10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think about the National Novice XC

1. Shakeout

Experimented with a 10 minute run this morning after getting up to try and wake the legs up before the drive. Don't know if it works. I don't know if it qualifies as post-activation potentiation (PAP) but if I was selling stuff that's what I'd call it.

2. Breakfast

Pre-race breakfast of two bananas and a few rice cakes. If I was selling a nutrition plan, I'd call this a low residue breakfast. Goes well with a few nespressos.

3. Drive

Anglesboro to Dundalk is not a long trip, ~2:40 with a coffee stop. At least we have one good road in the country.

4. The Niggle

All runners have a niggle, any runner who says they haven't a niggle is lying. It's perfectly acceptable to have one niggle, most of the time it moves around from leg to another. This weeks niggle was my lower stomach. It didn't seem to bother me at all today. I wonder where the niggle will go next, probably my foot.

5. Warm Up

Kind of miscalculated the warm up, did 3 laps with Conor. It's not a nice feeling to hear the starters whistle when you still don't have your spikes on. Got there in the end with plenty of time. Good to get the adrenaline going.

6. The Start

The start of the national novice is as close as you'll ever get to the the trenches of World War I. Most of the people there know it's a hopeless cause, would rather be anywhere else and are probably going to end on the flat of their backs.

7. First Mile.

I put my watch on auto pause so I didn't have to press start. (I'm really clever.) 5:00 minutes for the first mile, still only about 30th. This means I didn't go off too fast. It's not a road race.

8. The Course

Great course, it's like the UCC farm with a few hills and ramps thrown in. The ramp is very difficult when you've long legs like me but I got over it successfully three times. I'm sure it was very graceful. It's not real cross country though.

9. The Race

If you think for even a second in this race you'll loose 10 places. Thinking is not good. I don't think I thought during the race.

10. The Finish

Ended up 39th, lost about 5 places in the last 100m but I am incapable of sprinting. Ended up on the ground with the paramedics worried that I was going to get trampled on. I didn't care. I had my fun and that's all that matters.