Ding ding ding, it’s road racing season. The highly revered Raheny 5 mile is probably one of the fastest 5 miles in the Ireland (and maybe even the UK) and with the start line looking almost like a national championship, there’s no better race to test yourself early in the season. My last appearance here was two years ago just before the pandemic and I ran a very satisfying 24:37 to finish 27th. I was really up for this one having been banging out some good sessions recently and feeling back in top form since the XC season. Hitting 4:50’s in training for mile reps suggested I could go close to holding 4:50 for the 5 miles, well I’d try anyway.
However all of that excitement was put on hold last Wednesday when as my doctor immediately put me on a course of antibiotics to attack what is essentially a baby zit on my tailbone. It was in the early stages but had the potential to put me in hospital (again) so I was completely on board with nipping it in the butt (hehe). The antibiotics did concern me though and my own assumption was that you can’t race on them but I guess it’s not always that black and white. The doc told me to race away if I wanted to but expect that there may be side effects in the form of nausea or GI issues, as long as it wouldn’t irritate the issue down below. In my head, I went out into a silent woods. I sat on a log and stared infinitely into the ground. Should I race? I couldn’t decide so I asked boards and some runner friends. I got some mixed responses, all of them pretty sensible and much appreciated. In the end the decision was to travel up, toe the line and if I was in trouble early on I’d have the sense to pull up and call it a day. Seemed like a fair plan.
With a hotel booked in Ballymun and an IKEA shopping list in my pocket, off I set on Saturday afternoon. I was perched somewhat comfortably on an airplane neck cushion to protect my tailbone and made it up to capital city in good time with a few sympathy stops along the way. IKEA was mental even after 6pm but I did the best I could. Thankfully the hotel was right outside IKEA so I was looking forward to relaxing for the evening. I bumped into clubmate Ryan just as I was arriving in the hotel. He was just heading out for pizza with his better half so I joined them and we had a nice old doughy time of it. It was kind of sad when I had to order a heineken 0.0% though, thanks a lot drugs.
Race day arrived and the race is bloody hours away. I’m sure the 3pm start suits a lot of people travelling from around the country, but it’s not great when you’re in a hotel at 9am and Raheny is only 20 minutes away. I had good plans to fill my time anyway with some assignments to catch up on for the horticulture course. This worked out really well as I got into the zone and suddenly it was 1pm and time to leg it. My bib never arrived in the post so I had to factor in getting to the HQ to get a new bib. I didn’t factor that in. I actually left the hotel at around 1:20pm and traffic wasn’t great so suddenly I was hurrying to get there before 2pm which is when they say the bib collection ends. It was now 1:45pm and I’m about 1km away so I just threw the car in the closest housing estate, lobbed on my runners and legged it down to scoil Aine. I got there and there was a queue for numbers so I knew I was ok. I got the new number, pinned it on and we’re all good to go. It’s just after 2pm so plenty of time. I ran back to the car and got myself properly ready. I was feeling really good on the warmup jog so I was still feeling like the antibiotics weren’t affecting me at all and I could possibly get through this race unscathed. I promise I was taking them. I did some leg kicks and felt an immediate strain on my hamstring. Uh oh. This worried me as I read that antibiotics can affect the muscles (lack of electrolytes) but I had been taking a few dioralytes to try combat that. Anyway it just ended up being another thing to worry about that wasn’t worth worrying about. Googling of anything medical related for the average human being should be banned.
Fast forward to the start line. I found my other clubmates who had travelled up on the day. We’d really targeted this race since Christmas and we definitely had an eye on the team title. The start was chaotic two years ago and there was no reason for it to be any different this time. I ended up about three rows back which was fine. My coach told me out to take it a little easier for this race and try come through, which I actually agreed with it because I do always seem to race a bit better when I’m coming through rather than blasting out and hanging on. The day was windy, very windy but other than that, dry and mild. Almost good conditions. The wind would be a bit of a pain in the neck but I’m a little fella and there would most definitely be groups to work with today so it was about racing smart.
Mile 1: 4:48
I am terrified of big race starts ever since taking a nasty fall in the Hague half marathon two years ago. I usually start a race now with my arms spread wide to avoid getting tripped. I don’t know if this strange tactic works but I suppose I haven’t fallen since. It was indeed chaos, I don’t know how I got swallowed up so quickly but I was a good bit back. There’s no need to panic, it’s a long race. It wasn’t until the first turn that I got some room to the side and made my way up the field a bit. I noted four Leevale clubmates ahead of me and I was happy to sit behind the lads until I got into my stride. I wasn’t watching my pace at all but did take a glace when every mile split popped up. I was feeling really good in the first mile which is pretty fast and was a little surprised to see it read 4:48. I must have been back in about 50th but I know exactly how races like these races go, people go out very hard and I was striving for consistency today.
Mile 2: 4:56
This is a draggy mile but I was feeling strong and started pulling away from the people around me. I was in danger of falling into a comfortable group but I saw clubmate Gavin maybe 20m ahead of me along with some other lads I know I can complete. There was also added motivation of scoring on the team today (first 3). As I might have said, I was left disappointed but motivated after the nationals when I was 5th scorer on the bronze winning team. Funny enough it was the exact same 5 clubmates around me in Raheny. There was no doubting number 1 on our team and I was taking note of the commentary and smiled to myself when I heard Ryan Creech was leading the way. If I got myself up to Gavin I knew we would be in with a great shout for the team. I didn’t really take note of the split for this mile as I was focussed on attaching to the group ahead.
Mile 3: 4:50
About 400m into this mile I landed safely to the back of the group. There was Gavin and three other runners and they were moving well. I didn’t need to barge to the front, this had to be a bit controlled so I just sat quietly at the back, relaxed for a few minutes and observed what was going on ahead of me. I knew we were flying as a unit it so why not take a ride off them. As we made our way towards the park, I could see the 3 mile mark approaching. I took a glance at the time and we were 14:31 or so which means we’d be hitting 5k in just over 15 minutes. This was a very similar split to my last race but I did fade in the last 2 miles back then. The little group was starting to stretch now and I figured it was time to put in some work.
Mile 4: 4:57
I took to the front of the group at the start of the mile as we charged into the park. Gavin is stuck to my back but I can feel a small gap forming. I wanted Gavin there for the team, but I also wanted to drop him. I’m so conflicted. We’ve reeled in a runner from Drogheda who was after getting detached from the lead pack and he’s happy to stick around for the ride also. I took a sharp left up towards the U-turn and this was a bloody ghastly section. Not only is it a drag but the headwind was gushing into our eyeballs. It was grim, head-down-eyes-wide-grit-your-teeth grim. I was front running the group here and my gap had all but disappeared as the Drogheda runner came up alongside me. It definitely dawned on me at one point that we have been on this stretch for a very long time (compared to 2020) and when the watch beeped for 4 mile I knew something was amiss. I was 100% sure that the 4 mile mark was after the U-turn but we hadn’t even turned yet. I didn’t think too much about it nor had a long course occured to me at that stage. I was purely focussed on getting away from this group and finishing strong. The team wasn’t even in my mind at this point, it was selfishly me for myself from here on in. I think there was a 4 mile PB in there, just over 19:30 or so.
Mile 5: 4:59 (+Mile 0.3 @ 4:41 m/m)
It’s so tough to get moving again after the U-turn but I just had to get on with it. Aaron (Drogheda) took up the lead after the turn and I just stuck to him as I worked into a good rhythm again. I even noted the 4 mile mark a few minutes into this mile, but I validated it by assuming that it was the 4 mile mark on the way up the avenue and that my 2020 memory was lying. No time to think, focus. We exited the park and I think this is where GPS goes haywire with all of the trees, I’m pretty sure this mile was a tad quicker. I noted Aaron was tiring and losing form a bit. But then again, I’m also tiring and losing form. Despite both of us firmly in rag-doll territory, I decided to make a move knowing we’d only a couple of minutes running left. Also, he is way younger than me and looks very fast. Gavin was also tracking both of us and has a ridiculous turn of pace also so I needed to cement my place now. I went around Aaron as confidently as I could and I started getting away every so slightly. I’m really in hurt territory now but I know it’s almost done. I am almost done aren’t I? I’m familiar with the turny finish but suddenly out of nowhere, with a few turns yet to turn, my watch beeps for 5 miles. What? Now it all makes sense. The course is definitely long. Still, stop thinking Conor and just on for these few extra seconds. Seconds right? No. A good bit to go yet. 500 meters to be exact. That last 90 seconds or so really, really tested me. I was running on fumes but there was no way I was losing my place. I think I ended up extending the gap slightly and I held on, crossing the line in 14th place with Gavin coming in just behind in 16th place. As I crossed, I knew had run a good race whatever the real time was and I heard Dave Hooper announce that Leevale have probably won the team prize. I still didn’t know my position so I was over the moon later to hear I was on the first page of results, an upgrade from my last outing by 13 places. Also delighted to see Ryan having a stormer coming in second and another big performance from Tim O’Donoghue in 5th flying the flag for Cork.
As risky as it might have been, I think it was a good decision to race, you just have to take those chances when you’re there and primed to compete. I did take into account how I was feeling, how the warm up felt and my general reaction to the medicine. All the signs were telling me to go for it. There doesn’t seem to be any consequences (yet) so I seem to be on track to run again next week in Dungarvan. I averaged 4:53 per mile for the 5.3 miles so really not too far off the 4:50’s I thought I was capable of and definitely going in the right direction. I was particularly delighted with my strenght over the last 2 miles where I was able to pull away and I feel a much stronger runner than I was 2 years ago. It may be a consequence of doing a lot more 20 milers, or it could be the recent haircut I got, I don’t know.
The next morning, as I lay in bed I was thinking about developing a little calculator to figure out approximate genuine times on a long/short course. Before the idea left my brain, I made a coffee, sat down and coded it up it before work. The result was this: https://myrunningpace.com/long-short. I shared the link to a couple of lads in Whatsapp and on a boards thread. That evening it was after getting almost 700 hits and doing the rounds in a lot of running circles. The internet is mad! The calculator works out your pace for 5.3 miles and then applies that pace to 5 miles, fairly simple. Even that calculation is probably a little conservative because it doesn’t account for the extra distance you raced but at least it’s a consistent calculation and better than people taking their 5 mile split from their GPS of which there can be wild variability. My 5 mile time came out at 24:25 which would have been a 12 second PB. I’m ok with not getting the PB, I’m thrilled with the run, the placing and winning the team prize. There’ll be plenty more chances to run a 5 mile PB so it’s really not worth getting upset over.
Raheny put on a great race as they always do. Yes a human error was made and a lot of people were disappointed but they held their hands up, they’ll learn from it and it won’t happen again. I have no doubt it will not affect the reputation and turnout of the race for next year, it’s got too strong of a reputation and history. We’re actually lucky to have such a high calibre race for such a small population. Despite all of that longness, it was a great kick-off to the road racing season, people are in great from and I can’t wait to get stuck into some more racing. This week is all about recovery and getting fresh again for the 10 mile.
