Irish Runner timed miles, ALSAA, Wed 27th January.

Looking for a new challenge, I took part in the Irish Runner timed mile on Wednesday 27th January in ALSAA in Santry.  The event had been highly recommended by club star Lyndon Thomas so I was intrigued.  Firstly there was a talk and Q&A by the organisers, Catherina McKiernan and a mile star from the Irish scene who is a sub 4 miler (of course I can’t remember his name).  (Editor’s note: Gareth Turnbull)Some great tips picked up and nerves calmed by their encouragement.  We had a group warm up inside, then out to the bitterly cold track to begin.  The weather was freezing with a biting wind so the experts advised us not that we should expect to be 5-10s per lap slower than on a better night.

The event has groups from 5 minute mile up to 12 minute mile.  Each group has an experienced pacer who helps to keep a good pace to get everyone around in their goal.  The 10-12 minute mile group took off first and as usual in the running community, got cheered around by the others waiting to take part in the faster events.  After a 2 lap warm up and some strides I lined up with the 9 minute mile pacer and we were off.  Our pacer ran negative splits, starting with a 2:25 lap and ending closer to 2 minute.  It was challenging and I dropped off the pacer in the last lap, but rounded into the home straight with a chance to break the 9 minute mile  barrier.  The cheers from the waiting crowd pushed me home in 8:57.  It was over a mile so my watch time for a mile was just 4 seconds off my PR!

I’d definitely recommend this event to everyone!  The encouragement is fantastic and it is fun to see everyone challenge their own personal barriers with sustained speed.  Looking forward to the next events on 24th February and 23rd March to see if I can shave off some seconds 🙂