I returned from the Costa del Sol 3 days before this race and, in terms of fitness, let's say I had been in better shape. Apart from 3 gentle jogs in the 90 plus degree heat and high humidity, I did no other running during my first week away. I followed more of a structure in the second week, doing 35-40 miles and averaging approximately 7:20/mile pace over the week. It was simply too hot to push any harder. I tended to go out shortly after breakfast which essentially meant from at least midday onwards the day was my own.
A perk of now working in Paisley manifested itself in that the day after my return was Paisley Fair Monday, thus, an extra day off. After very briefly popping in to the office to brace myself for the backlog I faced the next day (well, I checked my emails and chatted to one of the bosses), I drove to Dundonald for my long run and a pre-race recce. I covered 13 miles comprising the race route and a small section of the Smugglers Trail. After maintaining a reasonable pace on the road, I toiled in the trail, posting a couple of 8 minute miles along the way. Still, a good one under the belt.
Onto Wednesday and I returned to the village for my 11th attempt at the race. I got there an hour before the 7.30pm start time and decided to park up and get a breather before registering. Dozing off for 15 minutes probably wasn't a good sign. I had a bad dose of post holiday blues. Still, it freshened me up a bit and I got prepared for the very familiar challenge ahead.
The field of 199 runners, with large Ayr Seaforth and Kilmarnock Harrier contingents, were set off bang on time for the initial ascent up Dundonald Main Street and the climb towards Symington. Anyone who has been reading my previous 2 accounts of this race will know the drill by now- hilly first half and fast, flat second half. I felt very sluggish and was basically blowing out my backside all the way to Symington. I had a ding dong battle for the lead with Kenny Neil (Ayr Seaforth) who put up a determined challenge, causing me a lot of discomfort. As we approached halfway, he was still in my slipstream. The hills hadn't come to my rescue like they often have in other races. I went through 5km in 18:20. Even allowing for the undulations, this was considerably down on my pace in previous Dundonald outings.
With almost all the climbing out the way, I dug deep on the road out of Symington, trying to find another gear. A 3km split of 9:43 finally took me clear of Kenny and I passed 8km in 28:03. Determined to give myself some cause for optimism, I kept pushing. I maintained the surge until the last climb to Dundonald Castle then lap of the playing fields to the finish, all of which I negotiated on wobbly legs.
|Above: coming into the home straight, tired and relieved in equal measure.
I had produced 15:31 for the second 5km which brought me the race win with a final time of 33:51, 1:43 down on last year but not surprising in light of my comments at the beginning of this post. Kenny came through in approximately 35 minutes, showing that my increase in pace had been extremely necessary to shake off his threat. Stuart Murdoch (Kilmarnock Harriers) edged a close battle for 3rd in 37:10. For the ladies, Laura Wallace (Ayr Seaforth) took the honours in 16th overall with 39:42 ahead of her clubmate Gael Riddle (44:02) and Maria Doherty (Jog Scotland, 45:29).
After exchanging handshakes with a few runners, I cut a relieved figure as I posed for photos with the trophy (it's handed back after the photoshoot sadly but I did take away £40 prize money) taken by the Dundonald Highland Games organisers and The Ayrshire Post. A painful mile jog warm down afterwards then it was homeward bound.
This constituted a good "see where I am" type race and served to give my heart and lungs a good jolt. I went on to complete a 50 mile week off 5 days of running to round off my first week of preparation for the Copenhagen Half Marathon on 13th September. I felt in need of the break in July and now feel better for it. Onwards and upwards.
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