I warmed up with Owen and we made our way down to the start for the 1:30pm off. The race was soon underway and I was a little disappointed not to see any tractors parked on the high street this year as we made our way through town. A left turn and then it got a whole lot tougher as we were then running into a stiff breeze.
I'd opened up a bit of a lead and any thought of getting a bit of a drafting benefit of the lead van were quickly erased as said van was several hundred metres up the road. A couple of tough kilometres followed and then it got a bit easier as the course took another turn to the left. I didn't feel too great - maybe one too many beers the night before; a sore knee; or any other excuse you can think of.
The pace had at least picked up a bit and just before halfway it was time to make another left turn onto the main road just before the half way mark. Now the wind was on the back but that didn't seem to help me much. One of those days where I just felt a bit flat. At around 5km the course took a right turn and then it was time to welcome a lovely tough climb. Then a few more drags before a left turn where the course flattened out a bit.
At 7km there was another speed bump just to keep you honest. Then some welcome downhill back into town. I pushed on as best I could and crossed the line in 26:19 for the win. One year wiser and 15 seconds slower. Progress of the backwards variety!
A very enjoyable run and good to see the same top 3 as last year with my wingman Owen finishing in second place. Credit where it's due to South Galway AC who put on another great event and great to see so many marshals out on the course.
About 14.7kms for the day. And 71.7kms for the week. Pathetic volume but hopefully I can get back into it next week and get some threshold runs under the belt...
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