The Biggest Smile - Part 1

So here I was a little disappointed but relived as I approached the finish line. Marathon number 50 done, my first official Ultra but the wheels had come off big time over the final 6K that I missed my secondary target of 4:10 which I felt was well within my scope. This feeling didn’t last long as once I crossed the line it turned to sheer joy, I suddenly had as Seb put it “the Biggest Smile in Portumna”

The night before

On receipt of an Email prior to the event I soon realised that we could pitch tents the night before the event. This appealed to me as there would be less stress involved in trying to get to the 7AM start if I went the night before. Went to Limerick on Thursday and picked up on of these pop-up tents. As not to look stupid I did a trial run on setting it up. Popup tent does what it says on the tin, but getting it back into the bag took an half an hour to figure out. Arrived in Portumna on Friday evening to see several hotels already pitched there. So I set my minion tent besides Finns minion tent in the shadow of Hotel MacKessy fitted with its own elevator and en suite bathrooms. What a way to relax the night before an event burgers, wine both red and yellow, Mo produced a guitar so a sing-song started. Only downside was the midgets where having a field day on us. Pretty soon we all retired to our respective abodes for the night. Didn’t sleep to well but never do before a goal race any way.

Race Time

Courtesy of Mary Mockett

Up at 5 am got my number, breakfast. Alan Gorski joined me at the table and he was bemused that I could eat so close to a race. Luckily that has always been the case my issues seem to be on other side of that particular equation. Vincent Gutherie had the kettle on and I got a coffee which moved the necessary, a quick warm up and off to the start.
I had initial after a strong finish in The Burren thought that sub 4 was a possibility but the recent heat/humidity had raised doubts on this. I decided not to wear a GPS watch and wear a HRM for the first few laps to ensure I didn’t overdo the effort early. Took off at the start and found myself a bit to close to the front HR showed the effort to be a bit too high ignored it for 1K. It was however still rising so I dropped the pace back. This left me running comfortably with Mark who I meet in Ballyvaughan for the first two laps. Both came in over 25 minutes so I decided that 4:10 would be more likely time. Discarded the HR Strap and picked up the pace from here and try and hold the effort till the end.
My original plan was to bring my Son Christopher with me to act as crew, he neither had the inclination of getting up at 3 AM or coming camping with me for the pleasure of watching his dad run around in circles for the day. So on Lap 3 as I rummaged through my supplies under the MCI table Brenda Barrett Dunphy immediately volunteered to take over the roll. Nutrition for the day was going to be a mix of Jaffa’s and Pringles every second lap. It worked very well, I would tell Brenda what I needed for the next lap and it was available on arrival.

Courtesy of Mary Mockett

Not much to say about the race, laps flew by, the half marathoners soon joined us and the course was now busy. As they passed me it didn’t bother me as I was well in tune with my pace and moving nicely. Briefly spoke with CM from boards where we discussed which was worse been dead or injured, I think we concurred that death was the better option. At around 38K I passed Alan Gorski he was struggling, I was motoring. Passed the 40K mark and I was about a minute up on 4:10 pace but from here on things started to get difficult. Once we passed the 2K marker I really had to grind. My legs were starting to feel dead as doorknobs. Antos friend gave me a lift after this which got me going again until I hit 44K. The cool breeze we had in the morning on the long last kilometre of the loop had suddenly turned into a Calima. This knocked the stuffing out of me. Kept running, I was not going to walk just keep in moving. Hit 45K 3:45:xx on the clock, this meant I needed a sub 25 final 5K, spurred on by the crowd I lifted the pace but once I hit the climb at 1K the pace dropped again to I kept going but the pace was gone from my legs 4:10 was gone at this point. Got to the turnaround looking for coke or anything to lift me. No coke took an orange instead. Started to walk for a bit. Saw Alan coming against me and decided there and then right he is not passing me out so I started running again. Combination of the Orange and the downhill I got up to a reasonable pace but once we hit the 4K again it was a death march to the finish. In my head just keep running while trying to listen for footsteps behind, they never came I crossed the line in 4:12:24.

You can’t be serious

Courtesy of Mary Mockett

I then heard Seb announce over the microphone 3rd place finisher in the 50K. What I initially thought there is a mistake here, but then slowly remembered who was doing the timing. My God the sensation of going from the dejection of missing a target to finishing 3rd from 100 runners in the race was some buzz. Immediately returned to the MCI table and gave my stand-in crew a massive hug. Sheer joy Seb was right I had the biggest smile on my face. Cracked open a can of 95.7% water for rehydration and took my rightful place on the Podium.

Results

Courtesy of Trish Carey

On looking at the results I gained places troughout the race. My last lap was not as slow as I thought on the course and everyone seemed to to suffer to the same degree. I was only 2 minutes outside 2nd place but those 2 minutes where outside my reach. The winner Rory Mooney was of course a country mile ahead and the closest I got to him all day was on the podium.
 
 

 

 

 

Splits for the nerds
0:25:54,0:25:43,0:24:45,0:24:28,0:23:57,0:24:33,0:24:28,0:24:58,0:25:37,0:28:02 4:12:24 3/97

Dumb and Dumber

That’s me when will I learn that I am not made of Titanium. Mile 23 in the lovely surroundings of the Demense of the National Park in Killarney and I am on the floor literally. I have done some hard races before but this is a pacing gig and its meant to be easy. Well it wasn’t and whose fault was that, mine of course. Roll back 2 days earlier, I had overnight accommodation lined up for a change which meant not having to drive down early before hand, that soon change as we picked up an early gig in Carrigaholt for 70th Anniversary of O’Currys GAA Football club the night before the race. Well the early gig turned out to be a late one which meant me home at 4 AM and still having to face into a 2 hour drive to Killarney. A bit more planning and I could have cut my drive in half If I somehow could read ferry timetables correctly. Arrived in Killarney at the appointed time of 8 AM after picking up two hours sleep in the car on the way down. Sure I’ll be grand have done this before. Set of with my pacing partner Norman whos always seemed to be in front of me by about a half a minute. The trick to paciong this race having done it before is to ignore the GPS watch and pace of the mile markers. Memory was a bit fuzzy but it soon came back that some markers would be out and they duelly where. Again don’t press the panic button and I trusted my pace. Ran with Eamon and Cathy and a few more for the first two laps. All seemed to be struggling with the warm conditions and the truth be known I wasn’t finding this to be easy at all. It was only on our third lap when myself and Norman hooked up again and we soon discovered our pacing bands differed which is why he thought I was behind pace and I thought he was ahead.  Third lap however both the heat and warm summer sunshine where finally got to me. Once we came out of Ross Castle loop for the third time I told Norman to hit away as I really didn’t think I could hold the pace any longer. Mile 23 came and I was just basically spent. Considered stopping but then realised I would be left here for a while and most likely have to walk/struggle to the finish anyway. So I just kept going, I could not hold the prescribed pace any longer and wasn’t even bothered either. Luckily we had no pacess at this point and Norman was going to get home on time anyway. Struggle to Mile 25 and discovered I was only down 30 seconds on 3:59:30 band, this lifted me and I managed to get my rhythm going again. We hit 26 where I had caught back up with Norman but suddenly we were down by more than a minute, panic stations, so we both picked up the pace which briefly made me experience a bout of dizziness, then I suddenly remembered that this marker was out last year so I dropped back again and fell literally over the finish line in 3:59:24. Chris clearly seeing I was in some distress helped me to where I could lie down, finally started to come around and a mug of Coffee with some chocolate soon revived the spirits. Quick shower afterwards and I said my goodbyes, still had to face a 2 hour drive home. Got to Farenfore and pulled in, slept for 3 hours in the car best sleep ever.

Winding it up

Mileage that is in preperation for the 50K in Portumna. Started once I cleared the 7 days antibiotic prescription with 65 Miles and two key sessions. 7 miles at HMP and a planned 4 * 5K MP loops on the Royal Canal Marathon. I only managed top complete 3 as the legs go very tired on the fourth rep. Needing to be in good shape for pacing Limerick the next week I backed off the last rep early. The run in Longford was another good event but you would expect no less from Brendan Doyle.

Going Solo

Due to unforseen circumstances my fellow pacer Paul was unable to be my partner in crime pacing 4 hours in Limerick and it ended up me doing the gig solo. I would be lying if I was a little bit nervous doing this for the 4 hour band but clearly the boss had the utmost confidence in me. I had this band last year and it was my third time pacing Limerick. At the start meet with Lizzie again, I think it was her third time in my pace group for Limerick. We had quite a big group form the start and lost a good chunk of time at the start, i didnt panic as the section from Limerick to UL is downhill so its easy to pick back up the time. Went through halfway in 1:59:41. The second half was a new course again but finally I think they have this part of the course got right. I thought that the congection of half coming against us on the out and back along Rosbrien road would be an issue but it wasnt in the slightest. We meet the the start of the half on this section and runners kept to there own sides. Shortly after this we hit the drag up to punches at which point the group discentigrated. I had taken it very easy to try and get as many up as the city section is normally quicker. We passed the 20 mile marker down 30 second but I stil only had a handful of runners. From there to the finish it was a matter of getting those home. Five of the group managed it. Some had hit for home early and where not seen again while others got caught and passed. Nothing you can do as a pacer other then a small bit of gentle encouragment and keep the pace as steady as possible. Crossed the line in 3:59:25 one second slower then last year. Job done.

Number 25

Celebration time in the Geogre for Paula and Desmond recieving their 25th Marathon medals. Not only that but time to congragulate Paula on smashing her PB the week before in Dusseldorf. I quered her about the guy with the balloon who finished with her, so she told me the tale of the 4 Hour Pacer cutting the course and finishing just behind her in 3:56 ish.

Back to Ballybeg

Hill trainig Ballybeg Woods, I do a 1 mile loop with three hills, One long one 400m and 2 very short steep ones (with hand rails). Six reps at 10K effort was the plan, on the last short one of the fourth loop my legs where like jelly so I canned the last 2. Didnt feel disappointed in not finishing the last 2 as this is always a toughie and with 2 marathons in the previous 2 weeks in the legs its best not to totally trash them. Took it easy over the weekend with 9 & 13 at steady pace. Sunday run was harder due to the unexpected clammy day and tempatures in the low 20’s and the hills around Thurles while the young fella and his mates watched the Banner rob Waterford of the League title. Intention was to do it at 8:15 (planned pace for 50K)but under the conditions it ended up been a little over 8:30. Mileage for the week 81 biggest week ever.

Womans Flu

April so far has been as wash out as regards running or training. I got the female version of the Man Flu and was thrown down for the best part of a week. Never in my life have I been so sick and for the first time in I don’t know how long did not run for a full week. After several rants on Face book I got some replies that made me feel much better.
This had an adverse effect on whatever chance I had off getting some faster work done in preparation for the Kilnaboy Ten Mile. I think the Friday before I managed to do 2 * 2 Mile at 10 Mile Pace. Could have done a third but as per usual the after effects of been sick was still somewhat in my chest

Sonny Murphy

courtesy of John O Neill

The morning of the race the chest was still a bit tight, so I decided I would do this at an easy pace. Maybe I would have been best advised not to do it but I just love this race, so I headed to Kilnaboy with best intentions. Got to the start late so I found myself well up the front. Yeah run it easy went straight out the window. As there was a severe headwind for the first 3 miles I found myself in a big group going @ ~ 7:15 pace. Options leave the group and have to work just as hard or stay in it, took the second option. After half a mile I noticed only Mary Cahill (Ennis Track) and a young lad from Fergus AC were the only ones in the group cutting out the pace or doing any work. I made my way to the front and pulled it along for 2-3 minutes, damn hard, however none of the others where even bothered to help out. Really made my blood boil so this just left the three of us cutting out the pace. Once we turned into the tail wind the group fragmented and I eased off. I was not near race fitness and my early endeavours where coming back in spades. Finished with 72:50, over 3 minutes slower than last year in similar conditions. The result has left me in no doubt that I have a lot of work to do to get back to where I was last year. Now even 4:15 for 50K is doubtful in June. Following this I have put together a plan to be in better shape for Portuma and I may throw a race or two in between.

Curragh of Kildare

Courtesy of Stephen Mooney

Marathon number 45 and after last week I decided that there would be some structure to this. I reckon my 50K pace is a little over 8 minute pace. So I decided to do 3 * 5 miles at that pace off 5 min recovery during the race. The Curragh Plains was the destination and been an ex Solider I knew from experience that it was not flat. A lot of the runners on the day where quite surprised at how undulating the course was but I knew better. It was a return to the Curragh Rugby club, last time I was there as a young Apprentice trying to chat up some young Kildare bird in the 80’s. How things have changed. Easy First lap followed by the prescribed session’s over the next 3 laps. For the last lap I discarded the shoes and socks and ran barefoot. It’s a thing I have be doing lately 4-5 miles barefoot around St Flannan’s once or twice a week. It is something I have started to enjoy and tend to run much easier as a result. On Saturday it got some funny remarks from other runners but it felt really good.

not a pluviophile

That much is certain. On a wet Saturday morning I and club mate Paul Conway headed for Killeigh Co Offaly for another 26.2 mile trot. Good to have company again on these drives, as it makes the Four hour round trip a lot easier. As for the race itself I started off at a relatively slow pace keeping in mind I would be doing four of these over the next month. Biggest issue however was that I wasn’t running fast enough to keep warm so I had to pick up the pace in sections. From memory this was the first time I have run a marathon where it had rained from start to finish. I can honestly say I hope it is also my last. Job done in 4:14:05 and went to the local school for a much appreciated cup of warm soup some sambos and of course some chocolate biscuits as well. Also on offer was so more torture in the form of rub downs provided free of charge by Michelle Flynn. On reflection it looked more like a scene from M.A.S.H

Marathon Day 26.2.2016

Once Cezary and posted his intention to run a 28 loop course I had to do it. A marathon with more loops then the Eddie Murphy so I had to checkl out the competition. Left reasonably early but a lot of Roadwork’s on the way up meant hitting outskirts of Ballina at 9:30. Facing a huge traffic jam I pulled up Mrs Google on the phone and found a way around the town and traffic to get me to the star with 20 minutes to spare. Strange to be running on a work day so after dealing with some work calls I went to the start. Briefing was 28 laps of 1524 meters. I asked what was it in yards but Cezary didn’t take the bait. Loop was a nice mix of tarmac and small wooed path section. It did however have three very small but sharp rises one after another. You know the ones that take the stuffing out of your legs. I pretty much ran each loop in Nine minutes as was glad to finish in 4:08:43. More Tea and biscuits again afterwards and I wished those taking part in another 3 marathons over the weekend the best of luck.

A new PB

I set a new PB on Sunday well a pretty soft one at that. I have never an a 5 Mile (8K) race before so even if I crawled it would always be a PB. This is part of the Run Clare Series and I had promised Paula I would pace her for a shot at sub 40. On raceday she wasn’t confident and said anything under 43 minutes would be a PB. It was a lovely day for it, PB running weather. We got caught a little behind slower traffic at the start but no panic hit Mile one in 8:30 and Mile 2 in 16:50. I slowly picked up the pace until Paula was no longer talking. This got us to Mile 3 in 25:00 flat. I tried to pick it up again slightly but her breathing was becoming very laboured and she was starting to drop back on the hills. For the next mile the pace was about 8:10 or so, we hit the final mile which has a climb before getting a downhill to the finish. Paula had mentioned this several times in the race and once we hit it again the pace dropped. I tried to get her to attack the hill crest and push on for sub 41. It wasn’t there, she plugged away to finish in 4 or 5 seconds behind me and was extremely happy with her shiny new PB

Holiday Time

While most people tend to struggle to get runs in over the holiday period, I am the opposite. The time that the Donohue clan don't hit the Algarve means a stay at home vacation. This normally involves at some point me running a marathon. I had managed to convince the clan this year to head for West Cork namely Clonakility and by chance it coincided with the Keith Whyte Ultra. The cat was let out of the bag about four days before hand when one of the offspring came across one of the many Team Hoyt posts on Facebook. Anyway a beautiful day, in a beautiful location surrounded by beautiful people. Marathon number 36 in 3:50 with two miles cool down one pushing a chair.

It was great to see Fozzy win the 100K much deserved and his club mate David had a great race coming back from a close DNF to get second. Loads of Marathon club Members got their medals and the highlight been Leo on his 100th as well as the Cake.

Afterwards while waiting 20 minutes for a plate of chips after the race in the Courtmacsherry Hotel, I noticed Team Hoyt in a side room out of the glare of the media. Dick was changing, feeding and generally looking after Rick. Personally I think Eimear Hurley summed this up correctly when she called him a remarkable Father.

Next phase

I have been loosely following a program form Italian coach Renato Canova. There is really no set program like HH or P&D and most of his online posts on sessions relate to elite runners with not very good English. So looking at various internet resources I have based them against time. A Two hour session for an elite is a Two hour session for me, mileage and paces will vary. My recent 5K time puts me able to at least train at sub 3:10 pace for an Autumn Marathon. Hopefully the gods will shine on me and that will be the result but I won't say no to a sub 3:15 if that's what pans out. So I downloaded an excel spread sheet courtesy  of T_Runner on Boards or whatever he is called now. My aim for the next Six weeks is to do a mix of shorter faster session midweek with the longer slower ones on the weekend. In between will be 5 mile or 4 & 7 Mile recovery days.

First up in Clon on the Wednesday was 7* 1K @ 6:35 pace with 1K recovery @ 8 minute pace. All Recovery intervals in this phase will be ran at 8 minute pace. On paper this looked hard but I nailed it and was really pleased that this was done given the race on Saturday. The following Saturday I did 3 * 5K @ 21:49 with 1K recovery again at 8 minute pace. Horrible wet and windy day but nailed it again. These 2 sessions really gave me confidence about the remaining sessions in the coming weeks. 22:00 was my 5K PB only 3 years ago now I was stringing 3 of them together in a session. Tougher ones to come but I feel I have step up to the plate and will get through them.

Up and Over

Marathon De Escargot’s in Portarlington was the destination for my latest Marathon. Having meet Mark chief bottle washer for the day on the course in Dublin twice, once as a runner and secondly as a DJ I felt it was time to participate in his event. This event’s funds go 100% to charity so I was happy enough to part with the few €’s and once I got an accurately measured course with a bit of grub afterwards was all I was looking for and that's what I got.

Pre Race

Unfortunately this race coincided with Willie week. This normally means gigs in Milltown Malbay into the early hours. This was the case on Friday night got home at 4am so the decision to get the train to this race was a safer option then driving as I could very well fall asleep at the wheel on the return leg. Train from Ennis would get me to the start with 20 minutes to spare. That's if Irish rail play ball. They didn't, I had to change and Vaseline up in the bog of the train, which was a new experience. Train arrived in Portarlington @ 9:15 and even with the short walk to number pickup it was 9:20, ten minutes before the start. This still left enough time to meet with some old friends, Eamon who I had not meet since his Dalmatian Run in November was about to try a Marathon again as well Frank, John, Dipak, Leo and Patrick the Belgium.

Race Time

Soon we set off. Water was in short supply for the first 3 or 4 miles and of course it was the one time I was thirsty. Plenty of water and fruit, jellies etc. after that. Todays race plan was, 4.5 Miles Warm Up followed by 4 sets of 7:10 min pace for 2 miles and 8:00 min pace for 2.5 miles. Race went pretty much to plan expect the third set was into the wind and when we turned out of it, I was expecting a cross/tail wind, but it was still in my face, a bit demoralising but toughed through it. The marshals where great along the way and passing/catching runners makes this type of session easier to do in a race then on ones own. Finished the set and after 1-2 miles easy picked up the pace to roughly 8 minute pace again to finish in 3:36:34. Medal is class acts as a bottle opener as well. T-Shirt was cotton, in fairness the organisers where trying to do something different with this, I would prefer none and give more funds to the charity.

Tea Party

Got my cuppa tea and several (packets) of Custard Creams. The girl doing the tea/food was solo which didn't help things but it turned out there was a valid enough reason for this. Having been involved in organising club races I get what happened. Traffic on the course meant runners safety was far more important then the speed of tea pouring. I still got a good feed so no complaints here. Not a photograph of me to be found must start wearing a pink running gear again.

Travelled home in the company of Club mate Antonio who failed again to go sub 3:30, but as he said he was in a better state afterwards this time. His time will come in Dublin.

Overdue

A little guilty of not writing here in a while. Have been meaning to post but things like work have got in the way. After the initial disappointment in Boston I have now come full circle and realised (with the help of some respected runners) that it was a pretty good showing. Buoyed by this I have now got the bug for racing back big time and have every intention of improving over all distances and ultimately an Autumn Marathon. This will preferably be Frankfurt but work situation may dictate Dublin. Regardless of which one to achieve the times I want I have to put in the work. I am going to take a new approach instead of P&D this time. P&D has got me in fabulous shape aerobically but on the last 2 marathon cycles my leg strength was my downfall. This could be due to tired legs or not enough sessions that are specific to the race itself. The basic outline between now and October will be as follows. Between now and end of June I am doing long slow with some very fast short work. Will attack 4 mile and 5K races in this period. July and August I will up the pace of the long runs and increase the distance of the intervals. A few 10K, 10 Miles races thrown in. At the end of August I hope to race a half fresh and then 6 weeks of mainly Marathon Paced workouts and long runs. A Canova type program but I will have to water down the sessions somewhat to suit my ability.

GPS Accuracy

Since Boston I have paced 2 Marathons @ 4 hour pace Limerick and Killarney National Park. Limerick was a straight  forward pacing job but Killarney required me to dust down my good old foot pod as the race has a good section of it covered in trees. Anyway both races paced to the usual standard even though I did get a slap on the wrist for losing my balloon in Killarney. I had brought my cheap Soleus GPS as a backup to Killarney but was mostly ignoring it as I was sure it would come up short. At the end to my surprise it showed roughly the same distance as Limerick while all the more expensive Garmin's all came up short. As can be seen below both Limerick (left) and Killarney came up roughly the same maybe the Soleus GPS range is a bit more reliably in not losing satellite connection even in wooded areas.

It just got Better

After the disappointment of not improve my 5K PB. I hit the fairgreen in Ennis for one of my favourite sessions on Wednesday. 1200m repeats of 400m @ 10K pace followed by 800m @ Marathon Pace. No rest/recovery between any legs/sets just one straight up run. As I hadn't done this in a while I decided that 8 repeats would be enough. Set the paces based on the 5K time from Saturday (1:43 and 3:46), and cruised through it. Felt really good and strong throughout and the MP sections normally get very tough towards the end where very manageable so much so I threw in and extra 2 repeats to bring it to ten. I was very delighted with the run and the HR data which I looked at afterwards indicated that I could go much faster/harder. Either I had a bad race on Saturday for whatever reason or it really sharpened me up. Either way things are going in the right direction.

Old Friends

Jack Healy and Larry Rigney are two guys I have great respect for and when I saw that Jack was race director for a  Marathon in their native parish it was first on my list for the year. Never been to the centre of the Universe (Ireland) before and had heard that the course was of a slightly undulating nature neither where every going to put me off going. Plan for the day was decided after I overlaid Seville's Training Program and found that I had ran Craughwell in 2013 with the last loop at Marathon Effort. Was going to give this a whirl today. Friday night family DVD night saw me break out and consume some Chocolate and Coke, I was regretting it on the drive to Killeigh with my co pilot Tom. We got there with plenty of time to spare and time to do some running repairs on an ingrown toenail. This had the effect of taking the heat out of my feet so for the first lap they felt quite numb and took that long to warm up. Myself, Paul Hogan and John set out on the first loop. John had tweaked something in his hamstring during the week and it was still giving him jib after 3 miles. He decided to pull up and call it a day as had bigger fish to fry next week in Donadea. Hopefully he makes it to there. Towards the end of the second lap I saw the error of my ways the night before unfold rather quickly. I had surveyed the first lap and unfortunately there was no adequate concealed area for me to take a dump. This meant making it back to the start area to use modern facilities. Past several people here including Tom and George at somewhere south of 6:30 pace. Hooked up with Paul again shortly afterwards and we where joined by Alan and Cezary. Company was good and miles ticked on nicely until I had another visit to you know where at the end of the 4th Loop. This left me on my own as, and I had no intention of catching the guys back up, saving myself for the last lap. Crossed lap 5 and noted the clock was 3:16 and set about going as hard as I could. It was tough but manageable. Stiff breeze and hills where a lot more noticeable when going that bit harder. Finished out the lap strong to get in under 3:50. Did the last loop 4.4 miles in 33:17 just a little outside 7:30 pace. This combined with my good session on Wednesday Night has convinced me to have another crack at a Marathon PB in Boston.

A New Year a new Me

That is the plan, finally cleared the house of all its Christmas temptations and got back to a good clean diet again. This coupled with my regular Doctor issuing me with NSAID suppositories my UC/Proctics as abated some bit. On the first week I went for one of those talk to myself runs to try and maybe set a goal or target for the year. Its probably something that has been lacking since I ran Seville last February. Okay their is a goal in completing 50 Marathons (24 more) before my 50th Birthday in August 2016. While it is a challenge in itself, in my opinion it doesn't require me to push on to the next level. Really all it requires is that I stay injury free and get the job done. I had looked at tackling the shorter stuff but the faster interval training does leave me open to injuries. To other option is to go longer, I am kind of flirting with the idea of racing 50K in Portumna in June, not fully committed to it yet but a crack at a sub 4 Hour 50K would fit the bill of giving me a goal for the next few months.

Baseline Test

With this in mind I decided to run a Hadd Test just to get an idea at what level my fitness was at. The results showed that I had lost a small bit in comparison to where I was the last time I ran one. The lower/aerobic running was giving me 740 BPM/KM over 2K. Last year I was lower at 710 BPM/KM but I am now 7 lbs heavier. So all in all I feel a little more concentration on steady/ high end aerobic together with keeping my hand out of the cookie jar should leave me in shape come the end of February to consider having a go at a 4 Hour 50K

Loving the Trees

After seeing my workload for January, my intention of running MCI Marathon in Liliput was gone leaving me with the 3 hour drive to the sunny south east. Luckily I had some in car entertainment to shorten the journey in the form of Mr Enright. Oilgate been our destination for the day and Marie Chapman our host as Race Director with the ever reliable Vincent lending a helping hand. Great to catch up with the usual few and 60 or so runners took on a five 5.25 Mile laps for the Day. Each lap had a downhill start with a gradual climb back to the main road, and the obligatory tree hug halfway. The first lap fly by in the company of Tom and Paul, I didn't even notice the climb. Lap 2 saw the standard pit stop, but thankfully it was the only one of the day. Lap 3 things where a bit tougher but for the third Marathon in a row I finished much stronger. Lap 4 I put in some 7:30 miles to catch up with Paul after some running repairs with footwear, and on the final lap I was pretty much feeling very strong and able to keep the pace up to come home in sub 3:57.

Words to the Wise

Meet Thomas afterwards and I queried him re what type of mileage running will he do in preparation for 24 Hour Championship in Turin. His answer while vague is a pretty sound philosophy that everyone should bear in mind with regard to running and training. “I will run whatever mileage my body can recovery from”. Afterwards the usual presentations say Gillian and Oggie Winters received their 100 Marathon awards as well as a special award for Brenda M O’Keeffe to mark her record for most Marathons 74 in a calendar year for a Female. Clearly these guys have much better recovery ability then my old body.

What a year for the roses

As I close of 2014 I cant help but look back at probably my best year running. Ran 2170 miles for the year my highest ever. Ran 12 marathons and got personal best at 5K, 10K, 10 Mile, Half and Full Marathons. At the start of the year I would have taken half of that. Haven't decided what the goals are for 2015, I have some options but nothing definite as off yet.

Trial and Error

Going to Portumna on Saturday morning must have been the first time that I really felt I had a greater chance of a non finish then a finish. Fitness was not the issue but I fear that a recurrence of what caused me to get constant injuries a couple of years ago had reared its head again. I need not have worried as the more the run progressed the better my hip/glutes felt, my only issue was that I set a new record for the number of pit stops Three. The other indicator as you can gather is an inflamed bowel which lets go pretty quickly when I run. Luckily there are plenty of hiding places from the grizzly's in Portumna. Had a good day and some craic/chat and banter along the way. Looking forward to running more of these next year. The other reason I ran Portumna is I am contemplating racing the 50K next June. My only other race there before was a disastrous Boston Qualifier attempt. While the course is perceived to be relatively flat it is tough and I found there is two short unnoticeable climbs that can zap the legs over 10 laps with a turnaround it probably not an ideal 50K course, however it does fit my time scale. Not going to make a final decision until maybe February.

Health and Fitness

While my fitness is at its best level in my life my health has taken a dip. A recurrence of Bowel Inflammation had me at the Doctor on Christmas Eve. The last occurrence several years was successfully treated with NSAIDs and a GP who would listen. I asked her to check my Vitamin D levels, which came back extremely low. After treating this the Inflammation cleared without having to resort to the use of steroids. Unfortunately she wasn't available on the day and Fill in Doctor just wanted to script me an 8 week course of Steroids. The Vitamin D test takes a month to come back anyway was his response. I tried to explain that I would prefer to try the NSAIDS first as before and Steroid's would have the side effect of not been able to recover sufficiently from running leading to other complications. He said well then don't run. Doctors differ patients die. I told him I would wait until my regular GP came back and not to bother filling the script. I don't think he was to impressed with me.

You spin me right round baby

Practice Loops

Its November, Eddie Murphy run time when Sixmilebridge gets invaded by runners all hell bent on getting dizzy running around the same 1 Mile loop of the village. For the members of BMOH this is a normal experience as we use this circuit and the hill mostly for our Thursday night speed sessions. I hadn't been down in a while but as I had to pick up essentials for Friday and Saturdays Directors run’s, I decided to get the feel of the loop again. Session was 2 loops @ 5K pace. Coming to the end of my second loop, a car pulls along side, a wee Cavan girl is hanging out the window trying to hold a conversation with me. Believe me it was one traffic. Brenda O’Keeffe was the first of the lunatics to arrive in Sixmilebridge. Between now and Sunday evening a few more would drop by. Finished the session in 13:30. Happy enough not to be doing 26 at anywhere near this pace on Sunday.

Directors Runs

This year to accommodate Gerry Forde we ran the directors run on the 10 in 10 course as it would be madness to have him going around the village all day on open roads. It wasn't long before the early starters arrived. Brenda came filled in her registration form, I handed her a number, 100. The significance of this I at the time was totally unaware of. Soon all runners where on the course and the only issue this morning was a flood at of 6-8 inches deep and 50M long but was dealt with before the later starters got to it.

Saturdays race was to say the least a different experience. We had two participants miss turns and ended up getting lost. After finding both them and getting them back on the course the rest of the day passed without incident. We may need to invest in GPS tracking devices for runners next year. Once the day was over I was now free to run the race tomorrow. My 25th Marathon on home turf and I was really looking forward to this. I got home with ever intention of a quick 3 miles to clear the pipes and get an hour or two’s kip, but herself indoors was sick so that idea went out the window. Off to a gig and home by 3 AM herself still sick, finally she settled down and I got to sleep somewhere between 5 and 6.

Dalmatian Day

I woke a 9 with a sore throat dry lips and my own stomach doing flips. If it wasn't for the fact it was my 25th I would have smashed the alarm and gone back to sleep. I got up everything was ready from the night before logged on to Facebook for any updates on the Double, then saw that Don Hannon had let Brenda's cat out of the bag and that she was half way through her hundredth marathon. Got to the start just before the 30 miler start still not feeling great. Decided this was going to be a long slow burner with the objective of just finishing it. Eamon Dargan was present with his 100th Marathon Medal and Singlet just before the start. Pretty soon we where starting and I was with Eamon and Paul for the first few miles. Meet Brenda at the water station, I was scolding her about keeping her 100th quiet when she informed me I gave her the 100 number on Friday morning much to her amusement. Eamon had crowned this his Dalmatian Day Marathon but unfortunately it was not to be. He was struggling for his breathe on the hill the fifth time around and pulled up shortly afterwards. No doubt he will get to run the Dalmatian Day again. Paul had pulled ahead a bit and I was started to catch him but he was heading for pit stop when I caught him. I hooked up with Fozzy for a fast lap or two just to help clear the pipes. And boy did they clear I hope no poor unfortunate soul had to use that toilet for the day. Once I returned to the course I really felt good and started to run about 8 Minute pace very comfortably. Hit 10 Miles with 1:32 on the clock meaning I was on 4 hour pace. Didn't even bother to slow back down I was in a zone, it doesn't happen often but the faster I ran the more comfortable I felt. Passed half way 1:57 on the clock and just kept going passing runners along the way. Only Mick Curley Cunningham had passed me in that period.

The difference in a year

Running improvements are not things that happen overnight, but over a long period of time. Last year I was struggling at the tail of the race when my Friend Thomas passed me cruising at the start of his. Today I rounded the start finish and there was Thomas in the distance, but I was catching him fast. Thought to myself he must be really struggling. I caught him at the bottom of the hill and said Hi and bombed up the hill leaving him in my wake to the tune of “A whole lotta a rosie”. I don't know who was the more shocked him or me at the time. While Thomas appeared to be going slow he still knocked out a 7:05:11 for the double Marathon. This time would have been good enough to win any of the previous running's but again there was a faster runner ahead. Maybe next year he will get that elusive title.

One and One is Three

Doing sums while you are running and even going well just does not add up. Coming to the end of 20th lap, I looked at the clock 2:53:xx so to get home in sub 3:45 in needed to run 10K in 48 Minutes that's six 8 minute miles, so Lewis its Hammer Time. That's the silly conversation I had in my head the reality was 1) I had only 6 miles to go not 10K and 2) I had 51 Minutes to cover them. Lesson you cannot add and run at the same time. I set off for the next 2 laps at under 8 minute pace only to realise my error on the beginning of the third. I slowed up the pace but in doing so for some reason it was the first time today the wee hill was tough. I set about not letting it beat me and I was determined not to walk one inch of the course. Job done and got home in 3:44:02. My third fastest time ever and only my third time under 3:45 so all things considered I was extremely happy.

Medals

The one downer of the whole weekend was when Richie informed me on Friday night that there was an issue with the finishers medals, which would not be resolved in time for the event. This meant runners completing on Sunday would not receive their finishers medal on the day. With respect to everyone not one person was put out by it. I did not have that issue as I would receive my 25th Marathon Medal. On my arrival that morning I had one important job to do, ask Tom if he would do me the honour of presenting me with my 25th Marathon Medal. In my mind there never was going to be anyone else for this job. Tom has always be a source of support both as a mentor, friend and competitor in recent years and someone I always like to bounce ideas off every now and then. Tom did the honours and Derek Mackessy also picked up his 50th Medal. The bold Dennis however out did us all and got the cake.

Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette

Crouch, Hold and Engage

Since my recent health issue regarding my bowel a trip to the Doctor to get a 2 week course of steroids was needed. The issue with this is as the inflammation reduces my time on the white bowl increases. Coming up to Dublin the last thing I need was to have to Crouch, hold and engage in the Phoenix Park on Monday in front of 14,000 runners. A couple of Miles running normally has a loosening effect so I was worried. So on Sunday evening after having bulked up with loads of fibre in the two days beforehand, I set about clearing the pipes. A quick 4 mile run along the Canal on my return from the Expo did just that. Nearly ran over several Danish runners congregated in the Hotel Lobby on my return.

Fuelling

I woke around 6:15 that morning As I sat opposite Thomas eating his bowel of porridge on race morning I had in front of me a full Irish. Three salty rashers, black pudding and One sausage, my thinking was while not exactly your ideal Glycogen generating food but I felt I had ate enough of that the night before at the pacer meal. This morning was about salt intake and no better way to do this but a good old Full Irish. Later in the day I would conclude that this was indeed a good strategy

Early Race

Soon there are 42 single winged butterflies lined up for photo shoot at the start and we then make our way to the appropriate start area. The change in the start area by placing wave 2 and 3 away from Fitzwilliam Street really worked. Pretty soon it was our turn in Wave 2 to make our way to the start. At exactly 9:10 we the off and after crossing the line together Myself Dave and Mark split up Dave at the front and I was at the rear with Mark in the middle. The course been different this year meant going through the liberties, while there was decent enough support along here, but it was narrow at times and as a result we lost about 30 seconds. Once we got back on the quays it opened up and the time was soon made back up. Hit 10K and from here on the support was excellent especially Castleknock. Overall I liked the new course layout and the first half ticked off without major drama.

Carnage

One single word to describe what was happening around me at 12 noon somewhere around UCD. This been my third time to pace Dublin and this time I was pacing 4:10 or more like running and passing runners who had absolutely no interest in picking up and running with me. Normally some that fall off the pace group ahead mumble profanities as we pass them and make some effort to come home with you, today this never happened. On checking the results later I noted I passed 2500 participants in the second half of the race. This to me was a staggering statistic and the main contributing factor was the weather and runners not adjusting their goal time to reflect this. Anyone who got their time on Monday has more improvement to come, however the majority failed to readjust their goal for the conditions including some very experienced runners. Three of the pace team had DNF for various reasons again another indicator of how tough conditions where out there. For those who feel disheartened by the race the best cure is to go away learn the lesson, target a race in spring and do it again. The marathon is the hardest race to conquer but when you do there is no better felling in the world. At the end of the day I held my end of the bargain and came home in 4:09:41. My 10K, half-way and 30K splits where never more then 10 seconds off what they should have been so I am happy under the circumstances to have had a good day at the office. While my PB would allow me to pace faster I was glad today I wasn't as 4:10 still took an effort greater then I would have expected it to that morning.

Hundreds of Marathons

After breakfast my roommate Brian commented that today Dave Brady would break his record of most Marathons in a Calendar year. Well Dave did just that along with Collete O’Hagan who ran her 300th Marathon. Both of these runners are the most down to earth and honest people you are likely to meet on the roads and great ambassadors for the sport. Also on the Larry Rigney did his 250th but don't tell anyone and Lucy Foley hit the magic 100.

You don't always get what you want

Build-up

Late last August Tom rang to tell me he was going to run the flattest Marathon in Ireland in Mid October in Charleville and have a crack at sub 3:21:20 the club auld man Marathon PB held by yours truly. Armed with this I put together a plan to maybe make a race of it. Unfortunately that plan never came about as I just trashed my legs in August. Feeling much better last week I did a 3 mile MP effort averaging 7:15 per mile which shocked me. Now I was thinking of having a crack if conditions on the day where favourable. What’s the worst that can happen is I crash and burn and hobble home. That all changed on Saturday morning, for the first time in 4 Years my Crohns / Proctitis flared up to an extent I contemplated not even running the race.

Race From Hell

On the morning of the race we get perfect running conditions but I know that racing is not going to happen as I am guaranteed a pit stop if not multiples. I wished Tom all the best and was sure barring a complete disaster he would nail sub 3:20. He ran 10 miles with me the week before at 8:20 pace like he was just out for a stroll. Of we set and I settled in with Valerie, Peter and Derek for the day as we rumbled along at 4:10 pace. As expected first pit stop came around 3 miles and I knew from this point today was going to be a long day. Caught up with the gang again only briefly as another jump the wall was required near 8 miles. This time I got rid of everything and I mean everything both ends, and was looking like a DNF when I got back to halfway. We met Tom coming back against us on target and looking good at 14.5 miles. Got to halfway but I was now feeling much better and for the first time felt I could eat something, scoffed my banana and some mini mars bars. Tom had gone through the Halfway mark in 1:41 pretty much on target. He had discussed this with me last week and the consensuses was to take the first mile easy and ease up to Marathon Pace over the second mile. Was going very well in the second half myself and the pace had picked up. Derek and Peter fell away so just Myself and Valerie until we caught up with Michael a recent MCI member. From here on things got ropey for me, I had no energy, starting to feel dizzy and I really had to concentrate on what I was doing. Now doubt my two companions noted my sudden lack of chat. We got to mile 23 which had a water station, I was hoping maybe there would be some coke but no such luck. Just about to look for a lift back when Valerie shouted back to me to come on its only 3 miles. So the runner in me did just that (us runners are not smart). Now I knew I couldn't hold the pace so I let them off in the distance and concentrated on getting home by doing what Thomas calls the Ultra shuffle. It doesn't look anything like running but at least you are going forward. Got to the finish spent and could only sit down. Got some Coke into me and I was grand again once it hit blood stream. Discovered later that Tom suffered the same fate, unable to take on Gel’s, coming home in 3:28 still a good time but missed his PB by 10 seconds.

Medals

There was however some consolation on the day for Tom as he received his 75th Marathon medal along with Mark Hillard getting his 25th Marathon award. Then the big shock as Tom presented his Father in Law Patsy O’Brien with his 25th Medal.


 

The Marathon

I have always said that this distance is both cruel and rewarding. When all the stars line up and you nail your time its the best feeling in the world. However one small issue on the day and all your work will yield no reward and sometimes a rather horrible experience. I felt gutted for Tom as he has really had put in the work and had nothing to show for it at the end of the day. I have no doubt he will break 3:20 so I am currently only keeping that PB warm for him.

3 in 3

No not days but weeks. I have not yet entered the madness of consecutive days but I am well on my way.

Its not Sixmilebridge

MCI decided to put on a Marathon in Clare that wasn’t in Sixmilebridge. This been a first I couldn't pass up the chance to run a Marathon in My native county. Patrick and Thresa where the race directors and when I saw the original course map I knew it would involve a pretty tough climb out of Ennistymon on the way to Liscannor. We found out on the morning that even though the course was 3 laps we would have to negotiate the climb for a fourth time to make the distance. Day was the usual low key MCI event which is great as their is always plenty of banter and crack before and after. A tough course but my intention was to take it easy. Missed the start and ended up at the rear of the field for the first few miles until we got to the Prom in Lehinch. Had the support from Lisa and Kate from the club who stuck around after the club run in that morning. Shortly after leaving here the usual badly timed bowel movement had me looking for a suitable spot. Unfortunately none where available so I upped the pace to finish the first lap to get a pit stop in. This left me on my own until I again caught up with Jimmy and Ann, some great yarns from Jimmy making the miles fly by but unfortunately I had to kick on again as the pace wasn't keeping me warm enough. I had decided in my ultimate wisdom just to wear my club singlet with no under layer. By lap three the old nipples where complaining so I just picked it up to get home. Finished on 4:11:39 and had a look at Tom’s time. 3:41, if he keeps himself injury free he will most likely smash his PB (and my PB) in October. As per usual the race was well organised as you would expect, course was hard but accurate. Went for a swim with all the surfers later, salt water and nipples do not agree.

AcHILL

When ever Tom rings you and opens with that line “Hey Ger” it is normal to thread with caution. He needed someone to fill his big boots in Achill as 4 Hour Pacer. As I was going I was most likely top of his list. So after a couple of minutes thinking “do I really need a 4 Hour Marathon in my legs” I decided to go for it. My thinking was I would have no one around me for the last few miles and I could let go the balloon if needed. I decided I had better look at the course profile after some comments re the course on boards, The best way to describe it would be rolling Mountains with spectacular scenic views. I also hadn't realised how far away Achill is from anywhere, so I decided best to go up the night before given it was going to be a 3 hour drive in the morning.

The old nipples where still a bit tender from last weeks endeavours but the sun was out this week which would make wearing underlay hot and sweaty. I went with the hot and sweaty option much preferable to running around looking like someone just shot me twice. Pretty soon we where lining up and everyone deciding to line up behind the person with the balloon. Having evaluated the course profile I reckoned that I would need 3-4 minutes on a bank each time before hitting the hard section from Mile 6 to 10 on each lap. This meant the pace of the first few miles was 8:15 to 8:30 pace. Some of those around me noted this so I explained the reason for it. First lap ended and I had a minute in the bank with the group pretty much still together. However the pace increase again at the start of the second lap splintered the group and the only runner with me was Valdimir looking to break 6 Hours for the Ultra. He stayed with me until the top of the last climb before kicking on for home. Passed Bonnie on the last mile, she was suffering but still smiling and stuck with me to get under 4. I crossed in 3:58:49 a bit ahead but its a very hard course to pace. Some courses are for PB’s but Achill is for beauty and testing your resolve. There is now way I would have ran another lap for the Ultra.

Afterwards Brenda picked up the MCI clubs first 75th Marathon medal. She only ran her 50th in Connemara, this time I was here for the presentation but no one made a cake.

Yippy its Dry

Last time I ran in Craughwell we got a miserable day but today was dry but still having tender nipples I wore the under layer. I had decided to do 3-4 laps (3.27 Miles) at Marathon effort just to see what kind of shape I am in. Whether the fourth one happened was going to be down to how the legs felt. I didn't want to trash them just to get the job done. A bit of a disaster for the first one just went too quick (24:08) 2nd (25:18) and 3rd (25:07) where okay but the last one half way through I was suffering with the old legs so I backed off slightly and finished it (25:42). The last 2 laps of the race where a walk fest very similar to Portumna 1:07 for the final 11K. I wasn't alone Ruthann who would normal lap me was struggling along as well. Made me realise there will be some bad days ahead in my journey towards 50.
Back to the start/finish at last in 3:53:05 pretty respectable given how I finished. Plenty of nice homemade goodies, chat and banter. I somehow managed to escape the Ice Bucket Challenge before the presentations to Val (50th), Rita (25th), Jude (25th) and Kathleen Cheshire of DBRC getting her 100th Marathon Medal

The Sound of Silence

Getting to the start line.

With a week to go to Connemara it was likely that I may have to skip it. I never looked at the Marathon start time when entering and only realised that it was a 10:30 start on the Monday before the race. As usual I had an afternoon music gig lined up which was to be a 6 PM start in Newcastle-West Co Limerick. All was not lost as I contacted the RD and he agreed to let me start with the walkers at 9:30. Getting there on time would be the next issue. I decided to drive to Maam’s Cross and park at Peacocks and maybe get on the bus if it stopped. First one was full and I missed the second one, so while waiting in the cold James the race starter for the Marathon took pity on me and gave me a lift together with Eileen and Bridget to the start. Finally standing at Lough Inagh and about to do my first run in this part of the world, I understood why Thomas looked of bewildered at the expo yesterday on learning I never had ran the course.

A tale of Two Halves.

Most people say that halfway in a Marathon is at Mile 20 well that's not the case in Connemara it consist of 2 equally measured halves in distance but as regards toughness the first really gives you a false sense of security. We set off with the walkers and walked until we where out of site from the start where myself, Eimear,Colette, Lillian and Brenda (doing her 50th) set off at an nice easy trundle. The girls aim was 5 hours and I was happy with this. The hardest part of the first half was trying to hold my balance in the rocking and rolling portoloo at mile 6 while trying to make myself presentable to the world again. The girls thought they had got away from me but I soon caught up with them with 1-2 8 Minute miles. So far the day was turning out to be very pleasant, great company, fantastic scenery, whether was holding up, wind at our backs course going down hill. Passed the half way spilt on 2:19 dead so the Ladies where well on their way to sub 5. We proceeded to walk up the climb after Leenaun but this is where I had to leave my running buddies. My calves were starting to cramp when walking but okay if I jogged at this point I said my goodbyes to the others, and hit away at a relatively easy pace. On my own with the silence and my own thoughts I really enjoyed the next few miles. The silence was only broken by the sound of feet from odd faster runner overtaking me from behind. Soon pretty much most of the faster half marathon runners had caught and overtaken me and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Gusting wind from all directions with showers one of hail made miles 16 to 20 quite difficult. Luckily this part of the course offers some shelter. At this point most of the half runners around me where running at my pace and I soon found that my pace was picking up so I had to bring it back into check. I recalled Johnny Healy’s advice from yesterday “Hold something in reserve for climbing The Hell”. Very soon we where making the right turn and heading for the Hell of the west. It is a difficult climb mainly because of where it comes in the race and the fact if you look up it seems to go on forever. I just kept my head down and kept on going until I crested the top. I look at my watch @ 24 and thought that with a push I could get a sub 2 second half. Unfortunately @ mile 25 it was not on so I eased backed and finished out the race comfortably for a sub 4:20. Managed a massive negative split of 18 minutes but that was due to the manner in which I ran it. Only 5 other runners did a negative split which just shows how difficult the second half is, it is also an extremely hard Half Marathon course.

After Party

This I missed and judging by the photos floating around Facebook everyone was in good spirits and had a good time. There was the usual presentation of medals to MCI members who had reached completed their Marathon Milestones on the Day so congratulations to Brenda (50), Collette (25) and Eugene (25). Brenda also got a big Chocolate cake and I am hoping that she kept me a slice but its very unlikely given most Ultra/Marathons runners are known for our sweet tooth.

More Races

Its a mugs Game

Believe it or not this was my first time to run the famous Ballycotton 10. After foolishly sticking my name on the list of those wishing to travel last Christmas I suddenly realised that this was two weeks after Seville, well there was no way I was ever going to be racing this. Meet with Tom and Mike in Sixmilebridge to travel down, there was also Seven others traveling from the club as well so a good contingent went down. Considering  the location and the possible numbers travelling we didn't get delayed getting to the Car park Number 2 which was virtually empty. A quick mile warm up followed by a club photo shoot and then off to the start. Plan was to stay with Mike and Tom at Eight minute mile pace. The start is a bit crazy, 3,500 runners barrelling down a narrow street, a fall or trip could result in carnage, luckily we all got away without any major incidents. Ran the first two miles with the lads but could not believe how good the legs felt and how easy I was going. I upped the pace to 7:30 and finished the last 2 miles pretty much close to race pace. Ended up with a time of 75:41 and a Ballycotton Mug for my troubles. We didn't hang around afterwards as I was working later so a quick departure was required. Meet Thomas would had the agony of 101st and no t-shirt yet again. I have no doubt he will get one soon. Finished off the day with a trip to Dinos in Cork for a great traditional feed off Cod and Home made Chips.

The Peoples Race

As Ballycotton had gone so well the next day out was going to be pacing 5 Hours in the Tralee International Marathon. For those interested that's 11:25 minute miles. I had run a trial on the Wednesday and found it slow but I knew once I got into the rhythm on the day it would not be an issue. As I was working on Saturday Night it meant an early rise at 6 to drive to Tralee and get into town about 8:15. Picked up my number when Tom informed me that I was going to have a good group for the day. He wasn't far wrong as I had an absolute ball of a day with all those from the “Born to Run” club in Tralee. The term fun runners has been used to describe runners who take more then 4 hours to complete a marathon. That may be true but god did we have some fun during the day. It probably was the best bit of crack I have had in a race ever and the day and miles just flew by. I had a very big group from the start until we hit the dreaded Barrow Hill. It is steep and had my calves bursting so much so that I announced that we would walk up it. Much to everyone's delight. It and the drag up to Chruchtown scattered the group I had and was left with 7-8 who continued with me until we got to Tralee. The climb back into the wind was much harder then it was at mile 1 while Three of my group kicked on the remaining 4 dropped off leaving me solo, which was disappointing given how close they where to the end. One caught me up again and kicked on for the last half mile and the others to their credit kept running and came in within 2-3 minutes of me.
Meet up with a good gang of MCI afterwards in the Brandon where Dipak celebrated his 200th Marathon (kept that one quiet) and great to see Paul Brunnock back running. Nice bit of grub before I made my way for the ferry for a gig in West Clare later that Afternoon.

The road to Hell

The big sleep

Left all at home on Thursday night to catch a bus in Galway which would drop me in Dublin Airport at 4:30 A.M. Car was on the blink recently and didn't want to chance letting 9 months of solid training to a 15 year old car deciding to let me down on the first leg of the journey. This would make my journey to Seville as long as if I was to run one down under. Soon I was seated beside two lovely ladies who where hitting away for the weekend for some Spanish sun, they where a tonic and had some banter along the way which made the flight seem much shorter. It was a relief not to be seated beside some uninteresting teenager/young person with a set of earphones plugged into whatever device they have on their laps. Unfortunately the rest of my journey to Seville I would be seated beside these solitary souls. Due to a delay in take off in Dublin we arrived 30 minutes late. A quick journey from the airport to the main train station ( all of 12 minutes) still did not get me there on time to catch the high speed two hour train to Seville. I had to wait another two hours and catch the slow boat to china version which stopped at every station along the way. Finally arrived in Seville and began my pursuit in trying to purchase a 3 Day tourist ticket for the local buses and trams. I failed and finally gave up trying two days later. Got a bus to my hotel and final checked in at 5 PM, nearly 16 hours since I began travelling. I venture out for some food and a walk around to get my bearings. Loads of shops, churches and Tapas bars, the place is buzzing. I get a plate of Tapas and a glass of beer. Barman doesn't seem to understand my request for a large/big beer. I later discover the reason why in the gents when I see the the label on the keg. What is on tap is 6.3% volume not beer but yellow wine. I hit back to the hotel around nine go to bed and don't wake until 9 the next morning. Exactly what is needed as I rarely sleep well the night before a race.

The last run

Went for a run the following morning, it was quite chilly in the shade but noticeable warmer in the sun light, yes I managed to see that yellow thing in the sky that we haven't seen in Ireland since late September. Whilst it wasn't uncomfortable maybe it might have an impact on the second half of the race. Kept my eyes firmly glued on the ground so as not to find and holes or other things that might trip we don't want any nasty falls this close to the race. Afterwards I sat down and finally laid out my race plan, 3 Gels one at the start with 10 minutes to go, one between 5K and 10K and the final one 20K and 25K. Zym electrolyte tablet into bottle around 10K and sip it rather then drink it in the one go, mouthful of water and wet the sponge to sponge myself down at each water station. As regards time, my final MP run gave me 7:20 per mile over 3 miles. This would give a sub 3:15 but as I had not even ever considered going at that pace I plumbed for 3:20 with the option to drop back if I felt I was pushing to much to hold that pace before the 30K mark. This meant roughly 23:30 for each 5K. The slowest I could go was 24:00 per 5K as this would leave me close to but under 3:25. Anything outside of this just wont happen, I will push myself to the limit to keep this pace even if it means a DNF. So my goal is between 24:00 and 23:30 for each 5 K, easy enough to calculate along the way so I don't bother trying to make up a pace band.  

Pasta and then some more Pasta

A quick shower and I made my way to the Expo in the afternoon. With the minimum of fuss I collected my number and Goodie bag which contained the usual brochures and leaflets but also a running top and shorts. The shorts are a bit on the small size or more like the "you are not going out in those" comments I will get from herself in doors if I ever get the nerve to put them on. Meet up with Peter and we both went for the free pasta dinner. Was of reasonable quality and given it was included in the cost its basically free. Problem was we where queuing for about 45 minutes, so much for staying off our feet. The spare chocolate and fruit went into the goodie bag for the morning. My Hotel didn't have any special provision for breakfast so on my way back I picked up some basic provisions for the morning. Had arranged to meat up again with peter and the others in O' Neill's bar, turns out there is two such bars in Seville and I end up watching the first half on my own. Wasn't to bad really, got to remind so smart arse Welsh guy about the whipping they got two weeks ago. At half time I made my way to meet the others in the right pub.  Meet up with Conor and Barry our resident lonely planet/trip adviser all rolled into one. Luckily for us as he had a table for two booked which was swiftly converted into four in an Italian restaurant which turned out to be excellent, so hats off to him. Usual banter over diner and whenever in Marathon runners company a thick skin is a prerequisite, we all had our stated goals for tomorrow but Barry was getting it in the neck as to whether he would beat the sweeper bus home or not. As it transpired he was the only one of us to better our lofty stated goals. Maybe there is a lesson in this somewhere.I returned to my Hotel full and ready for tomorrow, all that was need was a good nights sleep, as per usual this never transpired and I tossed and turned all night.

Highway to Hell

You pass the Twenty Mile Marker, time to see what's in the tank, press the clutch put her in fifth gear and pick up the pace, you are now entering hell. Alarm goes off its 6:15, hell is a mere 5 hours away and I am eagerly awaiting the challenge. The last nine months have been about getting to Mile 20 today in good enough shape to kick on and bag my Boston Qualifier. All I have to do between now and then is remain calm and trust in the training and the experience I have got. Everything had been laid out from yesterday so I was ready to go within 30 minutes. Eat my breakfast in the room which consisted of two bread rolls with Honey, a banana and chocolate bars from yesterday. Luckily I bumped into one of the kitchen staff at seven who obliged and got me a croissant and a strong cup of coffee. Made my way to the nearest Taxi rank, and shared a taxi with Jose from Madrid. First Spaniard I had meet who I was able to hold a reasonable conversation with. On arrival he refused my Euro's and paid for the Taxi commenting "that I was in his Country today", A gesture I must return some day to an International runner. The start area is quite relaxed and even with over 9000 entrants there is a distinct lack of Porto Loos and their associated queues, this may be contributed by the small percentile of female runners. Only 660 or so are females entrants, which is quite strange but maybe the norm in Spain. Finally I get the urge the drop a load in one so in I jump and tick the last box in ensuring there will be no reason to visit one of these on the course. On my way to the start I meet Peter and we exchanged good wishes for the day ahead. The start is along a dual carriageway, there are two entrances into the pens and I opt for the right hand side as it means walking around a roundabout and most people seem to be taking the left hand option. Due to my lack of recent fast half or full marathon I am in a 3:30 to 3:45 Pen which I am hoping to get to the front off. With ten minutes to go just as I take my first gel we are all released so everyone surges forward from the pens towards the start. I look to my left and see that I am in-line with the 3:15 pacers so I switch sides which will at least give me a better chance of getting away quickly. The MC is yapping away getting the crowd to do Mexican Waves etc, I am not really interested just want to get under way now. The gun goes and we are off, my getaway is clean and I am up to pace fairly quickly and settle into a good rhythm but after 1K the left merges in with the right and the pace drops as I now have to negotiate slower runners and groups of runners all running across the road. Things are a bit tight for a kilometre or two but I jostle my way through using the trick I learnt in Dungarvan, elbows out and swing.
Soon we go through 5K just under 24 minutes. From here I concentrate on keeping it easy and calm. 10K comes 46:4x a bit too quick so I easy up slightly. 15K is bang on 1:10:45 and I cross the halfway with 1:39:29 on my watch. A personal best for the half, I note to myself must do something about that in the coming months. I had mentioned to the lads the night before you always get a bad mile at some point, well for me it was from halfway to 25K, really felt that things where getting hard pace was starting to drop off and breathing getting hard. I just dropped off the pace for 2K which seemed to get me back on track. We hit a slight downhill so I stretched out the legs again and picked up the pace for a stretch. Even with the bad stretch I was still on track @ 25K with 1:57:5x. At this point I was passing runners and was holding back with the pace. Found at times I was getting up to 7:20 pace which while I felt good was too early to start pressing buttons. The next 5K was about trying to keep it easy but I had picked up the 30 or so seconds I lost early on to hit 30K in 2:21:16 pretty much bang on 3:20 pace. Only worry here was when I went over there was no beep, that is all I would need, nail a time and have the hassle of a faulty chip. Later heard that the live trackers was having issue after the halfway point. I am still feeling good and had decided to go for it once we come out of the section that winds its way around Plaza De Espana between 32 and 34K mark. At 34K I press the clutch, put her in fifth and prepare to enter hell. The effort goes up but the pace only slightly increases well at least its going in the right direction. We wind our way through the narrow streets of the city along the tram lines. Crowds are big here and encroaching, it also becomes a bit congested as I am passing runners easily. We round into Plaza De Duque where a band is blasting out Highway to Hell from AC/DC, I get a great lift and as we pass my hotel door there is not even any thought of stopping, its tough but I am pushing through it and the pace is still steady.

Hell

The one thing about a Marathon is that its the one distance that tests every aspect of your running ability. You wont or cant bluff at this distance what happened next reminded me of this fact afterwards. You really have to be on your game both mentally and physically as it pushes you beyond breaking point, always remember after 20 you are in hell, how you survive or get out of their will depend on your mental resolve and training. I missed the 35K split but at 37.5K the watch showed 2:56:xx, well on my way to giving RC a target for London. Well he must have been at home with the voodoo doll and needles because just after I passed 39K I hit the deck, don't recall if I tripped myself, got tripped or the legs went to jelly but here I was on my arse with 3K to go, this was not in the plan. Tried to stand up and landed straight back down on my arse again. Two Spanish ladies came to my assistance urging me to stay down. I was totally aware of my surroundings so it definitely wasn't lack of fuel or the wall just the legs where gone. After a quick talk to myself if I wanted to get my Boston Qualifier I had 20 minutes to cover the last 3K. So up I got again, success, started to walk, slow jog and was getting the pace backup again. Got to 40K and looked at the watch 3:11:xx meant that I wasn't going to get 3:20 so I backed off the pace to 8:30/9:00 Min mile pace. I was vertical and moving forward so staying that way was the new goal. The double drop into the stadium indicated to me what was wrong, both my quads where shot but with the finish line in site I continued on through the pain to cross in 3:21:21 net time. Once I stopped the legs gave way again and I was grab by two officials and moved to the side out of harms way.

Heaven

Its amazing when you get out of hell how good it feels. It hurts but its a good hurt I finally after 3 years of training, failing and trying have got a Boston Qualifier. Sitting on the ground I am spent, sore and in a heap but I am ecstatic. I finally get to my feet get my medal photo and off to the feed area. Loads of water and oranges but for me its the end stall two glass of yellow wine out to the sun to sit down and savor the moment. Slowly I make my way back to the Bus stop. Massive queue for both Bus and Taxi's and I meet Peter who had a similar issue but with a stitch at the same point in the race when he too was going well. Eventually after getting the wrong Bus, realising that the Tram was not running as it was on the Marathon Course I get to my hotel an hour later, I should really have walked the Two Kilometers home after the race. Once there a quick shower rang home to let all know I was alive and answered a few texts from club mate who had been following the live feed as they knew more about my net time then I did, this would suggest that my chip was working after all. Hit for some carb/junk reload at McDonalds and then got the right pub where I meet with the lads again. Conor had a DNF and we didn't go into with him but Barry managed to run the whole race and easily beat the sweeper bus home. Peter missed his Boston Qualifier time due to a stitch but still got a massive Personal Best. Conor and Barry where returning home that evening so said their goodbyes and departed. Myself and Peter moved to the other O'Neills where we proceeded to eat and drink the place dry. Lovely barmaid really had no idea where in the name of god we where putting it all, double portions followed by Apple pie and cream with large glass of Yellow Wine and Johnny Jump Up. Finally we gave up the ghost and parted where I returned to the hotel and straight to Bed, tonight at least I can rest easy job done Boston Qualifier in the Bag

Heaven Part Deux

Normally my map reading skills are quite good but they where put to a very good trying to locate my indulgence for Monday. Somewhere hidden in the Narrow streets in the Santa Cruz area of the city are the Turkish Baths. When Brian recommended this race to me last July the night before Killarney he also mentioned after that a trip to this establishment was well worth it. Well he was not wrong 90 minutes of steam room, Jacuzzi and hot/warm/salt and very cold baths was just what the legs needed after yesterday. Pound for pound it was the best €26 I spent all weekend. It set my up nicely for my long journey home the day after.

A hidden Jewel

Seville is probably aside from London the best value you will get from a marathon which has an IAAF Label. The course is pancake flat with only one climb an underpass which comes early in the race. Its timing should ensure ideal running conditions, although it means training through the winter and no doubt we got the most horrible conditions this year. There are no direct flights from Ireland so its pain to get to it, but anyone seriously looking at a spring marathon with a view to getting a good time should really have this race on the top of their list for consideration.