10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Eagle A.C 5 Mile

1. Are You Trying to Win The €250?

I think that Lizzie Lee was definitely trolling me when she asked me the night before the race if I was going for the €250 for the 25:00 course record. It is not a compliment to ask someone if they are going for something that is physically and scientifically impossible.

2. Regular

I think that the best description of John Meade that I have ever read is “Regular winner John Meade”. I really enjoy racing John Meade, particularly now that I can beat him, it is an honour to race (and beat) him, Cork running regular royalty.

3. Deliveroo

I think that I could have an idea for a business after today, a gel delivery service. Imagine an app where you could order a specific gel to be delivered to a specific point at a specific time. I think it would be wonderful. I had to deliver a Citrus High5 gel with caffeine to Lizzie on the line. I was going to kneel down and present it to her but she snapped it out of my hand and downed it before I had the chance.

4. Pat Hennessy

I think that Pat Hennessy ruined the potential showdown between myself and John Meade. At the start Pat Hennessy tore off which was just as well as it lined the field out before we had to pass through the timing gate for a reason I’m uncertain of. I jumped in behind Pat unsure as to whether it was a good idea to follow or not. The Well Done John Meades were immediate so I knew that John Meade was right on my tail.

5. Two Miles Peace

I think that the first two miles of this race are lovely. It is a very nice two miles out the back road towards Ringaskiddy, I just followed Pat Hennessy which was quite difficult and waited until eventually I could no longer hear John Meade’s purple Next%2s. This took about a mile and a half.

6. Let The Hills Begin

I think that this course would make a good cycling race. It has a lot of punchy little climbs. These climbs do not suit me at all at all and I was tremendously vulnerable to an ambush by John Meade who can fly up the short ramps. I have learned over the years not to panic and to not try and follow someone who is not as tall as me on these climbs and to catch them back up on the inevitable downhill. It’s a tricky balancing act but it’s the only way when you have long tanned legs.

7. Outside Shanbally

I think that after three miles of this race I was very happy. We had just left Shanbally and I was suffering majorly trying to hang onto the back of Pat Hennessy. Fortunately we were running downhill into the wind so I was able to keep up. I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to win but I was growing less and less fearful of a John Meade counter insurgency on my second place.

8. Eurosport

I think that Pat Hennessy is a clinical racer. I was very impressed at how he destroyed me on the hill once we turned off the main road out of Shanbally, it was like something you’d see on Eurosport live from Belgium on a Tuesday afternoon in April. He kicked away off up the hill and there was nothing I could do except focus on not letting the gap get too big.

9. Victory in Defeat

I think that the last mile of this race was just flat enough to allow me to fend off John Meade. Pat Hennessy was well gone so at every junction I turned my attention to I counting the time between my passing and the inevitable “Well Done John”. It was at least 20s, he’d have 10s in the finish on me but not 20. The finish took along time to come but it arrived eventually. I was so happy I threw myself on the ground in a heap like I normally do.

10. Hurried Photo

I think that course records are a great idea. For some reason time is very appealing to people especially round numbers. No one really seemed interested in my ferocious battle with John Meade they were only interested in Lizzie and the clock. “Can we take the photo of the top 3 quickly before Lizzie arrives?”. There was plenty time, nearly two minutes. My gel worked.