10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The BHAA PWC 5K

1. Storm Noa Session

I think that I would have done a wonderful perfect session at lunchtime if it were not for the storm on Wednesday morning. The great thing about BHAA races is that you can decide to do them at lunchtime on the day of the race because there is no pre-entry or selling out, just rock up with a fiver and away you go. I think a lot of people had the same idea, it’s a lot easier run a race in the wind than do a session in the wind.

2. One Albert Quay

I think that the modern building on the other side of the road from the place where the Sextant used to be before they pointlessly demolished one of the few nice buildings in Cork is a wonderful place for race registration. Registration was very efficient, and I didn’t have to talk to anyone except Barry. The BHAA numbers now have timing chips which is great. I parked over at the train station because I don’t like the traffic on the bridge and I was kind of late.

3. Vaporfly McKeown

I think that I should get a commission from Nike and or Lifestyle Sports for convincing Kieran McKeown to buy the Vaporfly Qubed. I am a wonderful salesman, I could do excellent shoe reviews on YouTube except that I don’t like running in different shoes and it wouldn’t be a great YouTube channel that only reviews the New Balance 880, New Balance 1400RC, the Vaporfly and the Dragonfly.

4. The GPS Vacuum

I think that it is great that we are back racing on the loop that became the unofficial time trial loop during the emergency. There were so many unbelievable times run on the Monaghan Road loop over 2020 and 2021 that people might have qualified for the Olympics there on Strava even with the new standards. On the start line for the 5k I received confirmation of what I already suspected; the loop is a GPS vacuum. My watch would only go orange, never green. Orange means proceed with caution or a pinch of salt.

5. Barry’s Move

I think that I was surprised to lead the race off the line. There was a very strong tailwind which combined with excellent new magic shoes made it possible to get to the front. It wasn’t long before James McCarthy no doubt targeting Ballintotis next week and Eric Curran overtook me. I held third until just before we got to the top of the road where Barry made a sudden surge to bridge across to Eric which I had to respond to because I knew we were about to turn into the storm and I didn’t want to be on my own with John Meade on my back.

6. Ancraophobia

I think that what went on into the wind on the way past the Marina Market was a disgrace. We were like a bunch of chickens jogging down the road all terrified of making any effort into the wind. I need not have worried about Barry’s surge to bridge up to Eric as the minute we hit the wind the pace slowed terribly, and we all bunched up like it was two laps into Olympic 5k final and no one cared about what the pace would look like on Strava.

7. Cork Not Very Nice Track Club

I think that Ian O’Sullivan is coaching a ruthless bunch of runners who will do anything to win or come second and third. When we bunched up into the wind on the road by the Marina Market, I was stuck behind James McCarthy with Barry keeping me hemmed in on the right side and the footpath on the left side. It was all fine until we reached the fertiliser plant when I felt that familiar full leg clip that could only have been from Anthony Mannix. Foot clips are probably like fingerprints unique to the individual. I was terrified of it happening again and ending up falling over and breaking my arm, so I beckoned Barry out of the way and ran out into the wind like a fool, a fool free from the risk of falling.

8. One Mile Race

I think that this race might as well have been a one-mile race. As we got to the corner to start the last lap, I was in the lead having bravely/foolishly run into the wind for about 300m with a wind fearing bunch behind me. When we turned sharp left at the corner at the roundabout running suddenly became significantly easier and we tore/ran slightly faster down the road. James McCarthy, Barry, Anthony and Eric came past fairly quickly once they realized the wind was behind them leaving me in fifth.

9. Machiavellian Meade

I think that John Meade must have thought that his days of beating me were over. His tactics in this race, while showing how much he respects me as an athlete which is really all I wanted in the first place, were cowardly and only worked because of the wind. He sat right behind me all the way until 300m from the finish when he calculated that he could use Eric Curran as a wind bridge to get a gap on me. I don’t really count it as a defeat anyway as 5ks are only fun races and not to be taken seriously.

10. To Race or To Session?

I think that I should probably undertake a course of perfect training and avoid racing for a while. I am beginning to get a little tired of my current standard, it would be far better to be unaware of it and only do excellent sessions. Getting destroyed by John Meade is a worrying sign. The only problem is that I love racing and I am getting moderately old, so I am acutely aware that there aren’t that many races left for me. I think that the answer to the question, session or race at my level of ability should always be race especially a BHAA race ten minutes from the house.