As I only had one run done last week I was a bit worried about hitting the 10 mile mark in my training and probably couldn't have picked a harder route to have done it in (although difficulty is relative to the person doing it I imagine :) )
Anyways I arrive in Galway early on Saturday morning, fully conscious of the fact that the half-Ironman competitors were arriving and was greeted by a form of chaos and cheery individuals all rolled into one. I was even mistaken for one of the athletes doing this incredible feat - which did my confidence the world of good as well as my ego.
 |
| That long long route |
So I got down to the Prom in Salthill, had a quick stretch and off I went. I have to say I was fairly distracted by the activity in Salthill but loved the buzz, plus you could only imagine my envy at the bikes on display as I jogged by thinking "I want one of those". I eventually negotiated my way out of Salthill and off I went, into town and out towards Renmore which is a nice change of scenery for me, even if the inclines killed me a little, but i know thats going to be my weakness when it comes to running, but something to work on in the next year or so. I reached Renmore and turned back towards the roundabout which lead back towards the Headford Road and out towards the Quincentenary Bridge. Out past the hospital i went and out towards Taylors Hill (God I'm really beginning to hate that hill), which is about 10km into my run i slowed to a walk for 90 seconds as the hill finally beat me. That hill is now my challenge to beat in the future, i was not happy having to slow down to a crawl to beat it.
As i finally reached the top of Taylor's Hill I proceeded across to the Knocknacarra road, and plodded along, grateful to finally see the road back into Salthill :) It never ceases to amaze me when you know the end is near that you can find an extra gear in your legs to finish the run. As i landed back at where i started I felt a great degree of satisfaction, even if the walk up Taylor's Hill felt like a bit of cheat in my head, hopefully that was a once off and won't happen again :)
Location: 10 mile loop - Galway City
Distance: 10.14 miles (16.32 km)
Pace: 9:24 p/mile
Time: 1:35:20
Ironman(Not me!!!)
I was lucky enough on Sunday to catch the tail end of the Ironman in Galway on the Sunday, have to say it would inspire you to watch people give it their all for 70.3 miles and the joy on their faces when they complete it.
 |
| One of the many finishers on the day |
Just have to say congratulations to all the finishers and competitors, it was an amazing achievement and would inspire anyone to get out and run, cycle or swim. Well done!!
No comments:
Post a Comment