Tom Byrne Memorial 5K 2012 / Lucan Harriers

 

 A perfect day for a race and even though I'm still in recovery mode I knew this would be a good one.  The started the day with my usual pre breakfast run and I arrived at the race headquarters well ahead of time to allow time for a warm up and more importantly meet and chat with the usual suspects.  My plan for today came in 3 parts, 1: to run a PB, 2: to run sub 17 min if I started well,  3: sub 18 as fallback.  I hate including a fallback in my race plan as I believe you're either in or you're not and sometimes a fallback plan can give you a mental escape route but my way of preventing the cop out is to declare your plan to those you respect.

On the start line I spotted Eoin Brett from Newbridge AC and he regularly finishes ahead of me so I picked him out as a target and checked out his planned finish time which fitted in with my plan.  We ran together as part of a group with Eoin leading the way up to 2k and I then took the lead to give Eoin a break and we then stayed together up until 3K before splitting up.  I don't know if Eoin fell back or if I pushed on but by 4K I was out on my own and when you're on your own the incentive to push on isn't the same.

I can remember seeing the 4K marker and even though I knew in advance where it was I was thinking to myself that 1K is a long way to go and the voices in my head were telling me to slow down.  I tried to push harder and don't know if I did but when I reached the home stretch on the Lucan Harriers running track it felt like my pace was slowing.  In the distance I could hear my name being called and that pulled the trigger for the final sprint before the bend to the last 100M and I crossed the line in a new PB time of 17:20 which was enough to get me a category win in the O40.

     

During the few days before the race my training included a heavy squatting session that resulted in a bad case of the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and I don't think it had cleared by race day which has me thinking that when I can afford to rest and taper I'll really surprise myself.

Photos thank to:
Tony Brennan.
Peter Mooney.

Race Results.

The Runmute

Running Home.

Photo owned by David Craig.

Kildare Marathon 2012

The Start

Yesterday I paced the sub 3:15 pace group in the Kildare Marathon and although I wasn't looking forward to the responsibility it went quite well and I finished in 3:14.22.  Since returning from the 100K World Championships less than a month ago I haven't been feeling 100% and more than likely I'm still recovering from that race both physically & mentally.  It's the mental recovery that I was most concerned about as this was effecting my concentration which would also effect my pacing.  During a few practice runs I found that my pace was always drifting back to my 100K pace whenever I lost concentration and it was only during this Marathon that I managed to get back in the zone.  Maybe thats because I had the extra responsibility and wasn't running just for me.

It took a while before I started to get into the run but once I warmed up which was probably after 30K it felt like I could just keep going and was half tempted to run the a 10K race that started 30 minutes after I finished the Marathon.  I mentioned that idea in conversation and then a few others started talking about it so I changed my mind.

Approaching the finish.

Photos thanks to Peter Mooney.
Kildare Marathon Results.

Le Cheile 5K 2012

Not a PB but all things considered I'm happy with the result.  My plan was to run at 10K pace and hold it as long as possible with the aim of finishing in under 18 mins.  Unexpectedly  I finished less than 10 seconds outside my 5K PB without feeling like I'd raced and that's probably because I didn't have the leg turnover to run any faster so soon after my recent 100K and the lack of any race specific speed work.



A selection of photos available from:
Tony Brennan.
Peter Mooney.
James Shelley.

Finished the day with a recovery run practicing my pacing for a 3:15 Marathon.

ENERGIA 24-HOUR RACE IS OFF TO THE SEASIDE!

The third edition of the Energia 24-Hour race will be staged at the 8-lane Sportsplex in Bangor, County Down  on July, 6/7 2012.

The move to the seaside, 12 miles from Belfast, has been necessitated by the closure of the Mary Peters’ track because of the redesigning of the complex to bring it up to international standards.

Race Director Ed Smith says:  “ We’re delighted to be bringing our own particular brand of madness and suffering to Bangor. The Sportsplex will support our needs perfectly. It’s a town that’s hosted word-class events in the past – and it’s go-ahead spirit can be seen in the 50 metre pool it’s currently building – the first in Northern Ireland.”

The event is the only round-the-clock race in Ireland and for the second year in a row will carry the kudos of Irish Championship.

“ We have a tradition of great ultra runners in Ireland and I’m proud to give them this platform- along with all our overseas visitors - on which to show what they can achieve on home soil,” says Smith.

Last year Kildare’s John O’Regan posted figures of 132 miles covered in winning the men’s race and  Killaloe’s Deidre Finn won the women’s championship running 112 miles.

In total some 18 ran,walked,staggered and crawled past the magical 100 miles including Everest conqueror Lynne Hanna  and Gerard McCann who began running 3 years ago to help him quit smoking and lose some weight.

Smith says: “ There is £1000 in prize money and special awards for anyone chalking up that century – but, in my book, they are all winners for just taking this on and we’re holding the entry fee at £50 in these straightened times.”

Energia, Ireland’s leading independent energy business, is back for the third year as title sponsor.

Energia’s Marketing Manager Michael Ringland says : “  This event highlights exactly our brand values: Smart, committed, competitive. A great idea with committed runners, all done in an extremely competitive nature.

“This has been a successful partnership for us in the last two years- an event that is breaking new ground and tests runners to the physical and mental limit. We had 8 countries and 18 Irish counties represented last year – and it made for a compelling spectacle of achievement against the odds, he says.”

North Down Mayor, Councillor James McKerrow, says: “ We are delighted to be hosting the 24 Hour race at the Bangor Sportsplex and look forward to welcoming all  the very dedicated(if slightly mad) runners to our Borough in July.”

There are three races on offer: The full 24-Hours, a 12-Hour option ,won by Sean McCormack from Wales in 2011 with just under 69 miles covered; and there is also a team relay.Team Orangegrove set the bar high last year at 170 miles.

The two races in 2010 and 2011 have carried ‘bronze’ labels from the world governing body and this year it is hoped to secure a ‘silver’ label – as it looks to bid for a European Track Championship in 2013.

A big thank you to Transport Services at the South Eastern Education and Library Board who supplied the bus to bring the kids from Crawfordsburn PrImary School to help ‘trace out’ the  ‘24’ for the event launch at the Sportsplex.

PHOTO(  Dame Mary Peters with North Down Mayor James McKerrow, Energia’s Chief Operating Officer Tom Gillen(pink shirt) , Race Director Ed Smith and the children of Crawfordsburn Primary School.

For more information contact Ed Smith at ed_n_smith@hotmail.com or 00447740818389.

World Class Irish Team Result

John Byrne at the 2012 World 100km Championships in Seregno, Italy

The Irish men's team finished a magnificent 6th in the World 100km Championships in Seregno, Italy on 22nd April 2012.

In perhaps the most competitive championships to date, the UltraRunning Ireland athletes also set a new Irish team record in the process.

Team captain, Dan Doherty, was the leading finisher among the Irish when posting new personal best time of 7:07:26 hrs for a top 25 placing.

John Byrne and Keith Whyte were close behind, registering times of 7:16:27 and 7:25:56, respectively.

The cumulative times of the top three finishers establish team rankings and the new Irish team record of 21:49:48 hrs ensured 6th position overall. It was the highest global placing by any Irish athletics team in many years.

The winning team was Italy, with the USA finishing second and France third.

Michael Collins posted a very competitive 7:43:14 hrs to finish in the top 5 in the men's 45 category, but John O'Regan, Thomas Maguire and Jim McCormick encountered various problems and injuries during the race.

In the women's race, Ireland's sole competitor was Helen Lavin and she ran strongly to finish in a time of 8:54:38 hrs.

It was a remarkable weeked for the Irish delegation as UltraRuning Ireland chairman Richard Donovan was also elected to be Director of the International Association of Ultra Runners, the world governing body for the sport.

In the past few years, UltraRunning Ireland has achieved the highest standards on the international stage, including continental medals, top global placings and numerous new Irish records. An Order of Merit was also awarded to Richard and Paul Donovan for the staging of the IAU Trail World Championships in Connemara last year, which was broadcast globally to 200 million households.

However, Athletics Ireland's CEO John Foley will now take responsibility for all aspects of the sport of ultra running in Ireland, including the funding of teams for international compeitition.

Garmin Virtual Racer.

Today's Record is tomorrow's motivation.