A certain Mr Shannon was in attendance. We had a brief chat at the start and I mentioned I wanted to go sub 16. The race started and me and Michael hit the front, and it was like a carbon copy of Claregalway where we started racing side-by-side (thanks to Francis at Eirefoto):
The first few kms were run into the breeze. There are a few drags on this section, especially the climb up to the first left turn at the t-intersection, then as you get to halfway, there is a lovely downhill section where you really start to pick up speed. At this stage Michael and I were still sharing the lead, with another runner - Keith from Clare - still hanging in behind us. Through 3km and the next km is run down by the water. A couple of times I thought we had dropped Keith but he kept coming back at us. These 2 Clare men were all over me like a cheap suit.
I was still feeling okay at this point and as we approached 4km Michael started to lift the pace. I did the same but the problem was that my quicker pace wasn't as quick as his. I ran on gamely for the last 1,200m, breaking away from Keith to secure second, but I simply wasn't strong enough to really put in a super quick finish. I crossed the line in second place in 15:56 with Michael 7 seconds in front of me (again thanks to Eirefoto) - yes that's a climb up to the finish line:
Another improved performance. That's 31 seconds quicker than last Wednesday's 5km so gotta be happy with that. If I keep improving at this rate and I'll be breaking 13 minutes come October...
All up 9kms with the couple of kms warm-up and down. And a lovely Galway crystal fruit bowl to show for my efforts which sorts out my grandparents Christmas present!
Here are the splits:
1km 3:12
2km 3:19
3km 3:08
4km 3:10
5km 3:07
Total 15:56
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