10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Mallow 10 2023

1. Last Year

I think that it is a very scary thing to do to return to the sight of your last running injury. It is a minor miracle that I have completed a year without injury considering that the running that I do is completely wrong. No one, not even PhDs in physiotherapy know or can predict what causes a running injury. It could well have been that Mallow was the cause of my last running injury and not wrong training and racing. There was only one way to find out, run Mallow again.

2. Rice

I think that eating enough the day before a race is very important. I’m beginning to think that despite my bigness I probably don’t eat enough mainly because the internet gets into your head and makes you think you shouldn’t be eating food at all. Because I felt that I didn’t eat enough before the night before Tokyo Marathon, as an experiment I am going to try and eat as much rice as is possible the day before a race to see if it makes a difference. I managed two full bags of basmati rice the night before Mallow which was a good start to the experiment. Three might be possible.

3. Hi B

I think that Mallow is a very good place to hold a race. It is very easy to get to as long as you don’t have to come through Castletownroche like I had to. There is lots of easy free parking and if you are very clever you can park outside the Hi B leisure centre and use the toilet there before jogging down to the start at a nice castle.

4. Caution

I think that when you have suffered an injury in a race previously due to starting like an idiot because the race was starting in a Castle it is a good idea not to do the same thing again. At the start there were annoying people like Viv who had self-sabotaged by running 10 miles before the actual race talking nonsense about not taking the race seriously. This made it very difficult not to go off hard to get away from them, but I was very sensible and took it handy on the gravel path out of the castle so as not to injury my hamstring like last year. When we were out on the road I made a little effort and made sure to get a good bit ahead of Viv.

5. Group Theory

I think that it is very important to find a group in a 10 mile road race. There would be nothing worse than running along the hard shoulder of a national road on your own trying to run a time into a northly wind. I have found that Michael McMahon is the perfect person to run with so I was always going to try and find him which I did. Also joining us were Barry and Tom, a nice little group of four, perfect for sharing the work into the slight northly headwind.

6. A Butterfly Flaps It’s Wings

I think that Barry needs to watch some cycling races on Eurosport. Our little group of four had it’s first test on the incredibly long straight down to the roundabout. Barry was at the front setting the pace, being the nice man that he is Michael McMahon gently went to move past in a non-threatening manner that could only be interpreted as a taking a turn into the wind move especially it being 2 miles into a 10 mile race. Instead, Barry took it as a deadly assault and surged ahead. I shouted at Michael McMahon to let him off, which he listened to, so we left Barry 30m in front of us on his own while we took turns into the wind all the way down to the roundabout by which time we had caught Barry again.

7. Amadán

I think that this was the first time in a race where I have been afraid that a fight might break out mid race. Because of Barry’s fear of being passed, myself and Michael McMahon sat behind Barry for the next three or four miles. Then as we went by the racecourse Barry turns around and says “Will ye ever do some work?”. We were both stunned almost speechless “what did you think I was trying to do earlier you clown” was the rather angry response.

8. Two Angry Men

I think that it was a bad idea to let Barry and Michael McMahon get angry in a race. They are not lacking in motivation in the first place, add anger to the mix and you get two unbeatable machines. After the curious incident of Barry being called a clown, we turned left off the main road and the two lads took off, Michael McMahon sitting right behind Barry to make a point. I was left with Tom who despite doing no work into the wind had avoided being called a clown.

9. Tom

I think it is great that there are a new crop of runners coming through. Donie always seems to capture them for Leevale. I don’t know where he found Tom but he seems very good not quite good enough to catch up to a raging war between Barry and Michael McMahon but good enough to destroy me in the last mile.

10. No Reoccurrence

I think that it was great to get through this race without a reoccurrence of last years hamstring injury in the last mile. I was terrified going past the place where it went last year. I can still remember Damian dancing on by delighted to beat me. I was convinced it would happen again and that Viv would fly by on his 20th mile of the day saying “Well done, keep it up” as he pranced by. Thankfully I had no problems apart from not being able to keep up with Tom. Barry won the war.