Sligo Coast to Coast 10 Mile Run or Walk (Part one)

[Freecloud]

This will most probably be a long read as usual, so apologies for that… Also, as usual I am writing this late. I am a very slow writer and am forever changing words to try and make them make sense and flow together, I am also having a celebrity drink or two whilst listening to Hans Simmer through my headphones (I tried The Beatles first but it was a bit much). This report will take a few hours to write and I will be finished quite a bit passed midnight. I am off tomorrow, so it isn’t too bad.

This may well be my penultimate run of the year and potentially one where I could top of the year and finish with a personal best or two. It was my 4th 10 Miler of the year, the run last run will be a three quarter marathon next Sunday 2nd October.

The run itself is from the Sligo Rugby Club in Strandhill and finishes at Rosses Point, it is a nice small trip for me for a change, the only potential challenge was getting back to the car after the run. The great thing was that my wife volunteered to take me to the start and be there at the end to cheer me on.

The start time of the run was at 10:30, I was dropped off at the rugby club at 9:30, I always like to have time to visit the loo, walk around and warm up etc. The rugby club has a dual function, it is a rugby club with a pitch and changing rooms and it is also a bar / night club. I thought the night club had been closed a long time ago, but my wife told me that it was still being used for the odd occasion and teenage discos.

It was my second ever visit to the place, the first one was way way back New Years Eve 1989 when I flew over from Stanstead Airport to visit my future parent in laws as my wife and I were going to be married eleven months later November. Yup I feel old now… I have to say that the place looked like it had never been used since as it certainly looked like it was last decorated or had seen a lick of paint since 1972.. No wonder why I thought it was long gone. It was also the first run I had been to where there were no portable toilets, there was only 1 cubicle for the men and this time it was us that had the long queue. The toilet itself was in a small shanty cubicle, no lock on the door, no toilet seat and a low wall for everyone to hear…. By far the worst setup I have ever seen.

Anyway, back to the run. The weather itself was a bit windy and showery which is meant to be preferable. I did a 1k warm up towards the beach and then turned back, I saw that there were a few cones lined up on the road and guessed that would be where the start would be. Back up to the club, took a few of my usual selfies, a visit the loo again and then we walked to the start. I got the NRC app to play another 10 mile run, I find these very good now especially since they have distance / or time included depending on what type of run you have chosen. I also for a change set my watch to distance and time, my last 10 miler was around 1hr 22, which was almost 3 minutes quicker than my previous pb, but I just thought I’ll try for 1hr 20 and see how I’d get on. I took a few pics of the crowd of fellow 350 runners, an awkward selfie and then we were off. I was roughly in the middle of the pack and didn’t hear the start but saw that the runners ahead had started, I quickly started the app tucked my phone into my shorts pressed start on the watch and I was off!

The start was a tiny bit congested until we passed the cones and then it wasn’t too bad and I was able to pass a few fellow runners if I felt brave enough, which I did. I have previously on a few occasions gone out all hell for leather and paid the price, panicking when I have seen the speed I was running thus freaking out on the inside and messing up my run all together. However, I didn’t this time because my watch only had a prediction of the time I would finish the run at and an animation of two runners, one in red and one in grey. I wasn’t too sure which one I was until a bit later on in the run but I had a fair idea that I was the red.

I started to pass a few runners, felt good and carried on passing, my previous few runs along with my marathon training plans have given me a bit more confidence and would hopefully pay off. The road from Strandhill is a fantastic road now, it was widened a good few years ago with wonderful scenic views of the Knocknarea mountain on the right and then the view of Coney Island (the one in America was named after it), Rosses Point and then the spectacular view of the Dartry Mountains where the iconic mountain of Benbulben resides, which also happens to be very close to where I live. The road is nice and straight, so I could see all the runners ahead of me. I’d say it stretched for about 400 meters ahead of me already, there was a bit of a gap and then a few flashing lights and I could just about make out a small crowd of the elite runners at the very front. I felt great for them, but I would never be in a position to be in that group, I am only a year and 2 months from graduating from c25k and am more than grateful with what I have done since then. I love running on my own but get a great buzz from running in events. I am only running for myself and for the experience and of course the bling. It gives me an opportunity to mark how far I have come since my 30 kilo weight loss the previous year. I also find that this is the best type of headspace for me, I know that I have said it a few times before, but for me personally it beats counselling any day and I feel that I am in a much better place than ever before. Enough about that and back to the run.

I could see that there were a few hills in the distance, I am getting used to them a bit at this stage and have learned to slow down a bit and wait for them to be over hoping for a bit of a descent on the other side, thankfully this was case most of the time here.

Also thankfully, my watch was still notifying me of the km distances and showing me the time for that km. I noticed that each one up to the 3km point was under 5 minutes and I could be in for a shot of a 5k personal best, and of course I went for it. I wasn’t sure if I achieved the pb when my watch buzzed at the 5k mark, dyslexia does that to you, I just cannot remember some things. I took screenshots of my pb’s before I set off to try to help me but it all just jumbles in the end. Anyway, the 5k pb has always been my nemesis, it’s a short run for me now but very tough to get a pb because you have to go all the way to the end at a fast uncomfortable consistent pace. BUT I felt great for the first 3k and thought why not? I suffered afterwards and slowed down a bit, I looked at the watch and the little red man was still ahead of the grey man and felt a bit better.

TBC

[Freecloud Marathon]

We then turned left at a road called Second Sea Road and towards a bit of a sealine shore called Gibraltar Rock. It’s a great scenic point, I used to go there at lunchtime to get away from my current workplace, eat my lunch and just daydream. You can see Coney Island on the distance and a number of evenly distanced concrete pillars jutting out from the sand which are placed to guide vehicles where to cross from the mainland to the Island at low tide. There was also a kind of concrete constructed pool there, long ruined where my wife’s parents used to take her and their children to learn how to swim there. I used to go there with my tin of tuna for lunch, throw a bit of tuna into the pool below, sit perfectly still and watch the crabs slowly gain confidence and crawl out from under the rocks and get a bit of food. Some of them would bully the smaller ones and steal the food away from them.

The first watering station was just after Gibraltar Rock, I took this opportunity to take a drink, I thanked the person offering the cup of water and made a point of taking a bit of a break and walking whilst drinking before setting off again. Looking back I only walked for 5 seconds according to my watch and I felt better for it. I saw the group I was running with a bit ahead and tried in vain to catch up with them, I passed a few people, they passed me again and I settled for a slower pace, which was just over 5 min per km according to my next km buzz, so I was happy enough with that.

We then ran past a halting site and I was wondering if any dogs would be loose. There is sometimes a whippet on the road, it seems to be a very docile dog but I do get a bit anxious whenever I am doing my lunchtime walks and it comes up for the usual sniff. Thankfully there was nothing this time. We then ran into the Finisklin Industrial Estate and passed my workplace. It is an old house set a bit back in the road that nobody sees, a great place to work in where you feel removed from the current time and sent back over a hundred years ago. Unfortunately it also feels like that in the winter…

The next landmark was the halfway point and where the Standhill to Sligo 5 mile race ends, which was held at the start of August. I was meant to run in that event until I got Covid 2 days before :(. I really felt like I was struggling at this point and would have been very happy if this was the end. I persisted and carried on. We then crossed over The Michael Hughes Bridge, construction of it finished in December 1988, but we still call it the “New Bridge” (a few things have been built since then, honest). It is the cross point going over the Garavogue River before the route turns left towards Rosses Point.

The bit at the bridge is of course very flat, but the next few kilometers consists of a few steep hills. I was fairly struggling at this point, it was also around the 10k mark and a chance for another pb, so I kept on. I was also not too sure of my pb but the little red man on my watch was just ahead of the grey one. Ha! Gladiator soundtrack is just playing on my head phones and I heard “My name is Gladiator” being spoken so I will say that I carried on like a Gladiator to beat that 10k PB! I was however huffing and puffing like the wolf trying to blow down that straw house and not having any joy.

I did run this stretch to Rosses Point before using a ½ marathon training plan the coach at my running club suggested. But to be honest the plan was way too elite for me, I was totally knacked trying to keep up with the plan and that run just happened to be the one that broke the camels back for me. I got a reality check and made up my own plans based on sensible ones that I could achieve. Which also happened to be any other plan I could find on the net! I haven’t run again with the club since March, it is just a bit too elite for me. It’s a fantastic club, but I was running on my own all of the time, I was just way too slow for most of the male runners, one or two were older than me, but I was just nowhere near and left running on my own and I was doing that anyway. I am conscious that I am digressing from the run form time to time. But I also like to add a few personal thoughts into the report to give a sense of feeling. By the way, the athletes he wrote the plan for were mostly over 40 and one older than me, they went on to win gold in the National Half Marathon two weeks ago and are all a credit to Coach Michaels plan, he just turned 70 on that very day. He is one of the founders of the club and still holds the Half Marathon Club Record of 1hr 8mins and 25 seconds. Such an achievement!

And it’s back to the run again 😊… I also have to give credit(?) to Irishprincess for this meandering post as it was herself that asked for me to write it lol. I was trying to remember the run as I was going along and trying to dictate it in my head at the time. The last 5k run I did at Knock Airport where I will hope to be taking off tomorrow for Spain (if I ever get this report finished in time lol) was mostly recorded in video mode for the duration of the run.

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to Freecloud]

Blagh, blagh, blagh. I’d better crack on, I’ve only got a bottle of a ginger craft beer that I have never had before and a glass of wine left before I have finished and ready for bed (btw, I did give up drinking and mostly have non alcoholic beers since my weight loss).

To be honest, the rest of the run from the 12k mark was a huge struggle. It all seemed to be uphill, I guess most of that was mind games. I was huffing and panting like a mad thing and constantly keeping a look at the little red man, trying to speed up when the grey passed. Yeah that’s when I copped on….

The Final 3K was when coach Bennet from NRC was trying to get us to play a few Games. He said to try and run the next 500 meters at a pace or slower than when we started. So no problem there. Then it was to run the next 500 meters at your best possible pace. I wasn’t really listening (ha-ha) so repeated the last instruction. The next request was to imagine what you would be like at the last 500 meters before the end of the race. I thought of slowing down and crawling on the road….

Holy Moley! I Just had a sip of the Ginger Brew craft beer, it’s so nice! I thought I mentioned I had 3 bottles before now, but can’t be bothered to go back and correct.. Besides its just gone 2.03 am now! I’m thoroughly enjoying writing this report, but there is a point of no return to correct mistakes (or as politicians would call it “oversights”).

And its back to the Gladiator soundtrack where I hear “And its every movement when you strike, as if you where the thunder god itself…” Ah, if only those words would come to me and strike me down before the end of the run. I would be proud and give you all something you would never have seen before (just heard that from my head, honest…).

Back to last 3k, I was a goner to be honest. Groups of runners were passing me as if they had only just started. I tried to keep up, concentrating on their footfall but giving up and repeating it when the next group of runners passed me by. The great news was that I was still slightly ahead of old grey.

Coach Bennet announced that there was only 2k to go and I tried to pick it up to at least to the next corner I could see. I passed that and carried on a bit more. I could then just make out the finish line in the distance about 800 meters away. It was just then that I saw mt wonderful wife waiting along the road to cheer me on. So I just basically huffed and puffed and blew that house down (sorry I couldn’t help writing that)! I crossed the line, had a choice of medals, salmon or blue ribbons, I chose the blue.

I was well and truly spent, but I felt great inside!

I went to look for the refreshments afterwards, water and bananas were the only offerings. I don’t know, but hopefully most of the “donations” went directly to the charities.

After the race I made my way back toward my wife’s car. I felt very unsteady on my feet. There was one occasion where a lady stepped back in front of me to take a picture of a couple of fellow runners holding a RNLI flag (national lifeguards). I apologise saying I’m finding it hard to stop, they reply with “its ok and would you like to step in as well?” I’m on the right if this works (9) Facebook.

I then go back to the car where my wife has bought all the goodies that should have been there at the end of the run. Yes, I feel blessed always.

I had a bit of a rest and a few stretches before getting into the car and heading for home.

I tried to sleep afterwards but was just on a high and looking at all the stats etc.

Its now almost 3am and I have a flight to Spain in the afternoon, so please forgive me if I don’t write the times. I have it all recorded on snapshots but will only do the route here now as a picture. I managed to achieve personal bests in the 5k, 10k, 15k and the 10 mile itself! I feel it’s a great achievement, and that I have to give credit to reading posts from this fantastic forum. Especially to the ones that follow me on Strava and has given me the inspiration to continue on this adventure.

I hope I am awake on time for this flight tomorrow, and continue my plan for the ¾ marathon next Sunday.

BTW Its not my last! I just saw a FB post about a 10 Mile run to and back from Coney Island before the tide comes in run on October 18th. That should be a bit of fun!

Edit..

I forgot to add in last night's ramble to say that the little red man on my watch just beat the grey! I finished the run with a time of 1hr 19m 42 seconds.

[misswobble Marathon in reply to Freecloud]

that was lovely 😀. I really enjoyed reading of your racing adventure 🙂👍

This running lark is about so much more than running. Who knew 😁

I was reminded of Van the Man’s song about Coney Island and his beloved places 😀🎼

Virtual travels brought to us by fellow runners 😍.

I hope you’re recovering well. Enjoy your holiday,and hopefully while lying on some beach in the sun, you can daydream about further running adventures 👍🙂

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Thanks very much misswobble, I never rated running as a hobby/sport and couldn't understand it. My chosen activity last year was road biking. I gota good bike and paid a nice sum for it but have only done 138km... I don't think my wife was too happy but the running just took over. I enjoy both, I don't know, maybe it's because running is all you?

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

What a fantastic race report and an even more fantastic run!!! Massive congratulations to you on all those PBs. Such focus and determination, amazing!!!

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thanks very much linda9389. I think I have the setting of the watch to thank on the PBs and trying to reach that end target goal. I was very determined not to give up.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

Now that’s a race report!!! I am amazed that you could remember so much detail. I try to but then invariably forget something 🙄 Thank you for the mention too, I love reading race reports 🤗

Many congratulations and very well done on all your PBs! You must be thrilled. And well done also on your fab weight loss. That in itself is a great achievement and must make a big difference to your running.

Those loos sound dire though ☹️ wonder what the ladies looked like…..(I don’t really want to think about it)

Have a wonderful time in Spain and I hope you packed your running kit for some running tourism 😎🏃‍♂️

[RunSkippyRun Half Marathon]

That's one great race report. For me it captures how the various events of the day feel so intense / important / remarkable. And congratulations on the PBs and race in general. We passed through Sligo on the way between Donegal and Connemara this summer and will think of your race next time we pass that way. As a fellow big-weight-loss person I guess we may have a similar feeling sometimes of "did I really just do that?!" - for me it's rather wonderful and joyful at a more "advanced" time of life - I hope it is for you also. Happy running 👏👏👏😀

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to RunSkippyRun]

Cheers RunSkippyRun, I guess I was ona high from the run when I wrote it. I here of runners high and would say that I don't get it. But I have written a few of these reports this year and hugely enjoy writing them. I am a very bad verbal talker but am finding confidence in my writing.

I'm running in Donegal on Sunday with the 3/4 Marathon and it seems very surreal at the moment. I have been sitting out in a courtyard area on my own for the evening (after evening meals etc with my wife) and trying to reply to the fantastic reactions from my report. Which is why I like doing them. You also mentioned Connemara, I am seriously considering the Connemarathon as my first marathon next year. It might well be a very hilly one. But it will be grand I take it easy.

I also read your bio and it looks like your progress is going very well.

Please feel free to take a look at any runs you much might feel like you doing next time you are here and I will gladly run with you if I can!

[RunSkippyRun Half Marathon in reply to Freecloud]

It may be sometime before we are back around Sligo (I'm Yorkshire based) but I'll gladly take you up on the offer next time we are over.

[RunningJ123 10 Miles]

I so much enjoyed your report! I had a year in Sligo once, and LOVED the scenery... your post brought back memories☺️

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to RunningJ123]

Thanks very much RunnJ123, I'm glad you liked the report 😁😁, it was a great spot to run in, I'll never get fed up of it.

[nowster Metric Marathon]

Well done! It seems you hit the 7kB limit too! 😆

And it's hard to conceive that Hans Zimmer is the same guy who wrote the theme to the quiz show, Going for Gold.

You've done amazingly. I definitely couldn't keep up 5min/km pace for 10 miles.

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to nowster]

Thanks very much nowster, you kind of spoiled theHans Zimmer bit ha ha. Now I have the gfg tune in my head... I think the watch just showing the finish time wasa great help! I looked at the times for the run this afternoon and realised how hard I was going, especially for the first 5k. I think the year givin training plans may be working. I felt like giving up after the first 5k. Bit, I've done that before and thought no, nows your chance.

What it the 7kB limit?

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to Freecloud]

The maximum text you can enter in a post is 7000 characters. I've hit the limit a couple of times.

[Freecloud Marathon in reply to nowster]

Ha ha yeah! I did it all in Word and tried to paste it... I had to break it into 3...

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

You’ve overcome a lot but look at you now!!!

As you can probably tell, we love reading all the race reports here 😍

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

😂😂