I experienced one race cancellation before this year. It was NYC Marathon in 2012 when I was in Orlando soon to fly to NYC to take on the race. I was devasted at the time but still made most of the time there and had a great time with Martha, Oliva and Rob. But this year we have all experienced more than once. We had races that were cancelled early, such as Dublin and the likes of Ironman Cork which took a bit longer. It meant it was hard to focus on training as in the back of your head the race might go ahead but deep down you know it wasn’t. I lost count of the races I had cancelled on me and knew I had to do something for myself to keep me going.
How I kept myself motivated
Dublin marathon was also going to be a major goal for me even if I knew I’d be doing it virtually. That was October and as early as March we faced some very restrictive lockdowns, the 1st of which was you were only allowed exercise 2km from home. I surprised myself in finding roads I never ran or cycled within my 2km radius and soon my 7.5km loop became my most run loop of the year. Some things I found that helped me get through those early days were
- 3 of my neighbours and I set up a 10km Garden Challenge where it all had to be done in your own garden. We got so many others involved and even had people as far away as Australia take part
- On what would have been the Cork marathon weekend as a club I helped set up a 26 hour 20 min of virtual relay running where the club them donated money to a local charity. I must thank fellow FrontRunner Becca as I “borrowed” her idea. I got the fun shift of 2am to 4am.
- And the same neighbours were back again to organise Darkness into Light run/walk in our local area. That started an hour just before the sun came up. Again we had huge response to this
- I took part in many Virtual Ironman races to keep me in good mindset which included a number of 90kms on the turbo trainer. Sometimes that wasn’t easy but I did rewatch the ASICS Frontrunner documentaries while on the turbo and they definitely motivated me
- I set up strava segments, so even though we couldn’t run together for large parts of this year we could compete virtually for that crown
- We did some local virtual races, again same course at times that suited you. You didn’t have someone to push you on but there was always a target time to beat
- There were also virtual races such as the ASICS London 10km and the World Half Marathon
- Talking to other runners was a big help, they were going through the same thing and we were able to help encourage each other
- I even took up mountain climbing with family, 3 mountains with height of 838m, 952m and 1039m
Of course all above mentions sport but it would have been impossible to do all of that without the support of Martha. Throughout this year she has always been there to support my crazy ideas and give me the time to train. With a 4 year old and full time jobs it was a juggling act but I will always be grateful for everything she does
I found a race (or 5)
When it looks like we had lost all hope of races 5 came along in quick succession. I should have been training for a marathon but a race was always going to come 1st and I sacrificed long runs for these races. One of the 1st races back was the East Cork Championship, a storm blew in the night before, I had no electricity for almost 24 hours but nothing was stopping me doing it. Next up we had a club half ironman race. It was a lonely day out there due to social distancing rules which meant we had staggered starts but it felt good to race that distance and the club put on a great event. Next I had 2 races in 2 days, a 5 mile road race in Allihies West Cork, followed the next day by cross country 4 mile. A week later I was back racing a sprint triathlon in Mallow. So it was basically a month of no marathon training but I loved every minute of racing. Almost immediately after that all races were again cancelled and it was back to virtual events
My virtual goal race and the never ending course change
Then on to the main event, my target race for the year. As mentioned above training wasn’t really going as planned but I really didn’t mind. Since it was virtual there was no pressure and the main thing was I get out there and enjoy it. I set myself a target of 3:30, it wasn’t going to be a PB but still going to be a tough ask. As a club we had planned a scenic 1 loop that would start close to home and bring up into Waterford and back again. It wasn’t long before we had to scrap that route as we were no longer able to enter another county. We were back to the drawing board. We planned several routes close to home and all within Cork, so this time we felt we had locked in the course. Oh how wrong we were. The government soon announced new restrictions a week before the race, which meant no further than 5km from home. Our course was one large loop which meant we were well outside that radius again. They also brought in more restrictions which meant groups couldn’t exercise together. This left us all wonder what each of our courses would be. I chose an out and back from my house 4 times course. Advantages of this is that I got to start at my door and have a water stop set up that I’d pass on each loop.
For the first time in a marathon I didn’t wear my trusty Kayano. Most of my training was done in them but now it was time to bring out the Metaracer for the big day. Mentally it was tough, trying to break down each segment but with others doing similar course we passed each other every so often and encouragement was given. The weather was perfect, with a slight headwind on the way back each time. By the 4th time the slight inclines felt like mountains and the slight headwind felt like gale force winds. My 10km splits were 49:00, 49:01, 48:59 and 50:32. The last 2.2km was 12:28 so I was slowing down but with only two 20 mile runs done during training I felt that was always going to happen. My finish time was 3:29:59, talk about cutting it close. I feel the Metracer helped me keep a better pace throughout and I will definitely be using them for longer races going forward.
I think the lack of pressure help me reach my goal but I also know what works for nutrition. I feel I got that right for the 1st time. It will be great practice for next year.
So what now
Now its all about winter training. I see a lot of indoor bike work, and dark runs and no races. With swimming pools closed I am still in open water. Before this year I was never in the water in October, now we are mid way through November and I’m still getting in. The target is to keep going in December as well. Who knows yet what next year will bring but one thing is for sure I will be looking forward to getting back to the start line of a race and having crowds cheer you on. But for now the main thing is to stay healthy and get through these tough times.