Notes
Curragh 10km. Multi terrain course. First 2km on gravel tracks then up to about 7km on grass (I think). Then onto roads for the finish. Definitely not a course or a day for PB's It was so windy I was really blown around the place. What you lose running against the wind you come nowhere near getting back with the wind. Still a good race and finished 20th out of 1,218 (mostly fun runners)
Started at the very front as I figured from last years results I wouldn't be too out of place. Focused on keeping a steady pace at the start and let a lot of people move away from me. This really continued for the first 5km where I determined not to go too hard. After 2km on gravel we hit the grass. With the wind on the grass which was nice but I still held back. People passed me and I'd say I was outside the top 40 or more at half way (21.34). Put the foot down in the second 5km but it wasn't easy as it was very hilly and it was tough underfoot (uneven in parts). I passed a lot of people in the second half of the race, some were really struggling – very easy to get carried away running with that big wind between 2km – 5km and they paid the price for it. When we finally hit the roads I was looking forward to picking up some time but unfortunately all the road section was against the wind and included a tough hill as well so the wind was knocked out of my sails pretty quickly. Still kept a strong pace to the finish and put on a good 100m sprint to catch one more guy before the finish.
Overall a good race, tough course and conditions so if I can push myself hard on a day like today I'm confident there's a lot more to come on a good day. No probs with ankle and runners felt fine (no blisters)
Also happy with race management - good negative splits, could have gone marginally quicker in the first 5km but happy:
1st 5km: 21.34
2nd 5km: 20:34