Back in February when looking for a race to do in October we looked at maybe a trip back to Amsterdam for the half was the best option. We then came across Lisbon Rock n Roll and we quickly changed our minds and now this was the one to do. We hadn’t been to Lisbon before and it was €20 to do. Sure you couldn’t go wrong. Flights were booked and then it was time to forget about it for a long time. Of course with the 1st half of the year being a write off for me this was quickly turning into my A race of the year. Having broke the 40 minutes for 10km a couple of weeks beforehand I was finally back in good shape and feeling confident. We had a look at the weather the week before and then realised that this may not be an easy day. But it was still going to be fun in the sun.

We were up early on the Friday to fly to Lisbon from Dublin. Perfect flight and soon made our way to the apartment. It was very fancy and in a great location close to the metro station and easy access to the expo and race from there. After we took a stroll around Lisbon we went for a short jog to loosen the legs. It was a slow steady paced jog but unfortunately for me with about 4km in I seized up. I got a striking pain from my glute into my back. It was a slow slow jog back to the start. I stretched it out and hopefully was only pains from sitting most of the day. We went and got food and settled in for an early night.

Saturday was about the expo. We headed up there and were met with a huge queue. We decided to head to the pub and watch the Liverpool v Man United and get some food. Standing in the queue might have been more entertaining. We were reading comments on facebook of people waiting 3 hours to get into the expo so we were in no rush to join the madness. After a stroll around the shopping center we eventually decided to join it. It was 57 mins from when we started queuing to picking up the race number. A quick stroll through the expo and off we went. Just like everyone else there we were surprised to find that we had no safety pins for our numbers. We joined many others in the search for them in the shopping center. Luckily we found some and then headed back to the apartment. Food and some time in the pub was called for that night. I think I may have eat 2 full chickens, I got a bit excited when ordering but it was good food.

Race Day

Alarm was set for 7am. And we needed that alarm as Joe and myself slept well. Kev had already left for the full marathon and I didn’t even hear him leave. We jumped on the metro and we followed everyone else to the change over and then on to our final stop. We were met with huge crowds when we got there as everyone was waiting to get on the buses to the bridge. We stepped outside and soon realised that there were no queues outside and we jumped on a bus straight away. What felt like a marathon in itself we finally got off the bus and made our way through the crowds to get as close as we could to the front. We didn’t succeed here and there were 1000s in front of us when the race started. It took 7 minutes to get across the start line. But now it was time to put the head down and go for it.

The Race

Putting the head down and going for it was impossible. As the crowds was crazy and with no waves it meant you and so many people in front of you who were at walking pace. I was in and out and around, stop start, slow down speed up, all to try and get out of the crowds. I knew this was a bad idea and normally I’d take the hit at the start but I’d have been there forever if I waited for it to open up. It was just before 5km before we started to come off the bridge and it was a nice downhill curve off it. It wasn’t possible to take the shortest possible route due to the crowds so I had to take the turn wide. Not long after this was the 1st water stop and the only band I remember seeing. Unfortunately this is where the course excitement ended and it was just a large industrial area for as long as I could remember. Maybe it was the mix of that and the intense heat but the wheels started to come off and very rapidly as well. After moving along steadily for 8km my pace slowed but was still under 5 min km up to the 11th km. But then on the 12km I had to give in. I slowed to a walk before stopping completely. I was trying to decide would I walk off or continue. Eventually I convinced myself to use it as a training run and jog it out.

It continued to be slow miles until we got back into the center. I stopped to get a layer of sunscreen put on to me and I knew one of the hardest parts of the course was to come. This was the long drag to the Marquess of Pombal Statue. I stopped at the water stop and a couple of times on the way up. I had nothing and the long drag took it out of me. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other knowing at the turnaround I’d be on the home stretch. Not long after the turnaround I saw Joe on the other side. I gave him a shout and then I realised that was a bad idea. It wasn’t long before he joined me, I gave him the motivation he needed. He ran a more consistent race than me but having him there gave me that extra bit of energy. Our pace increased on the downhill and we were pushing each other the whole way. Neither of us wanted to to give an inch. We were passing plenty along the way. Which made change from the previous 8 km. We were getting close to the end and just before the line I had one final push in me and finished in 1:48:03 and Joe just behind me.

It was definitely the hardest race I had done and was grateful for the ice pop after to cool down. It hit 33 degrees out there and I didn’t race to the conditions. After hanging around the finish line for a while it was back to the apartment to shower and cheer on Kev to the finish of the full. Fair play to him. I jogged some of the last km with him. Total respect to him for finishing it.

After the race we took a trip to Castelo de Sao Jorge. Great views of the city and helped distract from the disappointment of the race. The walk up to it definitely worked the legs even more.

The Good

• Lisbon is a really nice location and I’d like to go back
• The race was cheap to enter
• Getting around Lisbon and to the Expo and to the start buses was easy
• Good atmosphere in the center of the town

The Bad

• The Expo. Both the mess up with the queue and the lack of anything happening there
• No safety pins
• The long trek to the start line on the bus
• The time it kicked off. Due to heat the heat it should have started a lot earlier
• No waves – why ask for predicted time if nothing is going to be done with it
• The middle portion of the race was boring and through industrial part of town
• For Rock ‘N’ Roll I don’t really remember any bads
• Water station to spread out in the heat

Verdict

Would I do it again, no. But there are supposed to be other races in Lisbon that are better run. I would definitely go back to Lisbon but for a global brand to get so many things wrong really surprised me. I know for sure many people will not be back supporting this race

When a work trips falls perfectly with a race it is a sign that I have to do it. The Singelloop 10km was on and the world record for 10km on the road was set here a number of years back. Only issue was that I was flying out the morning of the race so I needed everything to go on time. The day started with a 3:30am alarm clock. I had everything ready to go and I got in the car and drove to the airport for my early flight. Flight was on time and I had 3 seats to myself – a good start. Next was getting through Schiphol Airport and get the train to Utrecht. Best thing about Schiphol is the main station at the airport brings you to anywhere you want and there are regular trains to Utrecht from there. I got my ticket and the next train was leaving in 2 mins. Perfect timing. Before I knew it I was in Utrecht with plenty of hours to spare.

Once in Utrecht I took a stroll around the town and needed to get breakfast. I played it safe and got McDonalds breakfast. The last time I did that before a race I got a PB at the Messina Hof Half Marathon. I then took a stroll to Wilhelminapark where the race head quarters was. I passed the start line along the way and started getting a sense of the course and atmosphere. It was easy to pick up number and things couldn’t have went smoother. The weather was really nice and there was a good buzz around as there was a kids race and a 5km to add to the 10km. With about 40 minutes before the race I dropped off my bag and made my way to the start line. I was in the 1st wave and I moved myself up as far as I could. I stood to the right since I knew the 1st 2 turns were on the right had side. Every second counts 🙂

The Race

So I hadn’t really thought about how I was going to tackle this race. My aim was about 42 minutes because I hasn’t raced 10km in so long and I felt it was a reasonable goal. If things were going right I’d chance a PB which would be breaking 41 mins. As soon as the gun went off any plan went out the window as we all sprinted up the straight with crowds on either side of the road. I really wasn’t expecting much of crows support but how wrong I was. There was support along the whole course and some huge cheering sections which would only help to push me on.

So I quickly got into my rhythm and found a comfortable pace for myself. With many runners around me doing similar pace it was easy to keep that pace going. I went through the 1st 3kms in sub 4 min km pace. (3:49, 3:56, 3:55) My watch was a bit off the km mark so I was hitting the km mark about 50m after my watch. So every time I passed one I was judging to see what my average pace was. In my head I was thinking I’ll regret this later in the race. Considering my most recent 5kms were above 20 mins it may have been a bad idea to take off like I did. I then needed to level out the pace so I put a target of 4 minutes per km and I’ll see how long I could keep that up. Next 2 kms were 4:02 and 4:02, nice consistency there. I passed over the 5km timing mat at 19:55. So even though my splits on my watch were showing that I had more time in the bank I found out after I didn’t. But anyway I was still feeling good at 5km mark. I was half way through and now the thought in my head was that I needed to match that for the second half. It was the 1st time I considered that I could go sub 40.

Consistency was key and my next 3km were exactly what I wanted – 4:01, 4:00, 4:04. Its funny in a way the course is so flat but when you have to go up the smallest of bumps it feels like a mountain. We headed over one bridge and I thought I was going to go backwards and any other day you wouldn’t notice that time of incline. Now here was where I thought I lost the chance of sub 40. I began to tire and the 9km was to be my slowest, it was 4:08 but when I actually hit the 9km mark I was 7 seconds outside 4 min average. The wind started to pick up for the last few kms as well. And at times I found myself at the front of a pack rather than tucked in behind someone. This meant I had to dig deep if I was going to break 40 mins now. Before the race I’d have jumped at a sub 41 but now I’d be gutted if I missed out on sub 40. It was there for the taking. Again the crowds were great here and they really did help push me to the line. There were markers for 500m to go, 400 to go etc and I just counted them down. I lifted my legs and pushed the pace the best I could. The final straight was in site and I went for it, the crowds cheering on I knew I almost had it. And finished with a 3:51 min km. I looked at my watch and it said 39:55. I was delighted. The Tuesday night sessions had paid off. I couldn’t believe I had broken 40 mins and got my 1st road PB of the year.

But little did I know that when my official time came out it was a lot closer than I thought. 39:59 was my chip time. I must have stopped my watch late at the start or too early at the finish but after the buzz of doing sub 40 I would have been gutted to find out after that I didn’t but I just scraped in. Top 100 finish out of almost 6000 runners was a great result overall for me.

Now mind turns to Lisbon Half Marathon in 2 weeks and what I can achieve there. I really need to put some thought in to it and then make a plan of how I’ll race that. One thing for certain though, if I keep fit over the next 2 weeks I’ll be going into that race with lots of confidence. It will be my last big race of the year and since early in the year it would be my A race on the road. Here is hoping I get to the start line fit and healthy.