A short one, he said. Winding down, he said. What John didn't say was another 10 mile run, which we did yesterday evening. The time was 1 hr, 42 min and 46 sec, another personal best. To be fair, when we set out on the run, the aim was to go for 90 minutes, starting at a 10:20 pace, and then see how the run was going, and maybe pick it up on the way home. I'm not sure if it was because I was going well, or because Ray kept going on about what a great weekend he had in Lynch's, but John decided to extend the run, and to be honest, I was happy enough to go along.
The run was quite useful in terms of preparing for the race on Sat week. We discussed a lot, such as what to eat before the race and how soon before the start we should eat, we also discussed what it might feel like at certain parts of the race, and what we wanted to get out of the race. My aim is to finish well, to be able to run into the Harriers Stadium for the last lap, and not be on my knees, looking for an oxygen tent, while getting my legs rubbed as another kind Sole drapes me in tin foil. To achieve this, the key will be the starting speed. Part of the aim of yesterdays run, was to try and gauge what that speed should be. For me it's 10:30 pace and a bit quicker for Ray. That'll be a challenge, as on the day I hope to be feeling fresh, due to the tapering down, that'll be starting soon!(can you hear me John?) and the excitement of the day with all the people running, could lend itself to running off too fast. While this might be grand for the first few miles, I don't want to be paying for it further out the course, which is what has happened on any of the long runs, where I've gone off without watching the pace.
I was chatting Adrian Curley last night about the number of volunteers that will be involved on the day. He reckons it'll be around 50, as he's just going through the job list, which includes things like Race Marshalls, Car Park, Directing Traffic etc. The preparation going on behind the scenes for this race is huge, and something I've never really considered before. So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people in the Harriers, who are working hard to ensure that the day goes off without a hitch, which, based on past form I'm sure it will.
Ray, Michelle Mullaney and myself were on Midlands 103 on Tuesday morning. There was good banter in studio, and the podcast can be found here http://www.midlandsradio.fm/podcasts I think that's the last radio interview before the race, and I must say thanks to to Midlands 103 for the support they've given to Ray and myself, and the race in general. That's all for today, so until Thursday, Slán.
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