10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Cross Popular Llivia

1. Last Minute Dot Com

I think that we should not have assumed that a small tiny road race in Llivia would sell out. It was only on Thursday night after dinner that we got around to entering. I tried to enter everyone on my iPad but it wouldn’t take my credit card. Then I saw that there were only 6 entries left and that entry closed at 23:59 on Thursday. With some minor encouragement Conor used his high tech laptop to enter the 5 of us just before 23:59.

2. Llivia

I think that Saturday was my first time running in an enclave. Llivia is in Spain but actually in France. They forgot about it when carving up the border after one of the many wars so it’s Spain in France. I prefer Spain but also like France so Llivia is very perfect.

3. Scheming

I think that the race in Age the Saturday before ruined our chances in Llivia. After all the conspiracies in Age we spent the night before the race conspiring against each other when we should have been conspiring against the Llivians. I told the lads I’d lead it out and try and burn off the Llivians, however this was a big lie, I just wanted to beat John and maybe Conor too.

4. Cross Country Season

I think that August was too early to start the cross country season. The race in Llivia was an unusually great race, a mixture of cross country, trail and road all in one. The start of the race was a loop of a beautiful excellent grass cross country loop, then a mile or three of trail, a mile of downhill road and finishing with a lap of the cross country course. Perfect really.

5. Lliviaed

I think we should have known that the race would not start on time it being Spain in France. It was only a minor delay, perhaps 20 minutes, no one really cared because it was warm and sunny, although we were warmed up way too early. I really should have done a few strides just to keep going. Instead I did Donal Coffey’s patented zumba based warm up which made me horrendously stiff and sore.

6. Alfie Inge

I think I should have gotten more vengeance on Meade on the cross country loop. I didn’t get a great start because my legs were dead from Coffey’s warm up so I had to work my way through the field. Conor started it all off by hitting me a shoulder, Donal grabbed my arm, then as we came to the final hairpin bend before the trail section I saw my target Meade up ahead, I knew it was a perfect opportunity for revenge. I sprinted as hard as I could down the inside of the hairpin and nailed Meade with a perfect excellent shoulder. “That’s for Age” I thought in my head. I should have hit him harder. He didn’t even fall, all that really happened was that the handy looking Catalan got a big gap on us all.

7. Singletrail

I think that I could have beaten Meade if I’d gotten ahead of the last of the Llivians just before the singletrack trail section. After getting distracted trying to get revenge on Meade I was unusually far back for the first mile. Then as we got to the singletrack section I just missed the break and got stuck behind a Llivian. With that Meade, Conor and the handy looking Catalan Triathlete were gone.

8. Meadeless Suffering

I think that I was very surprised to see Meade get dropped by Conor and the handy looking Catalan Triathlete. I could see them up ahead battling, surging, fighting. I was fully expecting Meade to sit and kick at the end. Then the unthinkable happened and Meade was dropped. Just like in one of the altitude fuelled dreams I dreamed of catching him, elbowing him into the ditch and running off into the distance. Sadly just like the altitude dreams I woke up and realised it was impossible.

9. Down the Hill

I think that if I’d gotten to the end of the trail with the Catalan, Conor and Meade they would have been in trouble. I didn’t so it’s pointless to say so but it is nice to think. I was very fast down the hill and onto the cross country loop for the last time. Strava said I was the fastest down the hill. I tried everything I could but I couldn’t catch Meade for 3rd. Conor tried but couldn’t better the Catalan. An Irish 2,3,4. Donal Coffey was 7th but tried much harder than in Age and beat Spaniards so was happy.

10. Whiskey and Beer

I think that the Llivian with the mic liked Irish people. He even sang a little bit of the Wild Rover when Conor and John Meade went up to collect their trophies on the podium. A great race. We should do races like this in Ireland, a combination of everything, would be great, no one would complain.