Guitar Lesson #1

I have always wanted to learn the guitar properly! I think it's easy to learn a few cords and run a plectrum across the strings of a guitar but to really bring that instrument to life takes a whole lot more, much more than I have right now. Tonight, in the hope of bridging that gap, I started a 5 week basic guitar course.

I have had a guitar since I was 21, it was a 21st birthday present, and to my shame I have rarely picked it up over the years. Having dusted off the guitar from years of neglect I checked if it was still in working order and with only one of the tuner knobs missing it was 95% there. I'm sure there is an proper name for that part of the guitar but for the moment we'll call it a tuner knob.

Next on my list was a backpack case, as my only mode of transport is my motorcycle I have to carry this thing hands free. €40 later I was all set!

There are 10 students in the class; a range of abilities, ages and instruments mixed with lots of enthusiasm... this was going to be interesting!!

We started from the very beginning; how to hold it, what the strings are called, how to tune it, and so on. I knew less than I thought and learnt a lot but that's exactly why I was there. Our teacher tuned each guitar and as my guitar had a tuning knob missing it presented a bit of a problem but he managed to find a pair of pliers and after a few comedy moments I was "in tune".

By the end of the class we understood the anatomy of the guitar, were doing a little plucking and strumming 3 cords! I wonder if Status Quo are looking for a guitarist?

Today's takeaways:

• How to hold the guitar
• How to hold a plectrum
• A tuned guitar
• Strumming
• Cords: G, Cadd9, and Dsus4
• Sore fingers

Sun, sea and sand...

...were all there but I just couldn't see them through that damn fog!!

Today's entertainment was in the inaugural Irish Multi-marathon in Clontarf, Dublin. So called because it is a multi-distance, multi-age and multi-ability event. The route would bring us from the SAILS sculpture along the promenade and across the old wooden bridge onto Bull Island. After running the full length of the island we'd return to the mainland by crossing the northern causeway to run along seafront to the halfway mark where we'd do a 360 degree turn and retrace our steps to the finish line.

It was a lovely morning for a walk... warm, misty and still... not sure about a run though! As it was the first event it was difficult to know what to expect, I knew part of the distance would be on sand and having only ran on sand once before (after accidentally taken a wrong turn on the Curragh racecourse in the dark) and not liking it I expected that portion to be very tough. Happily the sand was the least of my problems, it was firm and in many ways a perfect running surface. The difficult bits turned out to be the heat and (yet again) poor preparation.

The weather remained hot, humid and misty for the duration of the race. Running along the beach was particularly misty, visibility was down to a few feet and if you lost sight or your nearest neighbour there were few indicators that you were running in the right direction... it could have been another "lost on the Curragh" comedy moment but lucky for me I kept up with a group with a better sense of direction than me and made it to the causeway without any diversions. Getting lost out there could be a soggy affair.

The first half of the race was really good, I set my Garmin virtual partner to a 2 hour 1/2 marathon time and I was ahead, unfortunately I had no idea how fast I was running... it turned out that I was running far too fast and suffered on the return journey where my time slowed and slowed, eventually walking at mile 10. The last 3 miles were run/walks and I lost all the time I had made up in the first half.

And so the dream of a 2 hour 1/2 marathon slipped away this time, but next week is the Achill 1/2... another chance and I should be a better prepared!

Here's a map of the route etc: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7675870

Cork to Dublin...

...taking the long way there on the motorcycles. We travelled from Cork to Dungarvin, via Yaughal, for lunch. Later we carried onto Waterford hugging the south coast travelling through Tramore and along lovely twisty country roads, stopping a couple of times to take in some of the stunning Waterford coastline. From Waterford we headed north to Kilkenny, through Carlow and onto Newbridge.

The Day!!!

This was never going to be easy and while we were ready for a hard slog we knew we were going to pay dearly for lack of preparation, fully expected it to go horribly wrong at some stage.

Unlike last year we didn't get up outrageously early this time and had breakfast at a respectable 7.30am and had a fairly normal, everyday meal... it would be fair to say that we weren't as focused as last year!

An unsettling combination of fear and excitement and built up as we walked down hill towards the city center to cross the river Lee and onto the start area. I hadn't pinned my number to my shirt before we left the hotel and tried to do it while walking only to be foiled yet again by my lack of multi asking skills, I did manage to stab myself several times before I accepted that it wasn't going to work and simply had to wait until I the current walking task was complete before I attempt the potentially lethal pinning of the number to the shirt task.

More and more people joined us as we walked and by the time we got to the start line we were among thousands runners where the buzz of excitement overcame the fear. The weather was not ideal as the sun blazed in a clear sky with very little wind to cool us down. I had a few minutes before the official start time to concentrate on numbering up during which Sonia O'Sullivan gave a speech, the elite athletes started and I stabbed myself a further 3 times.

The first 10 miles were very exciting. We ran through the city heading west before crossing the river Lee and headed east towards and eventually through the Jack Lynch tunnel. I felt pretty good and the atmosphere was amazing with spectators lining much of the route making all the difference.

Miles 11 to 15 were fine but I was beginning to feel the strain of poor preparation.

Miles 15 to 19 were tough and for the first time I was beginning to doubt that I would finish in under 5 hours. it was around this time that I started to do a little walking, just occasional short walks but they were adding up.

Miles 19 to 22 were really, really tough and I was beginning to struggle. It was also the hilliest part of the course but we were expecting a monster hill that never materialised which was a little bonus. My occasional walks were becoming more frequent and longer.

Miles 22 to 23 felt like it couldn't get any worse until I got to miles 23 to 25, these were actually the worst.

Miles 25 to 26.2 were less of a struggle, we were on the flat and heading back towards the city. Once we were back on city streets we had half a mile to go and from somewhere deep inside a little packet of energy came rushing to the surface that pushed our laboured walk to a laboured run which carried us across the finish line.

Our time was a lot longer than expected, 5 hours 18 minutes, but considering the lack of preparation and the heat... well it's still pretty slow. Here's a map of our route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/6474094.

The next marathon on the list is Dublin in October. I'm still convinced that there's a 4 hour marathon in me, all I've got to do is focus and get the training done... all of it!