On Sunday I ran my third Rose of Tralee 10k. This is one of my favorite short races, as it coincides with the International Rose of Tralee Festival , so has great support, and a real festive atmosphere. As has become a bit of a tradition, many of my Born to Run buddies dress up in elaborate evening wear for the race, though not me! I was happy enough to run in singlet and shorts, and hoped to get somewhere near my recent 10k PB of All the runners gathered at Tralee Wetlands for the usual pre-race pictures and banter and everyone seemed to be in great form.
There were a few charity groups running this, and quite a few first-time 10k runners. Reigning Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh was also running, and she was kept busy getting her picture taken and signing autographs. Maria has been the most impressive winner of the Rose of Tralee I remember โ a brilliant ambassador for Tralee and Ireland.
As usual with this race, a lot of inexperienced runners burn themselves out on this section, and end up walking some of The Fat Mile.
I found I had burned a bit more energy than I had liked in the first section, trying to get a good position, so I slowed my pace a little here โ I knew that the place to let loose was in the second half of the race, as most of the last 2k was downhill. There is a short switchback on this section, and the climb out of it is quite steep.
I began to feel the strain running up this, and realised that my legs were probably still not fully back from the Tralee k a couple of weeks ago. Still, nothing to do but press on. I found the Killeen Road, the last section north of Town before we turned back towards the town centre, tough enough, but the thought of the nice gentle downhill of Oakpark coming up kept me going.
