Following my bout of Covid around Paddy’s week and the few weeks of upheaval with the house move, I figured I needed to put a big race on the calendar. How about Limerick half followed by Cork full I said? Sure why not. It felt like a big ask at the time of registering for Limerick when I was spluttering my way through the first session back, a 4 mile tempo where I could barely manage marathon effort. I knew fitness was somewhere there though, it was just a case of being patient, showing up each week and I’d break through the lethargy. No doubt I had felt the effects of Covid for a few weeks, I struggled with breathing in workouts, didn’t have that extra zip and my day to day easy runs never quite felt normal. Every week though the veil was lifting and it was only through a couple of decent races in the last two weeks that I felt form returning and honestly those races gave me huge confidence going into Limerick. I really didn’t think my PB of 68:03 from The Hague in 2020 was going to be threatened in Limerick but I was just hoping for a solid race and a decent time to springboard me onto Cork. I figured a 69:x run would be a good result given the course profile and probability of running it solo. This would also indicate a run in the region of 2:26 in Cork which would be very much welcomed.
I’d travelled up from Cork with clubmate John and we met East Cork’s Tim O’Donoghue for a 10 minute warmup around the city before heading for the start. I knew Tim was in with a big shout of the win but we spotted Peter Somba on the line who went on to run a staggering 64 minutes taking the win over Tim who still came home in a big PB of 65 minutes. Inspirational stuff. The atmosphere was great around the city, it felt like a big city marathon with so many volunteers, marshals and guards around. I guess it was a bit of a big city marathon.
We lined up with the crowd of 1800+ and after a quick prayer we were ready for the 10:30 throw in. Looking around the line, I knew I wasn’t going with Peter or Tim and I knew John who has been in great form was going to attack this one. My plan was to sit off and run my own race trying to hold around 5:10-5:15 mile pace.
Miles 1-3: 5:05, 5:12, 5:16
The gun went and off we set for a 13.1 journey of fun and pain. Straight to the front went Tim and Peter and John tucked in behind as expected. I was there behind them for maybe about 90 seconds before I realised I was getting caught up and I relaxed to let a gap form. The gap really started to stretch but I wasn’t particularly running slow either. It turns out they really blasted off and they were running in the region of ~4:50 mile pace as Tim later told me they went through 4 miles in 19:30. Wrong train for me, glad I got off. I couldn’t hear any stamping shoes behind me so all I had left to focus on was the widening gap ahead me and now solely focussed on running my own race today, inevitably solo. I glanced down for the first mile and was a little stunned to see 5:05 especially given the already big gap. I did question should I be up with there with club mate John and going for it but my overriding feeling was that I’m grand here and if anything, that first mile for me was too fast. I’m already on massive PB pace. The next two miles allowed pace to settle, they were bumpy but I was feeling good, breathing was relaxed and working my way into the race. Support was really good and having names on the bib was nice. Who doesn’t like the sound of their own name, especially when it’s encouraging you in a race. I hit the 3 mile mark in around 15:30 which was actually spot on for 5:10’s though I questioned if I’d maintain that pace given there were 10 miles to go. At this point, John who at one point was almost out of sight, was quickly coming back to me and I couldn’t even see Peter and Tim ahead of him. I think the early hot pace had really caught up with him but I was hoping he was maybe intentionally slowing down to reattach with me so I just made this my short term target to get up to him.
Miles 4-6: 5:08, 5:08, 5:08
As the splits suggest, I was feeling good here and had gotten myself into a good flow. The course was nice and steady here with a good running surface as we moved through mainly housing estates. I also noted it was getting a little hot which I usually don’t mind but kept ensuring to take on water at every stop whether it got splashed on my neck or down the hatch. It was just before mile 4 when I reattached with John and hit the 4 mile mark just under 20:40. I knew straight away he hadn’t intentionally come back to me and was struggling. I said him to relax and sit in but that was probably just annoying to hear. I started pulling away and just had to keep focus on my own race. I was in 3rd spot now and I said to myself that holding this position to the finish now regardless of the time would be a good result in a big race. The 6th mile was a nice downhill back towards the city and I got some great shouts as the later waves of the half started passing me on the other side of the road. It was a nice few miles.
Miles 7-9: 5:21, 5:04, 5:19
As expected, those nice miles didn’t last forever. I was hit with a spicy half of a mile climb on mile 7 and really felt the squeeze. I didn’t really know the course very well and in a way this was good as I was just tackling the hills as they came to me and trying to just run the whole thing with an even effort. When I hit the top of the hill I was recovering the ghastly breathing and making my way back into the city, soaking up the wide open roads and the support. This was another lovely section, I really enjoyed it. I was really flying it on mile 8 hitting a 5:04 mile but looking a the elevation afterwards, it wasn’t just because of the great support, it was a generous downhill. I told myself, possibly out loud during that mille that there was a big result on the cards today. I think for the first time I felt a PB was possible, which I knew would be on if I ran 5:10 mile average or better. This was at least something for me to focus on for the remainder as I knew I was clear behind me and there was absolutely no sign of the first two leaders. I crossed over Sarsfield bridge at the end of mile 8 and support quickly dried up. 5 miles to go I told myself. I was passing the odd marathon runner and gave them a bit of encouragement as I know how lonely and tough it can be out there over 26 miles. The 9th mile was quite tough into the wind but I was able to distract myself with sums pretty well and when I passed the official 9 mile mark I calculated that I actually was just about 5:10 pace which would be a sub 68. I quite liked the sound of that but I also had been warned about the tough closing miles. I was ready to try anyway and was feeling strong.
Miles 10-12: 5:10, 5:19, 5:18
I was still feeling good and while mile 10 was pretty quiet and uneventful, I hit the marker in exactly 51:50, an average pace of exactly 5:10 per mile. Lovely round sums. That was already a quicker time than I ran in Dungarvan so that alone was a nice moment that confirmed I’m back in good shape whatever happens in the last 3 miles. It got hard from here on though. Mile 11 was into what was now a very stiff and unwelcome headwind. I noted the top marathon runners starting to pass me on the other side of the road. I wished I was on that side of the road. I recognised an acquaintance coming towards me on the other side of the road. He was coming 4th in the marathon on his way to a 2:34 in his hometown race so we both moved over to the centre of the road to offer a hi-5 which was a nice moment, thick in the business end of our respective races. Anyway, back to the business. Mile 11 was a struggle as I battled into the wind trying to concentrate hard on closing out what has been a very good race to this point. I saw the 5:19 coming up and that kind of threw doubt on the PB attempt. I’d really need to put in a quick finish but I’d also heard of tough drags over the closing stages and I was starting to feel them. They were actually no worse than the climbs earlier in the race, it’s just that you’re so much more fatigued and they feel twice as hard. Mile 12 was a similar grind coming in at 5:18 so that was the PB off the cards, which didn’t sour things at all since a PB would have been a massively unexpected bonus. I knew a 68 was almost a certainty and that would be a big result for me along with the podium finish. After a real grind of a climb on mile 12, I knew the final mile would take care of itself and I felt I had a little kick left in me.
Mile 13: 5:04
It took a minute or two to for me to recover from the previous miles but I did eventually get going on the final mile and was just waiting for that bridge to reappear. At this stage I couldn’t be but delighted with the run, it exceeded my expectations so I was really enjoying pushing for that last mile to try and bring it home strong. The bridge felt like it was ages coming but then I saw the ‘500m to go’ sign and I kicked as much as my little legs would let me. The raucous support was brilliant coming in and I was loving it. There’s something so special about these marathon days that brings out the best in both participants and spectators. I finally turned on to the cobbles of O’Connell street and crossed in 68:22. That’s the job. Delighted. What a good day.
A really welcome return to the half marathon distance after 2+ years and I think the longer races are really where I come into my own. I think I enjoy them better anyway. All in all, a fair course and I think conditions were pretty reasonable and I’m taking away great memories of this race. I’m hoping for a solid few weeks of miles now but I’ll go into Cork aiming for a similar run with no real pressure other than a solid race, a marathon under the belt and then I’ll turn my focus to DCM later in the year.
Summary: 3rd in 68:22
