Run In The Dark 5K - The First Back

 

Was it nerves, was it anxiety? I don't know for sure, but Tuesday night, I was trembling as I walked from home down to Dublin Dockland. This was it - My first time back as, loosely, a runner - a racer! yes, it was to be an actual Race Event - The Dublin Run In The Dark 5k - A great charity event, and one I have taken part in, in years gone by. But, for me, it's been a while. I won't bore readers with my history, but my last "Race" was the Raheny Shamrock 5m in January 2019, and a heck of a lot of water had travelled down the Liffey and under many bridges since then - But here we were - I was walking down to the Gathering, and was about to re-enter the world of Taking Part - Yes, I was nervous, yes I was anxious, and boy was I trembling.

OK - Let me be honest, I had no conception of what I could do on the night. My limited re-training, has been just that - limited. In my head, I wanted to run 25 minutes- Yeh! - Why not? - That's what I was running back in 2016/17 - I can do that - Can't I? - Well, that was my head, the bit of my head that lives in dream world. Thankfully, these days, I'm realistic about what I am able for - I was looking at somewhere between 33 and 35 minutes - Times that would have seemed pedestrian to me, only a few short years ago, but today, seemed just attainable, if things went well. My fingers, and toes were crossed.

I met up with a few friends from my Rin & Beers Running Group before the race, and despite the name of the Group, they are all good runners, with their own goals, all superior to mine, with the one exception, we all wanted to do well. There were a lot of people milling around the start line at the Point (3 arena), and I said goodbye to my friends as I lined up near the back of the starting pens - I knew my limitations...  It was chilly, people were chatting with their pals - My nerves were getting to me - Why? I have raced so many times over nearly 40 years - why was I so tense as we waited?

Finally - We were off - A mass crowd strung out across the narrow road before we hit the Riverside, and a little bit of space. I knew I needed to keep the pace easy - I tagged onto "The Pony" - an old trait from Marathon days years ago - Catch someone running a similar pace, latch on behind, focus on them rather than yourself, and follow that Pony (For those still not comprehending, it's a Pony Tail of a runner ahead, 95% of the time female, and it helps to follow a swishing tail, taking the focus of yourself - probably not woke in 2023, but give me a break, it''s been a while!).

I stayed with "My Pony" through a tough first Km, - almost 7 minutes! Oh No! - The second Km was more productive, still with my fellow runner, and this time, the rhythm had set in, and I was feeling more comfortable, faster - 6.29 - Easing in...

We crossed the river, back into territory well known to me, having lived in this part of the City between 2006 and 2009 - on towards The Ferryman. my old local, and a HUGE shout-out for Jane, one of our Running Group, spectating their - It certainly gave me a HUGE boost, 3 km next up, 6.13 - I was feeling good - Keep it going - The long drag down John Rogerson Quay - The Sharp Turnabout Hairpin, back along the River - and 4 km - YES! 6.07 - I was heading for under 33 - And now, into unchartered territory - Post 4km outside... Would I survive?

I have (had) a tendency during the later stretch of a long training run, or even a marathon, to count out the strides, knowing how many strides constitute 50m, 100m, am I getting near the finish - Not something I can recall using in a 5Km Race, but I was doing it now! - And it worked - it took my mind off the fact that my legs were starting to feel the run - As I said at the start - It's been a while - But, I dug in... I can do this - I really can - I was nearly in tears as I turned off the quays - the finish line in sight, although why wasn't it getting nearer? It seemed an age, and my ancient (and under-trained) legs couldn't kick any faster, but after what seemed an age, the Finish Gantry was there _ I had done it - I had finished ! - My first Finish Line in 58 months - It was complete. - 

Officially, my time was 32:04 - that last Km on my watch was 6:01 - I finished 1093 out of 2105, but I don't really care, where, or even when - I finished - Thank you body for not giving up on me - Fingers, and toes, crossed, the first of many more to come -