Yikes. And other Scooby Doo-esque exclamations. The Omagh Half Marathon is only two weeks away. That crept up quickly. In less than two weeks I will be plodding round the byways and highways of my home town for the fourth time. The course is described as ‘undulating’ which is race organiser speak for hilly. They lie. They always lie. Anything to get the entrance fee from us.
The good news is that this week saw something of a running renaissance on my part. It was my first 40 mile week of the year, capped off by a blustery 10.5 mile effort this morning. My pace is steady, if unspectacular, but I’m aiming at consistent mileage as opposed to breaking any land speed records in the coming weeks. My legs feel okay and I’m sickness free. A relief given the last few months.
I’ve never raced with a pacer before but I’m seriously considering it for Omagh. All I want to do is complete the course in under two hours. That will tell me if I’ve got enough in the tank to tackle the Belfast Marathon in May. A pacer will ensure I don’t go out too quickly and ‘blow up’ before the finish. I’m erring on the side of caution, but I think it’s the right call.
I’ll try and clock up another 40 miles this week before easing off, or tapering, in the days leading up to race day. This year is the 30th anniversary so I’m delighted I’m finally regaining the fitness I require to enter these distance events. I get very anxious before big runs but know the mental and physical benefits far outweigh any pre-race butterflies. I’ll post another running update next week so stay tuned.
Black Thoughts 
Best of luck to you. Your plan sounds solid. Although not a runner myself, a pacer sounds wise.
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Thank you.
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Well done for putting in the hard work.. 😉
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Thank you Lisa 🙂
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Good luck with it 🙂
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Thank you Joanne 🙂
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Seriously? 40 miles a week? 10 miles in a day? You kidding me? That’s bloomin good and I hope you are proud of yourselves. I’m as skinny as a twig yet I cant even do the 5k I’m supposed to do every Saturday. I do half then give up. Funny thing is, people always think thin people are fit – that’s a myth.
There’s a 19 yr old lad who does the 5k in 15.4 mins every week. He trains 3 times a day and does 130 miles a week. Yea…impressive, but I’m more impressed with you doing this marathon. I wish you all the best with it, coz running is very hard!
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Thank you 😊
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Pacer it is! Well done!!
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It sounds like you’ve already done more than enough mileage to ‘get round’, so it will all depend upon how you feel and the pacing on the day. Hilly courses are notoriously difficult to judge, so I hope the pacer does his or her job right. Good luck!
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Thank you.
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A pacer is a great idea, been one, followed many 😬
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Thank you.
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Awesome, good to hear you’re getting back into it.
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Thank you Karen.
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Undulating. I love the word, it’s a word that means beauty to me. That it until I run an undulating course 😂 stick with a pacer is my tuppenceworth, if u feel the possibility that you may go out hard, just go with the pacer. Best of luck! Enjoy it!
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Thank you very much Caroline. I’ll keep you all posted 🏃🏻♂️
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You will do fine.
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Thank you.
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Good luck and have fun. I’m bummed that the Scooby Doo stamps keep selling out at my local post office. I haven’t been able to buy any.
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Thank you.
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