My third and the final race in the Leinster Champs.
This race was always going to be my going away race before I left for scandi for the international races. The prep for this race was a 3,000m track race in Santry on the Wednesday (only 9:22).
Arrived at the base of mount leinster completely pumped after a 0530 start. As things usually go, if your up before 7 its going to be an epic day.
For the first time all year, the weather is on my side, and none of the big guns have shown up. Mist, rain, wind but warm enough to ware only a singlet. The plan was simple. Pace the climb myself, ignore everyone else and burst my gut on the descent to claim the first losers place in the leinster champs.
Start line, Jane makes it clear that a rain jacket is needed at minimum or your'll be DSQ'd. Seemed like a fair call to me.
Start line, 12:00 and we were gone. Gerry Brady set the pace going up the fire road. I sat in behind. The pace was pretty easy but I wasn't going to do anything stupid (yet).
I was surrounded by North Laois runners. I was vaguely intimidating at first - then I looked down at the shows there were wearing and I resisted the temptation to laugh, road runners for a bog. I'll have fun at the top! I also noticed that none of them had rain jackets - so they were out of the running anyways. After helping Brian on FRG, I was in no mood today to share a helping hand to anyone. Today, this mountain belonged to me.
We tipped along up the road, at the bend I took a glance over my shoulder and the pack was well spaced out, looking down at my wrist, I was just in time to see my Garmin battery die. This was going to be a purest run.
I felt pretty comfortable as we climbed the fire road. The first group was reduced to myself and two North Laois runners. Up and up. One of them panics at a junction and does a bit of a double take. We leave the fire road and we're onto a grassy trail. The lead is chopping and changing. At this point I decided to take the lead. My pace stays the same but they lads are probably sliding in the road shoes.
At the S bend I take a look back. I have a guy on my shoulder and a gang coming around the bend. They don't look comfortable. We pass Izzy and she gives encouragement as always. Arriving at the rocky section of trail I study as much of it as I can to give myself an advantage for picking my line for the descent. If I have a group on my shoulder at this point on the way down, aim right and sprint, on the verge there is some softer ground if I want to bail out. Things are looking good.
The NLR (north laois runner, don't know his name, no results up) makes a break for it. He's only faking. He comes back to me pretty rapidly. Off the trail and onto a more cut up section. I decided to see what he has and upped the pace for a few seconds. I get by him and open up a gap. He's unhappy in the sloppy stuff. I'd use this to my advantage at every opportunity further up the climb. I still felt really fresh. It was an enjoyable mountain run so far. As we climbed further we were surrounded in mist. Looking behind all I saw was white. The race was between me and NLR.
We reached the main ridge line and I put the head down. I was going to be first to the cairn. I didn't care. Today was my day. I was bouncing through the slop. I could hear the nlr's feet splash on the ground. This was my marker to where he was behind me. The wind had picked up at this stage. The visibility was down - I felt at home. We continued to climb. We appeared to be climbing for ages. We changed places every now and then but the pace remand high. I still felt comfortable. It was a strange sensation, knowing in my head that I could take someone on the descent and been completely calm, completely in control of the situation.
We reached a smaller steeper climb and descent, I put the boot down to see would nlr follow me. I opened a gap straight away on the descent. This only boosted my confidence. He closed the gap on me again and sat behind me, allowing me to take the wind. I was convinced he was hurting bad.
Running across a wet trackless section and up through a few more peat hags. The mist was still down. Nrl made a move. I followed, he opened a gap which I struggled to close. The gap was 5m. A seed of doubt creeped into my mind.
What happenes if he was bluffing. What happens if he's making his move now. This pace is beginning to hurt a little. This is actually maddness. Your in shorts and singlet up a mountain in the rain been dropped.
My brain countered it pretty well - Yea, we're on a mountain in the rain in shorts and singlet - but we ain't been dropped. Where are you in the LC standings - your fucking second. The only reason your second is because your a nice guy. Therefore, your number one. You had Brian beaten but you didn't put the foot it. Yea he's climbing well, but look at what you have to come down through - no one will hack it at pace. You can give this guy 10mins at the top and you'd catch him on the line. Look at him now, he's struggling through the peat, his line is completely wrong for this terrain. He's watching the flags, not the ground. Finish this, NOW.
My legs suddenly felt as if I started running 30secs previous. I let him have he's 5m. It gave me a chance to survey the ground in front. Brendan comes down and says 3mins to the top. Climbing climbing climbing. We hit the peat hags, I go forward and make my move at the metal wire holding the mast up against the wind. First to the road, we go different sides of the big puddle. I make the turn up around the corner of the fence first. I can see the cairn silhouetting out of the mist. I look back, see I have a small gap and put the boot it. First to the cairn, a shake of the hand from Graham (he looks crazier than I expected, probably isn't helped that he's sitting at a cairn on top of a mountain in the wind, rain and mist) and I turn for the descent.
The rocks coming off the cairn move slightly, I get a small fright but I reach solid ground and take off. I'm in my own world. Its me versus the mountain and I wasn't in a mood to lose. I reach the road and sprint straight down the middle. Through the puddle and dive off the road into the peak hags. I run straight, as hard as I can. I was in a flat out madding sprint through the peat. Only one route choice, straight. I up my pace and its just perfect fluid descending. I was so focused I don't even remember passing runners. It was just a matter of driving the pace as much as I could. I had to slow once as a climbing runner attempted to avoid me but stepped into my line.
I remember a couple of rocky sections that I just danced down. My rain jacket was bouncing on my back. I ripped it off over my head and ran with it in my hand. On reaching that flat trackless, featureless section I was no longer runner, it was more floating. I was wondering where Brendan was, and as if I knew he was there he appeared out of the mist. Up the small rocky climb, getting a hand from the wind as it pushed me up, around the massive rock feature and then battling into the wind on the short drop.
I reached the turn off from the ridge and I knew I had the race won. I splashed happily through the puddles. I was just going through the motions. My mind began to drift. I had a sudden urge to go to the jacks. I was racing past knee deep heather. Suddenly realised I was no longer running. I came to my senses and realised I was face down on a rocky trail, I lay there confused for a split second. Not entirely sure what had happened. I was shocked. Had I fallen! I never fall. Of course you didn't fall I told myself. Then why are you lying on the ground... oh yeah! This is weird! I stood up, did a 360 degree turn, realised I had stopped running and took off again. I felt kinda dizzy and was concerned that I may have actually fallen and hurt myself badly. My head was ringing. I decided that I did have to stop and go to the toilet. I ran off the trail by 20m or so and attempted to untie my shorts. After a few seconds I couldn't untie them so I decided I'll go when I get down. Back to the track and I still had that weird sensation of dizziness.
I felt my toe hit a rock and I was whipped back to my senses as I hit the ground hard. Cutting the left side of my body. This second fall snapped me out of my daydream state. I was suddenly hypersensitive. I paniced, I had lost a lot of time. I was back on my feet in a flash. My rain jacket in my hand saved it from been gouged open by the rocks, but was now saturated from the stream/track mix. I had reached the section of rocks, stuck to the line and flew down. At the S bend again, I looked behind and all I saw was empty mountain side. I knew my gap was still big but I was still nervous of been caught on the fire road. Down the grassy bank. Opening up my stride. The first track junction.... still running hard. I took another glance behind me, I could see plenty of fire road and no runners on it. Perfect. Down through the first bend, second bend in the road. Out of the forest and I could see the farm house. Game, set, match O'Cnoic. I upped the pace anyways. I was flying down the road. The usual thoughts went through my mind. I was delighted with the win.
About 200m for the line I let out a scream in triumph. According to Izzy, she heard me scream, went, Oh, sounds like Colm. I think he's probably won - she was in her car in the far corner of the field.
I rocked across the line in 59:59 and through my rain jacket on the ground in the puddle. Spend a few seconds shouting and cursing everything in the valley. I was pretty pleased with first loser in the Leisnter Champs for a first year mountain running. I was even more happy when I heard I had finally managed to take a record :)
Learned a valuable lesson on the mountain - Don't fall, you'll only hurt yourself.
