Breaking 40 - Deirdre Brophy's Sub-40 10KM
 
For me, the details of what happens between the start and finish of a race can be a blur. But I do remember how I got to the start line of the Conamara 10K, on a perfect day for running, reasonably confident that I could get around the course in under 40 minutes.
 
In April 2013 I resumed racing after baby number 2. I was gunning to get back to where I was six years previously (around the 42 minute 10K mark). I thought a few months should do it, but getting any sort of speed back took a lot longer than I expected. That much lauded post-childbirth endurance boost seemed to completely pass me by. Any physiological benefits of increased blood volume or enhanced pain threshold were counter-acted by sleep deprivation and ever increasing demands on my time. I managed to cobble together some sort of training routine (essentially, bolting out the door whenever I could). With little time to be sensible (i.e. stretching, strengthening and resting), I soon got stuck in a cycle of slow progress, followed by periods of over-enthusiasm, followed by injuries that took me back to square one.
 
By 2014 I had abandoned all time targets, my goal for that year was to stay injury free. I made the time for regular yoga classes and took up TRX (with James in bikefit). On mature reflection, I now swear by this approach! By the end of that year I was bendier, stronger and had reached my modest goal to avoid any running related niggles. I’d also managed to get a little faster through consistent uninterrupted training. I was patiently biding my time….
 
In April 2015 I finally got back under the 42 minute mark and felt ready to start chasing some PB’s. I checked in with Matt at fitness analytics for a lactate threshold test. Armed with lots of great advice on heart rate training, I started to up the ante. That summer I managed to beat my younger child-less self which gave me more than a little satisfaction. As I watched my times drop in training and racing I started to wonder if a sub-40 10K was a realistic goal.
 
2016 was the year I was to turn 40. No better time I thought to make it my target. I plugged my goal time into McMillan calculator, I was now armed with equivalent targets for every other distance and as the year progressed I hit them all, 10 mile, 8K, 5K, but the sub-40 10K still eluded me. A few attempts were marred by strong winds and over exuberant starts. The pancake flat Galway Bay 10K was the day before my birthday and the perfect day to do it, but it didn’t happen. So aged 40 years and 6 days I made the trek out to Carna to set the record straight.
 
I’d read somewhere that the course was flat. I had done a couple of triathlons there in the past and it wasn’t how I remembered the terrain, but I buried that and was thankful for a perfect weather forecast. On the start line there was talk of a hill around kilometre 4. I remained calm. There wasn’t a breath of wind, I could do this. I’d spent an hour and a half in the car winding around the roads of Connemara and faced the same again on the way home, I had to make it worth the trip.
 
Off we went. The first kilometre went past in a comfortable 3:55. Kilometres 2-4 were all on target. We hit a fairly noticeable hill between 4 and 5 – my split was 4:15. I furiously chased those 16 lost seconds down the other side of the hill and managed a 3:48 split. Still on target. Another hill at kilometre 9 took me by surprise. At this point I could no longer do the sums. I’d lost 10 seconds, could I get them back? I booted down that hill and rounded the bend to see the finish line pontoon up ahead. I looked at my watch, 38 something, the gap ahead looked less than a minute. I belted on and hit the finish in 39:45. Delighted, excited and relived to finally move on from my sub-40 quest. Earning a county medal was the icing on the cake. Fergal and Niall also landed medals for first senior and first over 40 respectively and there was a (hotly contested) team prize for the Athenry men. Well worth the trip. The Conamara 10K is a lovely race and really well organised by the local hosts, Club Lúthchleas Chonamara. Yes, the course is flat (in parts!), and wonderfully scenic. Next time I’ll spend less time looking at my watch.
 
Deirdre Brophy.