped to help Crusaders out in the league with the 5000m this Sunday but couldn't as my hip-flexors are troubling me and I instead opted for another one of those short and very sharp sessions that really rev up the engine: 30/30s. Going to the Upper Lake Park (such luxury to train in a place as scenic as that!) I sprinted into the slight inclines at full lung-busting effort for thirty seconds and then ran easier for 30 seconds. I set myself a goal of ten minutes which is what I used to be able to handle and what seemed on the safe side with a week to the race.

Coming out of it, I was reminded just how painful this session is, lungs burn and as you suck in all oxygen around you, it feels like they are about to burst. At times, I was just waiting for passers-by to drop dead and birds to fall from the sky as I greedily took air from the atmosphere.

Result-wise it was another confidence booster, my pace was strong and in the ten minutes I just could not kill off my legs (as was the intention) but I did stagger around like a punch-drunk fighter for a few minutes after before jogging home.

Max Intensity Sessions
The great thing about max intensity sessions is that they really work your pain threshold and your ability to tolerate a very abrupt spike of intensity. These spikes occur a lot in hill races due to the nature of the terrain. My session gives me hope that I'm now ready to take an injection of maximal effort on the slopes of Snowdon for about 10-15 minutes and still come out able to run on the other side.

These sessions have always really brought me to the next level in the past but unfortunately can only be done effectively at the very end of training once all other pieces are in place, so the benefits of them are not their to be enjoyed year-round.

Assault on the Mile
I have but one more sharpening tool in the box: My final assault on the mile this summer and I'm going for broke in an attempt to lower my record from 5:11 to 4:59. This would be a remarkable performance and everything has to go right, but I'll attempt it and if it fails I'll hopefully still be celebrating a new PB.

If I do it, it'll rank as my best running performance to date, so there'll be pressure on when I ready my shoes at Irishtown this evening. The attempt also serves as another Max Intensity training session after which I am going to have three very easy relaxed days.

To me this defines the meaning of coming to a race "sharp and fresh" and I'm hopeful this will prove my best Snowdon taper yet.

RACES: BHAA 5K - Quick Report

It's too late to write much on the BHAA 5k race that took place at Irishtown this evening so I'll follow up with a full report tomorrow.

I have to share my joy, however, that despite the organisers making a mess of the distance (myself and James Shiggins clocked it at 4.71km and the course record was blown away as a result), tonight disproved all doubts in my program as I covered the distance in 16:44 speeding up the entire way towards the end and finishing with more juice in the tank.

My usual advanced calculations to the rescue, the worst scenario (e.g. a complete blow-up) on the last 290m have me finishing in 17:44 whereas a more realistic finish has 17:29. This doesn't take into account that I only realised it was time to sprint with 100m to go as I was preparing for a second lap of the track.

So I claim my reward: I consider 17:30 broken (although I'll have to come back and make it official in autumn) bringing my down to a TPL 22 (the best yet). The training has been vindicated (I'll talk more about why later), and the train is now moving. Next target will be 17:15 which will mean a comfortable sub-80 minute half-marathon (also my next target).

Great night, pity the finish line moment of triumph was ruined by the realisation that the race distance was all wrong...

TRAINING: The Last Race – Then Snowdon

Tomorrow I have made a slight change in plan and will focus my attention on the BHAA 5k in Irishtown (home turf) instead of the Graded Meet in Santry. This will be a final attempt to assault the 18-minute barrier this summer. My stretch goal is 17:30 with anything under 18-minutes being satisfactory. My current PB stands at 18:16 lowered from the 18:45 set last year, but I believe I can run faster right now.

5k versus 3k

At Santry I survived first a 3000m in 3:23min/km pace and then, with little break, a 1500m in 3:20min/km pace. I believe 3:30min/km pace should definitely be achievable tomorrow. The key, however, will be to race the clock and not the competitors, so I must free myself early and then just execute solid twenty-one second 200s like clockwork.

Camaderry Trial

I had a good trial on Camaderry this weekend. My 8km (from the Visitor centre) run to the second summit took 56:01 which is an improvement of four minutes and three seconds on my time there in April. Using the Relative Power metric (much more on that later) for measuring uphill performance I generated 2.4 Watt/Kg of body-weight running every step of the way at half-marathon effort. (actually, I did have to take three quick steps over some rocks).

The Camaderry climb is 8000m long with 621m climb and a gradient of 7.8%. Snowdon is 7600m long with 968m climb and a gradient of 12.7% (Lugnacoille is 5260m long, with 699m ascent and a 13.3% gradient).

At Snowdon, I’ll need to generate around 3.2 Watt/kg to ascend in the 55-minutes I believe are required to break 85 minutes. This is achievable: At Lugnacoille last year I produced 2.8 W/kg and then went on to produce 3.0 W/kg at Snowdon for a 58:45 summit. What did I produce at Lugnacoille this year? Well, 3.0 W/kg showing that a similar improvement from Lug to Snowdon this year will see me finish my hill running season with another blue-ribbon performance.

The numbers are good, now everything just needs to add up on race day. I will need my absolute best performance of all times on Snowdon to do it, but history supports me. Both in 2007 and 2009, I recorded my strongest climb of the year at Snowdon, so why not third time lucky too?

DIARY: Rest Season in the High Mountains

As mentioned yesterday I will employ my “rest period” of two weeks after Snowdon starting with a holiday in the Lake District and then quiet week at home, well not entirely quiet, as I’ve decided to finally go up and jog around a race that has captured my imagination since I first heard of it in 2007: The Mourne Seven Sevens (the longest race on the NIMRA calendar taking in all of the Mourne peaks of 700m, although Meelmore is now know not to have that honour at 687m).

Rest?

What’s 30.6km and 2653m of ascent between friends after all? I’m hoping the Mournes will be friendly to me again anyway.

I’ve summited Donard, Commedagh, Binnian and Lamagan before and am familiar with the area around Ben Crom Dam, so that only leaves Bearnagh, Meelmore and Meelbeg as new territory for me but with the Mourne Wall and my now (hopefully) improved navigation skills I don’t expect major trouble.

The Lakes

Before that, however, the real excitement beckons in the Lake District. We’ll be staying the first three nights in Borrowdale which should give ample opportunity to recce the Bob Graham sections around there

Next stop is three days and the lovely village of Ambleside (which is also very close to another fell-running mecca: Grasmere). On the day we arrive the Ambleside Sports is on and I plan to enter the Senior Guides Race I mentioned and hopefully watch the fell-runner traversing the Rydal Round later that same day (the Rydal Round is the BOFRA version of the Fairfield Horseshoe, same race under a different name). If I wasn’t in recovery, I’d try it out but in any case the timings don’t fit. The Rydal Round starts at 12:05 and the Senior Guides Race at 15:40, meaning you could easily miss it if you got lost during the 16km with 1100m ascent.

The Rydal Round/Fairfield Horseshoe features eight major peaks: Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag, Hart Crag, Fairfield (summit of the race at 873m), Great Rigg, Heron Pike, and Nab Scarr. Low Pike and Nab Scarr are the “hills” with just 508 and 440m height while most of the other peaks are well above 600m.

It’s a race with a lot of tradition, the FRA version alone has been run on 43 occasions!

Not quite Grasmere….

However, for all its fascination, it’s the chance to finally run a super-short hill race that has my blood soaring. Obviously, my great dreams are Grasmere in the Lakes and Burnsall in Yorkshire, for they are the most famous of BOFRA’s senior guide’s races. (Burnsall runs on the 12^th of September this year with Grasmere a few weeks’ earlier on the 29^th August).

There’s a great video of the 2009 Grasmere race here.

Ambleside is not to be scorned, though, and certainly seems to have all the flavour and format of the other sports shows: Cumberland wrestling, hound racing, 800m track competition in addition to the fell frolics. And, I'll be running in the footsteps of Bill Teasdale, Fred Reeves and Tommy Sedgwick who all won this race on multiple occasions. The winning time is often well under fourteen minutes.

Maps of the Lakes

I’ve never seen better maps than those available for the Lakes. I never came to terms with the British OS series (they’re too muddled for my liking) but the Harvey’s series outshines the Irish version by a considerable margin. To cover the Lake District you need six 1:25000 scale Superwalker maps (I currently own the Central, West and North and hope to pick up the East, South-West and South-East this time). However, most of the areas you’ll know from “Feet in the Clouds” are covered by the first three.

If you don’t like the idea of that many maps there’s two more you should get: The first is the Harvey’s “Lake District – National Park Outdoor Atlas” a 95-page booklet (made of weather resistant mesh and light) in 1:40.000 which also includes 1:25000 enlargements of Helvellyn and Scafell summits. It covers the entire national park.

As if that wasn’t enough, the best map of all is the “British Mountain Maps – Lake District” map in 1:40.000. This is a durable all-weather map in polyethylene covering all the famous mountains and fells in the Lakes and with 1:15.000 enlargements of Scafell and Pillar (a similar map exists for Snowdonia and I picked this up last year too, it looks the part too). It’s great for an overview, planning and seeing far distant peaks in relation to each other but doesn’t have the rich detail of the 1:25000 series which would be my choice to take with me on the road.

Finally, at last year’s Snowdon race I picked up Harvey’s “Lakeland Fells – Bob Graham Round” a special map in 1:40.000 showing the full Bob Graham route with all necessary bearings as well as comments and notes on alternative routes, waymarks etc. The map divides the round into four sections which were the basis for the four areas I wanted to recce during the week we’ll stay.

As we had hoped to bring along more Irish hill runners (and another car!), I’ll need to rejig my plans as we can’t do point to point by will need to do circuits in order to arrive back at our own car.

Bob Graham Plans

Last time we took in Skiddaw and Lattrig (although we went over rather than around Latrigg fell as you would in the BG), so this time we may leave out the section starting in Keswick and taking Skiddaw, Great Calva, and Blencathra. It’s a pity since these three are all mighty famous peaks, but there’s just so much to see.

We’re staying on Ashness Farm close to Keswick in Borrowdale first, so we could warm up with parts of the easy section that runs from Honister to Keswick (only three major peaks: Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson before a run in the shadow of Catbells).

Next, we could get close to Threlkeld and do the full Dodds ridge down to Dunmail which would leave us close to Grasmere and the possibility of a taxi back to Keswick. This ridge-run would yield us a spectacular twelve peaks including the Munro Helvellyn (950m).

Wasdale

The biggest test will be how to get as much as the Dunmail to Wasdale section in as possible. At the speed required to complete the round in 23 hours, this section is the longest at six hours and ends in Wasdale where it is very hard to drive in and out off. My best plan would be to get a taxi to Wasdale and do the route anti-clockwise. This would make Scafell and Scafell Pike (the roof) our first and second peaks with another thirteen to go before we’d be back at Dunmail again and could consider walking back to Grasmere.

I’ve devised a workable plan to deal with this obstacle: Drive from Grasmere to Old Dungeon Ghyll and take the Cumbria Way up to Rossett Pike. From here most of the major peaks (including the two Scafells) on the hard section can be reached. If we are good for time we could drop down into Wasdale and look around. If we’re not, it’s time to turn back (the route would have to be done as outb-and-back). This would leave the section between Dunmail and Rossett Pike to be covered on a later trip; an acceptable compromise as the map suggests it’s the least interesting.

Out of Borrowdale

Wasdale to Honister will likewise have to be left out this time, but during our days in Borrowdale, we can do the final section of the clockwise circuit: From Keswick to Honister. This takes only three hours, which leaves us time to loop back via the Catbells that overlook the Derwentwater and spiked my curiosity during our boat-trip there the last time we went.

If we have enough time late Wednesday, a drive to Threlkeld and a quick out-and-back trip to Blencathra would be a great way to see this renowned mountain which is one of the forty-two BG peaks.

RACES: Graded Meet 6 - Santry

We all know the stereotypes: There’s the hill runner with his old washed out cotton t-shirt, a pair of well-worn Irish shorts, and a muddy set of footwear that were once fell-shoes but are now just mesh hanging together by a few threads. Then there’s the gleaming hero of the track with his polished sunglasses and perfect hair-do supplementing a crisp singlet and a pair of shiny racers (almost certain to feature silver or gold mesh).

Well, over the last few years, I’ve noticed these stereotypes being slowly eroded with ever more fancifully dressed mountain runners taking the stage and then there was yesterday when I lined up to runners who wouldn’t need too much of a make-over to cast in Braveheart. My venue: Morton Stadium in Santry, the capital of Irish Athletics and home of Clonliffe Harriers.

While both Charlesland and Irishtown have wonderful tracks, the surface at Santry beats them all, and I undertook the drive northwards with the eye on securing a 3000m PB. I had a vain hope to bang out a breakthrough performance with 9:59 (3:20min/km pace). I knew it was a long shot, but on a good day, with the right pace, it seemed within my abilities.

Hills on the Track

The first hill runner I ran into on was Michael Dowling who was looking to be paced down to around 3:53 for the 1500 (he went close with 3:57). The next was literally “a hill”, none other than Colm Hill who many would probably have expected to see at the rough Sugarbowl. But here he was to run in the 3000m, and, unfortunately for me we’d be running the same race as the A, B, and my C grade were combined into a single start.

This meant starting in the outside track, which I was ok with as it allowed me to drift straight to the back and just take the wheel. I had set my Garmin to record 200s as I would need fifteen consecutive 200s in forty seconds to go under ten minutes. The pace came on fast, the first eight 200s were all run around 36 seconds and I crossed the mile close to my PB time in 5:14. At first I thought “great, they’ll pace me below 10 easy!” but the wheels came off quickly just over midway as the too fast starting pace told. I dropped to 41-43 second 200s and paid dearly for having to struggle alone into the strong headwind on the inside track alone for the last seven laps.

At this stage, there was little I could do but try to survive, my legs and lungs were exerted to their maximum and I clearly felt any further effort would send me into a complete lockdown. Line came, looked down at the clock: 10:42. I had hoped for more, but still a thirty-one bettering of my old PB (set in the Rathdrum 3k last year). You have to take progress as it comes and I also got a new PB on 800m (2:29) on the first. I will look to set a proper 800m time next week (sub-2:20 would be my goal).

The race left me with a feeling of being unfulfilled though. Once again, too hard early pace had killed me and I would undoubtedly have had a better shot at sub-10 if I had started out at 3:20 pace and just kept it rather than being dragged into 3:00min/km early (the marshal yelled “you’re on 9-minute pace” after a few laps to remind us). With the standard being what it was I had no choice as getting left behind on lap 1 didn’t seem a very sensible strategy either for a guy who wants to learn what it means to compete on the track.

Colm Hill meanwhile wanted around 9:20 and got 9:22 so I imagine he wasn’t at all displeased at his first attempt on the distance.

Enter the 1500

…is what I did. The 1500 was just about to start, so I rushed up to registration and signed up. What the hell, the 3000m had been short, and my breath seemed recovered. What of the legs? Who knows? But at least they’d be properly warmed up now.

My team-mates Dave Sheehan and Charles Hogan were also there and I was put out in the outside lane again. This time I headed straight for the mid-pack as the gun went. “Finally,” I thought, “I’m living my dream of racing a 15 or a mile”. I caught a much swifter leg turn-over this time and felt strong and steady. I was fighting in the outside lane until we hit the inside stretch on the first lap. A tiny gap opened up between 3^rd and 4^th and I swiftly moved in for the kill. “Well done”, someone yelled, and I hoped they referred to the move for it felt mighty slick at the time.

Tallaght and I

“Now we’re racing,” I thought, and kept feeling strong. Two young Tallaght runners were all that was ahead of me and I quickly passed out the first and put myself in the slipstream of the leader. What a perfect position to be in! “This is where the action happens,” a voice said and I relished it. That moment it became clear how much I dislike languishing in mid-pack or out back. It’s the sniff of the front that gets the adrenaline going and the mind racing with excitement. The sooner I can get myself fit enough to race further up in races the more momentum I’ll gain for my running.

Coming into mid-race, I considered making a move, but then I thought my friend would make a good windshield. Then he opened a slight gap as I lost eye on the ball for a second. “Close that gap, Rene,” Michael Dowling yelled. I tried but he wasn’t budging. The bell went, the gap stayed, and I missed a golden opportunity to draft off the leader for the final two face-offs against the wind. No time to sleep in these races!

I never looked behind and hit the second-last bend, “bring out the kick”, but nothing came, my legs had slowed down since the start of the last lap and now it was becoming a full-scale braking-movement. “Darn it,” I thought, and there came the first kicker! I can’t remember if it was two or three, but it seems I dropped to fourth or fifth in the last 100m with my Crusaders mate Charles showing that his reputation for a fearsome kick was not unfounded as he took me at the death. I salvaged some local pride by holding off Dave. Sprinter I may be not but if I could unleash one of my 15sec/100s in these races, it would be a good start.

In the end the result was disastrous, all but one runner had gone past me on the finishing straight and the result of 5 minutes clean eight seconds off my PB. I lost thirteen seconds in the last 300m metres and the majority of that again on the last 100. But a valuable lesson learned in the progress and a solid run given the 3000s that went ahead. I’m still a better pacer than racer (e.g. I race the clock better than people) but this was a start.

I haven’t experienced a runner’s high for more than a year but this evening it was back in full force and my mood buoyant. Perhaps it was the return of some swagger, some madness and some courage: All the things that used to feed me. Have they been oppressed by calculation and predestination? There’s probably a balance but courage is often rewarded and it felt better to be a brave loser than a scared winner, perhaps this is why the 3000 felt so empty and the 1500 so rewarding.

I’m sold on the 1500, from start to finish it was a test of pure speed and it felt like flying until the final bend. Now bring on the 800m next week! And note to self: Bring the madness wherever you go and perhaps a few lines from Iron Maiden’s unforgettable “Can I Play with Madness”, the first verse resonates particularly with the runner in me:

Give me the sense to wonder

To wonder if I'm free

Give me a sense of wonder

To know I can be me

Give me the strength to hold my head up

Spit back in their face

Don't need no key to unlock this door

Gonna break down the walls

Break out of this bad place

Could I have won?

I ask myself this question and I think “yes” it wasn’t impossible. Strategically, if I had kept onto the leading Tallaght runner and had shielded myself from the wind behind him I may have had enough for a kick. Kicking from behind into a windy stretch was clearly a huge advantage to the guys watching me from behind and I could have used a similar strategy. Obviously, the young Tallaght-man may well have had a much stronger kick to counter, but with a bit more killer-instinct and experience being out front, I believe I would have had a shot.

Alternatively, there were times when my rhythm was broken by the slow pace on the first lap, a slightly harder pace throughout always suits me better than a sudden spike.

An interesting night on the track for a long-distance hill-donkey…

Ambleside Fair

I’m further stirred on by the news that the Ambleside fair will be on the 29^th of July, same day as me and Aoife are staying there. There’s a senior Guides Race on (straight up and down a steep hill-side!). Running a Grasmere/Burnsall type race has long been a dream of mine, so I’ll have to give that a crack of the whip while I’m there. It’s 3.2km and has 244m ascent. So a mile up and down, what’s not to love!