Another tough bloody course!!
Where are all the flat easy ones gone to?
This was the final race for me before the marathon, I raced well and am happy with the result.
Course was very tough with one big hill that climbed for over a mile, grand selection of spot prizes after - got a text last night to say I'd won one (anyone around New Ross this week to collect a hand blender??
). Got tea , sambos & biscuits after. Curiously there was also a selection of prawn crackers, spring rolls & spare ribs laid out, one of the sponsors was a local chinese apparently. Josh Hogan made particularly short work of the spare ribs.
Mag and Sadhbh travelled down as did Dena and the three lads - this is not a spectator friendly race. Start and finish were 250m apart on the same stretch of road which was great, narrow roads with no where to stand in was the problem and a lunatic flying around all day in a big van with trailor pulling the sound equipment a danger to all on the roads.
Set myself up about three rows back as I had been caught too far forward in recent races, tore off down the road with the rest and quickly reeled it back and let a load by me - really concentrating on proper pacing. Photos show me in 12th at 1k. Started to crank it up a bit from here and moved to 10th before the start of the climb. Long tough heartbreaking slog up and up and up, managed to take 9th place coming over the top of this hill.
Hit the bottom and could see Pat O'Neill SBR & the lead lady up the road running well together. As i dawdled about 200m back a runner came up alongside and gave me a timely kick in the ass to get going again. Soon caught and passed Pat and the lead lady at about 6k or 7k with the other runner and myself pushing each other hard, I go ahead, then him and on and on. Now racing 7th & 8th the two of us could see the 6th place guy ahead, caught him about 8k and a long straight of about 1.5k saw the two of us running shoulder to shoulder with no sign of the 5th placed runner. I knew there was a tough climb to the finish line and didn't fancy it so tried to push ahead at 9k but couldn't put any significant distance betwen me and the other guy. Hit the left turn and bottom of the climb at about 9.5k in 6th place and had maybe 4/5 meters on the other guy, but he was too strong for me (mentally? / physically?) on the hill and quickly pulled ahead. The head went down a little at this stage and I ended up running in 10 seconds behind him for 7th place and a new PB of 38:53.
Delighted, exhausted and the eyes stung out of me with a cocktail of sweat and suncream, all Sadhbh wanted was for her Daddy to sit down and blow a few bubbles for her to chase up the road.
"Blow bubbles? did you not see me blowing bubbles out my a*** at the finish??"
Tom ran well as usual winning with a time of 33:24.
Delighted with the race, a bit dissapointed to let yer man get away from me at the finish but raced and paced well giving it socks so a good day.
Would I go back next year? Maybe, not a course for fast times and no where for spectators to wait safely.
Results:
http://stjosephsac.webs.com/apps/blog/s ... 0k-results
Photos:
http://stjosephsac.webs.com/apps/photos ... d=13530915