Slievenamon

After my adventure all the way up to Annagh Hill the previous weekend, it was time for Slievenamon, a mountain visible right from my family home.

My local mountain

I’ve climbed Slievenamon more times than I can remember, especially over the past two years. It’s a proper mountain climb — a constant incline all the way to the top. In the past, I’ve climbed it up to seven times in a single session to train my endurance and mental toughness.

Helping

As soon as the event looked to be rubber stamped as an official race on the IMRA site, I had to put my name down as a volunteer. Few people running the race would know the location better than me, and living only a few minutes drive away, I’d have added flexibility if needed. While I was definitely due a volunteering shift anyway, I felt a personal duty when it was this close to me.

I have a lot of respect for people who manage other people, as it’s not something I’m skilled at. I’m good at managing resources and solving problems. I’m more of a soldier than a general. People are fickle, and can be unreliable. I love people when it comes to social interaction, but when I want to get something done, I tend to have the most success when I do it myself. I do things fast, reliably, and efficiently. I rarely dawdle, as I have other stuff to do afterwards. For this reason, it would probably irritate me to have to be a race director, as I’d have to depend on too many others.

I put myself down as a race marker so, but in reality, a bunch of us marked it. I went for a trek around the route myself three weeks out from the race, and then with a few of the South East crew a week before it. There were to be three separate routes — the standard IMRA race route, a short route, and a junior route. The junior route would not go up the mountain, and would instead cover part of the trail around the mountain, before looping back. Both of the senior routes would climb to the summit via the traditional route from the Kilcash side. The short route, which would also be a European qualifier, would just go as far as the first pile of rocks at the summit, before returning the same way. The longer route would go a little farther to the big pile of rocks at the summit, before crossing open mountain through a sea of ankle-gobbling heather to another summit called Sheegouna. After this, the route would follow a fast grassy contouring trail, before one last climb onto the main trail, and then back to the start. It was set to be a lovely multi-phase route.

The evening before the race then, a bunch of us went up the mountain to actually mark out the route. In all honesty, had I not put myself down as a race marker, the race would still have been marked without any problem. I was a small part in all of this, thanks mainly to the rest of the crew being so helpful. As much as I often find people unreliable, if anything, there were more than enough others willing to help here. Still, I hope I contributed something to the race marking. I felt like I could bring some local knowledge of the mountain, as well as race mentality experience. Hopefully I got some of that across. I had a good time with the guys marking the routes on the Saturday evening either way.

Race day

I was up to the venue nice and early to help out on race day. The fog was thick and the rain was spattering down. It was definitely looking like a call would have to be made to use the backup route for the regular IMRA race. It wasn’t too cold though, so that was a big positive.

I had no real ambition for this race. I knew I’d be running about the mountain the evening before, as well as on the morning of the race, neither of which would be ideal preparation for a race like this. I hadn’t really prepared in terms of nutrition either, apart from my usual pre-race snack. Two days previously, on the Friday, I unexpectedly had to knock out a sub 25 minute four mile run through Limerick to get to my drivers’ license renewal appointment! Even if I was fully prepared, I knew this race would be well beyond me due to the standard of runner it would attract, and so it didn’t bother me to be unprepared. Still, I was going to give it a fair go with what I had. You learn just as much, if not more, when you see how you perform in a race you weren’t optimally prepared for.

After running the junior route with a few of the guys to check and reinforce the markings, I came back to the main area to find out the long route had been officially abandoned, and we would use the backup route. The backup route would go to the big pile of rocks at the top, before descending onto the junior route. This would take out the open mountain section, but it would mean the final section of the race was easier to race on. The dynamic of the race had significantly changed. A much more technical section would be added in place of some open mountain.

Looking around at the other runners waiting for the race to start, it was clear there was a different breed of runner here this day. Given that it wasn’t going to be as serious a race for me, I decided to start the race in my waterproof jacket, as the weather looked quite questionable. It would also make for a good test of how it felt to run in it.

The race

The first 30 seconds or so of the race went great. We were starting in the field at the base, which held a constant mild incline the whole way. I had a bit of pep in me once we started, but this quickly fell away within the first minute. My muscles had a feeling in them I’d only had once before in a race the previous year. I’d had a carb-free breakfast, and so my only ingested carbs this day had been an hour before the race. Nutrition timing wasn’t a priority this day, and it showed. I must admit that I was feeling quite deflated by the time I’d left the field. I had that feeling I’d not had in a while — the feeling when a race has already gone irreparably wrong. By the time I reached the gate onto the main path, many runners were already lost beyond the fog ahead of me. I’d had around two minutes now to come to terms with how lethargic I was, and so I started to enjoy myself again.

Oh it felt lovely to be climbing my favourite mountain with so many others in a race. Because I was power hiking some of it, I had plenty time to chit chat with others along the way. I have once jogged the whole way to the top, though it wasn’t any quicker than power hiking parts of it. I just did it to help myself mentally lessen the intimidation of the mountain. Here in the race though, I was happy to power hike some of it.

Close to the top, where the mountain begins to go through a little rough patch before the summit, I saw something incredible. Three of the front runners were already on their way back down, and were going at a pace I might never see coming down Slievenamon again. I’ve come down Slievenamon at pace dozens of times, so I know as well as anybody what it’s like. I feel I’ve earned the right to say what an impressive descent looks like on Slievenamon, and this was that. While I had livened up quite a bit from the chit chat on the climb, seeing those runners really energised me. I’d never seen mountain running like that in front of my own eyes. It was just breathtaking.

I was now up at the summit, and had to make my way over to the big pile of rocks. Visibility had been shite all the way so far, and the summit was even worse, due to the lack of an incline to give a sense of direction. I made it to the big pile, and once I circled it, a real smile came to my face. It was literally all downhill from here. My slight lack of power would no longer matter.

I powered on down so. The poor visibility didn’t help, as it was hard to take huge strides when you were only three or four good strides from the horizon of the fog. It did make those front runners I passed earlier all the more impressive now though! As I knew the mountain well, I could still flake down at a decent pace. I had one small slip on the way, but it was controlled, and was fortunately on slushy ground. It was once of those that made me chuckle rather than moan. I was well out of the race at this point. A couple of Mooreabbey Milers runners flew past me a little farther down, and that made me realise that I probably was taking the descent a little too cautiously. Still, there was nobody visible to chase, so it was hard to pace this descent.

Once at the bottom, I was directed onto the junior route, and here was where I had the most fun. This really was a race of three very distinct phases — a relentless climb, a relentless descent, and then a flat but technical run through mud, rocks, and heather. This was the kind of terrain that I was quite poor on up until only a few months ago, but I bossed it here. In this 15 minute section, I clawed back have a dozen places, including one final guy in the field right at the end. I finished 25th in the end, my lowest ever IMRA league race, but I’m okay with that. I wouldn’t have done much better though even if I was taking it fully seriously from the start, as the quality of opposition here was way above me. I really enjoyed having my usual strong finished though, and that always makes me leave a race happy.

Some for the front runners were actually back to the finish line before I even reached the summit. There are now a few rapid Strava segments there on my local mountain that I can spend the next few years trying to beat!

That gap

Mountain running is my second favourite thing to compete in. Obstacle course racing is my favourite. It’s my raison d’etre — the driving force in my life. If where I live or where I work compromises my ability to compete in OCR, I will change one or both of them. I’m quite fortunate in that I’m among a bunch of around a dozen in the Irish OCR community, who on any given day, can come out on top in a race. The difference in quality at the top in Ireland is small enough that it generally comes down to who’s in the best condition on a particular day. On an OCR course, I’ve as good a chance as anyone else of hitting the podium on any given day. There isn’t a level of OCR athlete in Ireland above that dozen or so. If all of the best OCR athletes in Ireland show up at the same race, I’m still in with a shot. It’d be a very tough race, but I at least stand a chance.

The same can’t be said for trail and mountain running though. On an average day at an IMRA race, I’m there or thereabouts near to or on the podium, be it a fast race, or a longer one. If a lot of the absolute top mountain runners in Ireland show up at a race though, I have absolutely no chance whatsoever. I came 55th out of 88 runners at Carrauntoohil last year, due to the quality of opposition, and not due to any mistake of mine. Disregarding in-race disasters, which I’ve had a few of, my lowest finish in an Irish OCR since I started taking it seriously two years ago is seventh.

That’s the difference. There are mountain runners in Ireland I will never come close to surpassing. Even if I had the time and resources to do so, I couldn’t, as I have to optimise my fitness profile for OCR. Don’t get me wrong though — even if I was completely focused on mountain running, the gap between myself and the guys who finished on the podium at Slievenamon would never be fully closed.

Seeing a gap like that in a race made me appreciate my OCR efforts all the more, and it’s also reaffirmed my determination. I am fortunate to be in a position where I can challenge in every Irish race, no matter who shows up. The same isn’t so for trail and road races, even though I can find little successes here and there. I could take my eye off of OCR for a few months, and let the dozen leave me in their wake, or I could stay focused, and potentially edge my way out in front. Unlike my other racing, this is at least in my own hands in my opinion. I’ll succeed or fail through my own actions. I don’t want to wake up at 40 wondering what it would have been like had I put in a little more effort at the time. In fact, I’d much rather wake up at 40 with a few long terms aches from trying too hard. Go hard or go home.

Time for a quick rest

I had the day booked off work after the race, as I knew I’d be tired from a busy weekend of running, marking, and racing, and I judged that well. I really was wrecked after it all, and needed a little break. I decided I’d do a light run on the Monday morning, followed by a light gym session, and after that, I’d take Tuesday and Wednesday off from training completely. My achilles has been a little sore recently, possibly as a side effect from all my progress on hill work, and so it needs a little rest too. I don’t believe in ever taking full weeks off, and to be honest, I can’t bring myself to do it. There’s a fine line between training too much, and not working hard enough, and I always err on the side of more effort. I’m not saying that’s objectively the right thing to do, but it’s how I’ve found success, and it’s my way. I occasionally have very light weeks, but that’s about it.

This is a year of three phases for me. With Slievenamon finished with now, that’s the first phase done with. The next phase begins in a little over week with an IMRA race at Brandon Hill in Kilkenny, and will largely be an OCR phase, along with the MMRA Summer League midweek races. The OCRs along the way in this phase will start off lightly with Croghan Hill, but will then step up big time for Europe’s Toughest Mudder, the Irish Spartan event, Hell & Back, and Tough Mudder Ireland. Gym training will change quite a bit from next week, with me moving to quicker and lighter movements, after almost four months of building strength. August is usually relatively quiet, and so it will act as a break between phase two and phase three, which will include the late year OCRs like Reign of Terror and the OCR World Championships, which I’ll hopefully qualify for. This year is looking far better planned out than 2017 was.

And so that sums up the latest race, and my latest ramblings. Running my local mountain was a glorious experience, and I’m glad I finally got the chance to do it. A  lovely experience all around.

For anyone looking to get into a bit of trail running, have a read of my post on the topic, which is part of a series of posts aimed at getting people Tough Mudder fit in time for Tough Mudder Ireland’s July event. Use code TM18PAUL for a discount.