A few months ago running buddies suggested entering the Kivara Half Marathon.
As this would entail hotels and a full weekend away we decided to meet semi-halfway, in Bohermeen, Co Meath.
Short Version
Very enjoyable day. Well organised, lovely atmosphere. Great value for race and technical tee. Only downside - there must have been an issue with my chip as my time didnt register, and this seems to have happened to a lot of runners (keying in my surname showed about half didnt get timed or placed).
Long Version
I headed down with the clann early on Sunday morning. The village is just past Navan and we were there in about an hour.
M dropped me off and headed back to Navan (we had to bribe the kids with McDonalds to get them to come. I met the two lads at the clubhouse & collected the goody bag (cool tee, if a little too many sponsors names on the back!).
One of the lads was aiming for a PB, the other was, like myself, just treating it as a training run, but quietly hoping for a 1hr 50min.
I myself was aiming for less than 2hr15min (very conservative) but one of the guys guessed 5mins either side of 2 hours.
We got changed & headed down to the starting line. The start was deferred by ten mins (prob to let late comers get to the start).
The race got underway. Ultra Tall Boy & myself started beside each other but we were running our own races so we stuck the headphones on, shook hands and headed off.
I lost sight of him within the first mile & a half but didnt make any attempt to keep up. I was running comfortably at about 9min5sec a mile (no Garmin so depending on the mile markers for timings). I slowed down each mile for the first 9 miles, just enjoying the run, watching people pass by, passing the odd fast starter who couldnt keep their early pace up.
I ran well within myself for the first 9 miles, listening to a podcast, then some music. I then decided to turn off the sounds and slightly pick up the pace.
I had an interesting moment around mile 9. I slowly caught up to a woman in front of me. As i went to pass her she saw me in the corner of her idea and speeded up. I kinda smiled to myself at this, i havent really come across it before, and as i always run my own race i was surprised someone was putting this much effort in with 4 miles still to go. Each time i went to pass her she pushed on a bit harder.....
Anyway, I proved to myself how small minded and petty i am. I kept edging up behind her watching her struggle on. Rather than just going past her I kept this up for a few mins, then, as a car came up behind me (roads were only semi closed) i put the foot down and went past her ( i wasnt too proud of myself with this behaviour.
(I always reckon its better to ignore the other racers unless its the last couple of hundred yards, i dont see the point of killing myself trying to shut out someone with 4 miles remaining).
Anyway i kept the pressure on myself and finished at 2hrs1min so happy enough with that. Weather was good apart from a cold start, strong headwind in some places and a short hail/sleet shower.
M and kids were back t see the end and C ran the last 200 metres with me, which made any aches and pains worthwhile.
As this would entail hotels and a full weekend away we decided to meet semi-halfway, in Bohermeen, Co Meath.
Short Version
Very enjoyable day. Well organised, lovely atmosphere. Great value for race and technical tee. Only downside - there must have been an issue with my chip as my time didnt register, and this seems to have happened to a lot of runners (keying in my surname showed about half didnt get timed or placed).
Long Version
I headed down with the clann early on Sunday morning. The village is just past Navan and we were there in about an hour.
M dropped me off and headed back to Navan (we had to bribe the kids with McDonalds to get them to come. I met the two lads at the clubhouse & collected the goody bag (cool tee, if a little too many sponsors names on the back!).
One of the lads was aiming for a PB, the other was, like myself, just treating it as a training run, but quietly hoping for a 1hr 50min.
I myself was aiming for less than 2hr15min (very conservative) but one of the guys guessed 5mins either side of 2 hours.
We got changed & headed down to the starting line. The start was deferred by ten mins (prob to let late comers get to the start).
The race got underway. Ultra Tall Boy & myself started beside each other but we were running our own races so we stuck the headphones on, shook hands and headed off.
I lost sight of him within the first mile & a half but didnt make any attempt to keep up. I was running comfortably at about 9min5sec a mile (no Garmin so depending on the mile markers for timings). I slowed down each mile for the first 9 miles, just enjoying the run, watching people pass by, passing the odd fast starter who couldnt keep their early pace up.
I ran well within myself for the first 9 miles, listening to a podcast, then some music. I then decided to turn off the sounds and slightly pick up the pace.
I had an interesting moment around mile 9. I slowly caught up to a woman in front of me. As i went to pass her she saw me in the corner of her idea and speeded up. I kinda smiled to myself at this, i havent really come across it before, and as i always run my own race i was surprised someone was putting this much effort in with 4 miles still to go. Each time i went to pass her she pushed on a bit harder.....
Anyway, I proved to myself how small minded and petty i am. I kept edging up behind her watching her struggle on. Rather than just going past her I kept this up for a few mins, then, as a car came up behind me (roads were only semi closed) i put the foot down and went past her ( i wasnt too proud of myself with this behaviour.
(I always reckon its better to ignore the other racers unless its the last couple of hundred yards, i dont see the point of killing myself trying to shut out someone with 4 miles remaining).
Anyway i kept the pressure on myself and finished at 2hrs1min so happy enough with that. Weather was good apart from a cold start, strong headwind in some places and a short hail/sleet shower.
M and kids were back t see the end and C ran the last 200 metres with me, which made any aches and pains worthwhile.
No comments:
Post a Comment