Impatience and a sudden urge to cut short the ‘off season’, got me out Sunday morning for what turned out to be a bit of a morale boosting treat. Coming into Christmas with good form set me up for my annual ‘physical breakdown’, two week’s of soul destroying lack of energy started to wane after the first week of the new year. So with a week and a half of training since new years day, I jumped in with Maurice and Brian for the short trip to Little Island on the lower east side for the FMC bhaa four mile.
A nice distance to stretch the legs and get the body back in the zone for the year ahead. Erring on the side of caution, confidence can only come after a few strong outings and its been a while since one of those came my way.
The benefits of a race like this are far reaching, The nervous energy of over 500 runners milling around at the start is infectious, niggling injuries disappear at the sound of the starters gun and the tide of runners has the ability to carry you at a faster pace than you can ever push yourself in training. A solid run with plenty in the tank coming into the last half mile was my reward for a sensible start. Not knowing how much suffering I could handle kept the manners on me till almost within sight of the finish clock.
The bhaa (business houses athletic association) is comprised of a dedicated group who organise a full calendar of events thro’out the year, the flagship events are the Cork City Marathon and the famous Cork to Cobh road race. Anyone can take part, but the majority of runners are running for a named business or company.
A nice bonus on Sunday was to be one part of the winning Avondhu motor factors team in the B grade. So, we got a 24 minute high end tempo run, fed and found, a new jacket each for the winning team and a bit of craic, all before midday. Heres Results and photo’s for anyone interested in the breakdown.
Next up is a bit more of an ask, The John Treacy 10 mile road race is as hard as the man who lends his name to the title. The former world cross country champion and Olympic silver medallist from the locality will grace us with his presence on the day. Hoping to keep it together to run a strong last few miles, My previous efforts have been exhibitions in inexperienced running, going out like a hare and coming home like a turtle.
Last Sunday’s four miler has broken the ice and has opened the door to a new training zone, with the benefits of last years full year of running now starting to show and the proximity of the early season 10 milers, it’s probably time to get going.
A nice distance to stretch the legs and get the body back in the zone for the year ahead. Erring on the side of caution, confidence can only come after a few strong outings and its been a while since one of those came my way.
The benefits of a race like this are far reaching, The nervous energy of over 500 runners milling around at the start is infectious, niggling injuries disappear at the sound of the starters gun and the tide of runners has the ability to carry you at a faster pace than you can ever push yourself in training. A solid run with plenty in the tank coming into the last half mile was my reward for a sensible start. Not knowing how much suffering I could handle kept the manners on me till almost within sight of the finish clock.
The bhaa (business houses athletic association) is comprised of a dedicated group who organise a full calendar of events thro’out the year, the flagship events are the Cork City Marathon and the famous Cork to Cobh road race. Anyone can take part, but the majority of runners are running for a named business or company.
A nice bonus on Sunday was to be one part of the winning Avondhu motor factors team in the B grade. So, we got a 24 minute high end tempo run, fed and found, a new jacket each for the winning team and a bit of craic, all before midday. Heres Results and photo’s for anyone interested in the breakdown.
Next up is a bit more of an ask, The John Treacy 10 mile road race is as hard as the man who lends his name to the title. The former world cross country champion and Olympic silver medallist from the locality will grace us with his presence on the day. Hoping to keep it together to run a strong last few miles, My previous efforts have been exhibitions in inexperienced running, going out like a hare and coming home like a turtle.
Last Sunday’s four miler has broken the ice and has opened the door to a new training zone, with the benefits of last years full year of running now starting to show and the proximity of the early season 10 milers, it’s probably time to get going.