Tuesday evening came around and I was on the road to Craughwell for the second race of the Galway 5km series. As I hit the motorway the traffic was starting to build up . Was it going to be a repeat of last week?
The traffic seemed to be moving and as I got to the traffic lights I passed an old Bedford campervan broken down in the middle lane. I hope it wasn’t the same one Christy Moore was singing about in 1988.
I rolled into Craughwell at 7.00 plenty of time for the 8.00 p.m. start.
It had rained for about two hours but it seemed to be easing up. I met a few guys I hadn’t seen in a while. After a quick warm up I headed down to the start line. There was a good breeze behind us. Better than a head wind I suppose.
The start was fairly packed and very close to the first corner. The first 1500m was pretty much downhill. I was running under 4.40 min per km. I eased up a bit and settled into a good pace. I upped my pace around the 3km mark and again around the 4km mark. I wasn’t sure if I was on the final corner or if there was one more to go after the left turn but I decided to push on anyway. The finish line was on the very top of a hill. I gave it everything I had and crossed the line in 25:22, 34 seconds faster than last week.
This Tuesday I’m off to Loughrea for a tough enough 5km There’s a tricky hill in the middle but the last few metres are downhill.
On Saturday I was training with Maria and Caroline. They are running the V.H.I women’s mini marathon on June 3rd. We had a good intense session. They were easily running 5:55 min per km which should help them break the 60 minute mark. We covered a few different areas. Proper warm up, breathing, posture and cool down. I’m looking forward to seeing what results they can achieve over the next couple of weeks.
Here are a couple of local races taking place over the next couple of weeks.
Mayfly 10km May 20th
Bullaun 8km June 15th
Portumna 5km / 10km July 22nd fast course.
If you are looking for tips and advice on training for these races please get in touch.