Labane 10km

Arrived out at Labane and after registration I had about 30 minutes to kill before the 11am start. A couple of kms warm-up, the a quick change of gear and we were soon lining up at the start. The weather was bright and breezy - the course would see us run straight into the wind for the first 4km, then a left turn with a few hills on kms 5 and 6, then a quicker couple of kms before rejoining the same road we had used to run out of the village for the final 2km. So the course was like a backwards facing "P" if that makes sense.

A very nice tribute to the Boston Marathon just before the off and then the race started where I hit the front with Peter O'Sullivan running right beside me. The pace wasn't too quick as it would have been a real energy sapper to try and take it out hard into the wind. The first km ticked by and then we crossed a small bridge before continuing along what was a very straight road.

Nothing much happened in the first 4km. Me and Peter were side-by-side, the road was predominantly flat with only a few bumps, and we had worked away from the main field. At around 4km we took a left-hand turn and that offered some respite from the wind. But we were now going uphill. I think I sat in behind Pete for a while at this stage and whilst we climbed a few hills, there were nice downhill sections to follow. Through 5km and a quick glance at my watch and I wasn't impressed as we hadn't broken 17 minutes...

With the benefit of the wind it became easier and I could feel the pace lifting. At around 6km there was still nothing between us and I tried a few token surges but I didn't really have the gears to make them count. By 7km I was starting to think it was going to come down to a sprint finish which would favour Peter with his track speed. At around 8km we took a right turn and at this point I tried another surge. I just managed to get in front and this was my trigger to press for home. I lifted the pace but knew it was still a long way from home. A nasty little climb back over the bridge which really had me blowing, but by the time I passed 9km I was confident I'd done enough for the win. The last km was fairly flat and I ran it hard crossing the line in 33:21 for the win.

Happy enough with that - conditions were tough enough for the first half of the race and I at least managed an improvement on last Sunday (on tired legs). Great to have a good battle with Peter - I'm sure we'll have plenty more this year! All up 15kms with warm-down when back to the hall for a great spread and the presentation.

All-in-all another very enjoyable event. Very well organised and some fantastic prizes. A big well done to the organisers. A good GCH turn-out with Gearoid taking out 3rd place and some fine PB's ran also and what is a very good course. Happy days.

Splits:

1km 3:22

2km 3:21

3km 3:28

4km 3:24

5km 3:27 (17:02)

6km 3:24

7km 3:19

8km 3:17

9km 3:11

10km 3:08 (16:19)

Total 33:21

Git back home to watch the start of the snooker. Come on Ronnie!!!