Bohermeen 2017

While I was confident I was in reasonably good shape going into the race, the recent illness had left a doubt in my mind as to what the target should, or would be.

Wednesday I did 5 miles, one warmup, 3 at 6:25, and a cooldown mile.
No run Thursday as I was tapering, and Friday I did one mile warmup, and two 1 mile repeats, 5:52 and 5:58, with a cooldown mile.

The weather forecast for race day was good, with a fresh breeze and sunny spells with the chance of a  rain shower, which was a lot better than it has been in previous years. Another nice thing about this race is that it starts at 11.00, which is not too early.

Arriving in plenty of time, it was mild, but not warm, however I elected to just go with a singlet as I anticipated that it would get quite warm in the sunshine, which proved to be the case.
After a few club photos, we made our way to the start line, warming up on the way there.
This year unfortunately, many of the regulars were absent due to either injury or other commitments, so not much chance of team scoring.

The start had been scheduled to start a bit late as the previous 10k race had been delayed by about 10 minutes, but when I got to the start line, I had only just gotten my position and without much ceremony we we're off!
As it was chip timed start and finish, I didn't worry too much about being right up front, but settled in about 6 rows back. In my mind, the important thing was not to get carried away on the first few miles, which tend to be quite fast with a downhill gradient, and the breeze on our backs.
 As I happened, at the off, it seemed like I had positioned myself correctly, as I settled in behind a   group which seemed to be running exactly 6:27 pace, which is what I had set the garmin to.
A lot of the runners in the group were also quite tall chaps, and I figured that on the uphill gradient, with the breeze in your face, they would provide a nice shelter.

We settled into the pace nicely, but at three miles, my watch showed 3 seconds slow, and from the conversation with some of the guys, they were pacing for the 1:25. Now that was fine, me too, but only if that was an achievable target. When we hit the long gradual drag with the wind in our faces, which was stiff enough, the big guys served their purpose. As we turned the corner for the top section, the route is a large rectangle, the pace again slowed slightly with the whole group slowing.
I knew that if I stuck with them I would start losing time, which later on might be impossible to recoup, so I had to forge ahead alone. It's a difficult thing to push ahead of a group, you run the risk of looking foolish later if they subsequently pass you out!
6:22, 6:29, 6:29, 6:24, 6:23, 6:30.



Another downside to pushing ahead on my own was my windbreakers had gone!
The 6:23 mile was where I pushed ahead, and the 6:30 mile was where I paid for it!
At mile 7 I was struggling. I always say that around about half way is a good place to take stock. My breathing was not easy at that stage, although the legs were not too bad, I knew that I was having to push the stride rather than it flowing. I was heading into the repeat downhill gradient, so if I could manage to keep pushing even at this pace, I might be able to hold on. The mind starts to panick a little, and the possibility of it all going horribly wrong having paced it incorrectly starts to become a real issue.
6:26, 6:23, 6:26.


Easy part over, back into the uphill, wind no cheating using a wind breaker this time.
Now I was really starting to struggle. Sub 1:25 looked unlikely. I was ok at this point, but I know
enough to know the pain and suffering that was on the way, and that there was no way I was pushing this pace all the way for another 4 miles. I was in reserve territory, using everything I had to keep pushing, hoping that the last few miles would not be a total disaster. My legs were becoming the limiting factor now, starting to tire badly, a sign of the missed two long runs at pace during my ill weeks. As I tired, my form started to suffer, so I had no option but to slow, or it would be much worse to come. If I could pull back to a controlled pace, rather than just push as hard as possible, then I might have a better chance of maintaining a reasonable pace over the last few miles.
6:38, 6:47, 6:48, 6:45. Coincidentally, this was around the pace I would maintain for the long runs, and my marathon pace for Dublin.

Around the final corner, and the clock came into view, and miraculously there was still a 1:25 on it.
I had little left to push anything else, and I could do little but keep struggling to the finish line, with a net time of 1:25:51.
I was happy with the time after all, although of course I would have been happier with under the 1:25., and ultimately while I think I was fit enough, I didn't have enough tempo runs in the legs.

Monday was a beautiful day, and what started out as a planned 6 mile recovery run, ended up being a 10 mile run at 7:50 average. I think I might have overdone it though. Maybe the DOMS for Sunday hadn't set in by the time I went for the recovery run, but today my left foot is very sore, which is very unusual for me.

Optimistically, I signed up do be a pacer for 1:30 pace at a half this Friday. I will see how the recovery goes before I decide. The last thing I want is to end up injured and set myself back further.