10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Doneraile 10k

1. #recoveryiskey

I think that magic shoes mean that the recovery from a marathon is no longer key. The difference between a Marathon in normal shoes and magic shoes is astonishing. I used to talk about debadification but I think that word can be retired now. I jogged from the bus station to the pub on Sunday evening after the marathon, that shouldn’t be possible. They need to be banned so we can all go back to suffering properly.

2. Diesel

I think that the price of diesel had a lot to do with the lack of Sergiu’s and the like in Doneraile. Doneraile is in an odd location, it’s not very far away but it’s far away enough for it to be expensive to get to at €2 a litre. I made the calculation that it was worth it and I really, really like Doneraile Park anyway.

3. Light Brown Jubilee

I think that there should have been more of a celebration of my three-year stint as the reigning champion of the Doneraile 10k. The last time I did it in 2019 it was exactly the same, 6 days after the Cork marathon but in a pair of Brooks Ghosts. No one seemed to know that I was reigning champion. Perhaps I should have pointed it out.

4. Rolling

I think that there should be more courses like the Doneraile 10k. I love the mix of rolling road and then the nice trail around the park. It is such a nice route, 10k goes by quickly as there is lots to look at. Most of the races in Spain are like this, it’s much better, less nonsense around times, just a race.

5. Who’s Going to Win

I think that I should have been more confident when the Popupraces guy with the desperate Dublin accent asked who’s going to win. I didn’t say anything because I was very worried that Paul Moloney was hiding somewhere talking to Mallow AC runners. Then the Dub said that there was €50 for breaking the course record. My own course record run in non-magic shoes 6 days after a marathon in non-magic shoes, how hard could that be in magic shoes?

6. Magic but not Miraculous Shoes

I think that even though the magic shoes make a mockery of the recovery after the marathon I still felt a little sluggish at the start so I didn’t go too mad down the hill from the Park Gate to the Main Street. Once I reached the right turn at the Pharmacy where I used to work I was fairly confident that I was ahead. I never look behind in a race so I couldn’t be sure. I could hear something behind me which I’m pretty sure was just the sound of my own magic shoes but I pretended it was John Meade so that I would be motivated for the whole of the 10k.

7. Roy Keane

I think that Diadora need to sell more running gear. When I was in Milan I bought a very excellent red Diadora singlet at the expo, it is my favourite singlet ever, very Italian. It was probably very confusing for the people of Doneraile as it looked exactly the same as the Doneraile AC singlet. Perhaps I should join Doneraile instead, sure I’ve no binding links to Leevale, at least I worked in Doneraile and love the park.

8. Tormenting the Stewards

I think that I felt bad about tormenting the poor steward at the bridge at the bottom of the park. As I approached the bridge there were two stewards having a good chat, the chat was so good that they didn’t see or hear me coming which is amazing as I was making lots of noise. When they finally saw me one of the stewards took off running over the bridge to try and get up to the vital T-junction where you can go left or right. I knew the course went left but as I passed him, I said “it’s right isn’t it”, “No left, “are you sure?”. I probably should have left him alone.

9. Sergey Bubka

I think that breaking your own course record is great, especially when you get €50 for doing it. I was tempted to do a Sergi Bubka on it and slow down when I could see the clock so that I could do it again next year but that probably would have looked terrible and very arrogant. Magic shoes seem to be worth about a minute over 10k the week after a marathon according to my carefully controlled experiment.

10. Stitch Payback

I think that winning races doesn’t suit me. I don’t particularly like winning races. It is much more fun to beat John Meade or Viv and finish 4th. I don’t know why. At least by winning I earned back the €100 that the stitch cost me last week in the marathon. I doubt I’ll get away with 3 in a row in Doneraile, there’s no way that I will be let. I just hope that it’s someone like Sergiu or Paul Moloney that breaks my course record and not John Meade or Lizzie.