PM: Yoga, Eyes Of The World
My knee felt better today but I decided to take another day off and just do yoga. A wise decision given the snow and ice that still lines the road. I believe the State of RI has no money left for satisfactory snow removal. Tough times indeed.
It is great to be back in routine and I am looking forward to tomorrow morning when I start running again. I have decided to run World XC. I was opposed to this initially but given the fact that my knee did not worsen after the 12k and given that my opportunity to race at this level is dwindling I thought why not. I can compare myself to the US and UK boys along with some Europeans that I will hopefully have to race in December.
The national champs was a real confidence booster for me. I did not run the three days prior to the race and did very limited running before that too. After Armagh my knee started bugging me and it got significantly worse after the Ras. I knew that I would feel it in the 12k but my tactic was simple. Go out and run hard, get the blood pumping and the head spinning so that knee pain or any other pain would be non-existent. The only pain I would feel is oxygen debt and that is exactly what happened. I went hard from the gun and I was in some discomfort early. Vinny took over the lead after a lap and a half which allowed me to catch my breath. I moved back in front after about 800m of Vin pulling us into lap 3. I then lead for the next 2 laps before Mark Kennelly passed me. Again I sat in for half a lap to gather my thoughts and to prepare for a final long run for home. So with 3 to go I passed Mark and put in my hardest lap opening up about 8-10 seconds. We stayed this far apart for the rest of the race until about 800 to go when Mark really put the moves on. I was hanging on but I knew that I would not allow anyone to pass me. It made for a great race and the crowd was really into it, especially considering Mark is a Clonliffe Harrier and the race was run at their club. I hung on for a 3 second win. Mark ran really tough and is coming into good form under the tutelage of Mark Carroll. He will fly this year.
I know that the Irish champs are not exactly NCAA's but for me it is a real high to run and win at this level. Its a pretty big deal back home and great for my small running club. Obviously if Fagan was there he would have destroyed me. I think Andrew Ledwith would also have taken me down. Cragg is a class act but I am not sure if he likes 12k in mud based on his run last year. Maybe young Dave McCarthy would have posed some problems and Mark Carroll is in great shape but really thats it. I still think that for where I came from 4 months ago I am in a great position to say that had everyone run I still may have hit the podium placing. I have developed the ability to hurt myself more than I used to. I think pent up frustration over years of injury has given me this new found pain barrier.
My next race is the Boston Ras Na hEireann 5k. Myself and Carroll will run it and a nice snappy race 2 weeks out from World XC is perfect. After Jordan I will run a 10k in Dublin before returning to the States for another training block.
Tomorrow I am going back into Reebok for an interview of sorts. I have a Job offer so I am excited to hear more about it. The boys at RTE got it wrong when they said I was back working at Reebok. I told them that I MIGHT be back but with all the good energy and talk coming out of my mouth it was construed as positive and they published that it was a done deal!
Finally, a quick word about the guru, Ray Treacy. I am not bragging about my coach but what a month he had in February. Briefly, here is a list of his athletes accomplishments over the past 30 days,
Ro McGettigan, Mile 4:30, Irish Indoor Record
Mary Cullen, 3k 8:44, Irish Indoor Record
David McCarthy, 3:57 Mile
Hayden McClaren, 3:57 Mile
Dom Channon, 7:58 3k, NZ Junior Record
Kim Smith, 5k 14:39, ridiculously fast time, 4th fastest indoor woman in history
Not to mention my own good running, Danette Dotzel putting together a fantastic Big East and everyone at PC running great. Well Done Ray!
Peace and Love
Kel
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