Great North Trip...

I have just booked ferry tickets for my trip to Newcastle and as I'll be taking the 1200GS I'll have to think carefully about what to pack... hopefully I can get away with just the two side panniers, I'd rather not take the top box!

I'll be landing in Holyhead on Friday morning. It's been a few years since I've been to North Wales and it'll be great to be back. I'm especially looking forward to travelling through Snowdonia on the bike... that will be a real treat!!

Malahide 5K

This new race worked through the grounds of Malahide castle, see http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12692223 for location and route. Based on my lack of training during the week it came as a complete surprise that I would run well and it can as an even bigger surprise that I crossed that line with a new 5K PB of 25.03!!

Gael Force 6... stage 6

Our downhill jaunt came to an abrupt end as we swung left onto a semi-off road track that took little time becoming a fully off road track. There was no way my road bike could handle this terrain and I had to walk while the occasional mountain biker flew past me. This was where the mountain bikers caught up with the normally faster road bikes. This off-road bit was only supposed to last for 200m or so but someone miscalculated as it ended up lasting for 2K. The road got so bad in places that we had to carry our bikes but after climbing the Reek this was easy.

Eventually we reached a gate with a decent road surface on the other side. There was a sense of urgency as we felt we had lost so much time. I was in a group of about 15 cyclists, most of whom were in front of me, when on a downhill stretch one cyclist skidded suddenly and lost control. She came of her bike and ended up on the road but some of the following cyclist didn't have time or space to avoid her resulting in at least 3 other cyclists coming off. I was OK and pulled up to assist getting bikes of the road. We heard another crash behind us, I think it would be safe to assume that this stretch will see more than its fair share of accidents before the day is out.

Back on the road everyone was more cautious. After a few more kilometers the narrow rural roads began to give way to wider, safer carriageways as we got closer the Westport. The final straight was filled with excitement and for once in a race I felt a surge of energy as I put everything I had into moving those wheels as quickly as possible. Passing through Westport House gates was fantastic, we were almost home an the crowd was growing in number and enthusiasm .

After 12.5km of cycling we were filtered into a separate lane that led to a bike park where we dropped the bikes and ran the last few metres to cross the finish line on foot. What a feeling! That was the hardest thing I have ever done, harder than a marathon for sure. It took me just short of 7 hours to complete (06:57:11) and I came 1639th out of 2084 , not bad at all!!

My trusty Garmin lasted the entire race and, like myself, ran out of stream a few minutes after crossing the finish line as the battery gave up it's last spark. Here's a link to the entire route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/11789048

Gael Force 6... stages 4 - 5

The transition from stage 3 to 4 took an outrageous 15 minutes. It was a chance to take a breather, eat and get some dry socks on before the first cycling stage. I only had one pair of footwear (running shoes) which were covered in mud, peat and thoroughly saturated; if I do this again a pair of cycling shoes will be top of my list of essentials.

At first my legs didn't mind the switch from running to cycling but the long down hill start to stage 4 probably had a lot to do with that. All good things come to an end and the fast down hill spin soon gave way to a very gradual but very long uphill climb that seemed to go on forever.

The route to Croagh Patrick (or the Reek) was rural, beautiful and as you'd expect from unbeaten paths the road surface was varied but luckily cycleable, if indeed that is a word. We cycled up some challenging hills and down some hair raising descends with very little level grounds to recover on. Occasionally the Reek came into sight as we rounded some corners or reached the crest of hills with uninterrupted views of the mountain. At first it looked like an insignificant spec in the distance but it grew in size and scariness with each sighting. The 32.5km stage took a massive 1 hour 58 minutes to complete when, exhausted, we parked the bikes and looked up in horror at the sheer scale of the mountain we were about to climb.

Stage 5 began with a dash across a timing mat and a hand full of fig roll biscuits. Normally I hate the taste of fig rolls but I guess my body decided that I badly need them and switched off my taste buds because I couldn't get enough of them.

We had an open field to cross before we reached the mountain. There were no tracks to follow, the the footsteps of earlier runners with ditches, streams and bog holes to navigate. It was difficult terrain to cross but it paled into insignificance when we reached the mountain.

The terrain continued to be boggy and the angle of accent was surprisingly steep; it was 1:1 in places and with no solid surface to walk on it was very, very difficult. Couple all that with exhaustion and the fact the we were only starting out assent it was hardly surprising that despair quickly set in. I'm sure everyone devised their own strategy to keep going, mine was simple one more step and try not to look up or down. It worked for the most part but every so often I had to stop and ask why, why were we doing this. That question was painted on the faces of climbers behind me, there were a sea of expressions from desperation to determination, frequently on the same face. Looking down at what we had achieved did feel good. However, looking up at what we had yet to climb was crushing and I'm happy to admit it brought a tear to my eye on several occasions.

After a hard climb we reached the pilgrims path, this is a well travelled rocky path that runs from the outskirts of Westport to the summit. Here we met a stream of pilgrims of all ages moving up and down the mountain. Although relieved to reach the path we were still quite a distance from the summit. At this point the climb became a scramble as the gradient seemed to become more extreme the higher we got but this part of the climb was the easiest and not having to battle through a near vertical marsh was something of a relief.

Eventually the faint outline of a building came into view and I knew the end was nigh! There is a small church at the summit which marks the end of this gruelling climb. There were some race stewards handing out coloured bracelets as proof that we reached the summit. I had to sit down and rest for a bit but couldn't stay long as the cold thin wind cut through me like a knife.

The return journey was so different, while not easy it was a lot easier than the torturous assent. As I climbed down I could see a track that seemed to run down the side of the mountain we had climbed up but it looked like it would take us way past the starting point so it may not be any good. When I got to the track I decided to take it and when I drew level with our starting point I left the path and headed straight down hill, through the near vertical marsh and bog. When I reached level ground again I met some surprised runners who wondered why I had taken the direct route, after all the path snaked around to here... bugger! It turned out that if I had looked at the map I been given at registration that path would have been the obvious choice for both the assent and descent. It would have been a much longer route but the effort would have been halved, oh well!

Stage 5 came to an end after 4.5km of the most difficult terrain I have even crossed, it took a staggering 1 hour 50 minutes to complete and I was so, so happy to get back on that saddle for a free wheeling downhill start to stage 6

Gael Force 6... stages 1 - 3

I managed to get 4 hours sleep which is what I need for a normal day, but this being an extraordinary day I probably could have done with a little more. After a massive bowl of porridge (oatmeal) and a last minute kit check I was on my way to Westport House.

I was part of the second wave to leave this morning and when I got to the departure area the first wave participants were already boarding their buses. Everything seemed to be running smoothly and my bus to start line departed on time at 6am. Most of the journey was familiar after last night's adventure and we reached the start line a little after 7am. After a few announcements from the organisers and a trip to the open air loo for me were were lined up for a 7.35am start which, again, happened bang on time!

The race is split up into 6 stages (that's the "6" bit in Gael Force 6) and the first stage was a run to the kayak stage 12km away. We started by running off the beach which sounds lovely but the beach happens to sit a sea level which means that straight away we're running uphill. This uphill bit lasted for quite some time and I really felt tired when we reached the crest of that very, very long hill but at least the running surface was firm. As we started to descend the copious amounts of liquids consumed before the start had caught up with me and I took the first opportunity to "off load".

Massively relieved and feeling a lot lighter I rejoined the race refreshed, until I reached a bright red arrow pointing towards very high, very steep and very rough looking hill. The assent very uneven and a little wet but I reached the top without any comedy moments. The decent could have been a different story as most of the water seemed to be hiding on this side of the hill, the terrain became very rough and there were huge bog holes and muddy puddles to navigate. Initially everyone put a lot of effort into avoiding stepping into water but that soon changed as one by one everyone had slipped and slid into bog holes and streams by the time we reached the bottom. Views of Killary Fjord were stunning as we descended but I didn't get much time to enjoy them as most of my energy was focused on maintaining and upright position, unlike many of my companions who had more than their fair share of comedy moments.

Upon reaching the bottom we had a fairly firm track to run on for a few hundred meters but before we reached a paved road the track disintegrated into an obstacle course for about a kilometer. We completed the 12km of hard cross county running in 1 hour 28 minutes before we made it to the shore of Killary Harbour where our kayaks awaited.

As a non-swimmer this stage, stage 2, worried me the most but it turned out to be the easiest one, perhaps the additional buoyancy of salt water made it easier to move through when compared to the freshwater we trained in. We flew across the 1.6km harbour in a little over 10 minutes where we crossed from Co. Galway into Co. Mayo.

On this side of the harbour stage 3 began with hard work to get across more bog and rough terrain for about a kilometer or two before getting reaching a paved road where we had another couple of kilometers to run before picking up our bicycles This stage was entirely up hill which made it extra special. In all we ran the 3.5km stage in 26 minutes.

Stage 4 was the first cycling stage and I had no idea how it was going to work out as I hadn't cycled in a full year. There were two major concerns; legs and arse! My legs were well used to running but cycling uses a different set of muscles and I had no idea how they would react to 32.5km of constant and extreme use. If you've ever seen a professional road racing saddle you'll understand my rear end fears, the saddles are so tiny that sitting on it is the last thing you'd want to do with it but I'm assured that with the correct attire they're quite comfortable. We'll see...

Gael Force 6... getting there

Friday afternoon and I'm trying desperately to get out of the office but somehow everything unpleasant managed to hit the fan at the same time! 2pm was my planned departure time but the powers that be had other plans. How can so many emergencies happen at the same time and why don't I learn how to duck out of the firing line. 2.30pm became 3pm and I was no closer to getting out. Eventually all fires had been put out and I was outta there and on the road at 4.30pm, just before the rush!

The drive to Westport was long, but it's always long especially as we have to travel through Roscommon; the longest county in Ireland! Although not strictly true it does seem that way as it seems to take an age to travel through. It's like the county that time forgot as, when crossing the border from any other county, straight wide carriageways seem to buckle and twist as if roughly reshaped to suit the landscape of Roscommon’s rolling hills and valleys. Roads seem to meander aimlessly around the county and often you get the sense that you're travelling backwards as the sun circles above you. I am convinced that the hospitality industry resist any infrastructure development as weary travellers are worn down by the gruelling drive and are forced to stop to eat, drink or check their sanity.

We were no exception and stopped in possibly the best looking restaurant in Ballaghaderreen. Unfortunately it turned out to be the worse restaurant I have even been to for food and hygiene; two things I think most people rate highly when it comes to eating!! The cafe looked inviting from the outside and at first glance it looked modern, new and comfortable inside with no expense spared on decor. Books and covers sprang to mind as I made a visit to the loo and had to battle through a dense wave of foul air. The toilets were kitted out with the most impressive and modern accessories, but obviously nobody told the cleaners they were there. Returning to my seat I started to notice dirt and grease everywhere from the water jug to the kitchen door. Unfortunately we had already ordered and decided to stay; perhaps the food would be good. Why did I think that? It was terrible! I ordered carbonara, what I got was a plate of penne pasta and olive oil (in equal measure) with a sprinkling of bacon and something that looked like cheese but really had no flavour so it was hard to tell. For the first time in my life I only ate half of my meal, normally I lick the plate clean but I could feel a coronary coming on the more I ate and I had to stop. On the up side they did make a lovely cappuccino, I guess every cloud does have a silver lining!

It was getting late and we were keen to get back on the road again. Within 30 minutes or so we slipped out of Roscommon and into Mayo where the road straightened and for the most part lost its roller coaster effect. It was close to 9pm before we arrived in Westport but we still had a lot of driving to go get to the registration area in Delphi, South Co. Mayo. After another 40 minutes driving we were getting close as more and more bicycle carrying cars joined our route. Then, just as it looked like we had arrived, we hit stationary traffic. It was dark, really dark, and although we knew we were close we really didn't know far away the registration area was and nobody around us knew any better. Some people started to assume it was just around the next corner and decided to park their cars along the road side and take their bikes the rest of the way. After much debate our questions were answered by a passing official whose advice was to sit tight and drive up to the registration area when the traffic clears, it was quite some distance and the car park was empty. This turned out to good advice as the traffic started to move and we drove what turned out to be a significant distance to the registration tents. we parked close to the tents and I had to visit a number of desks to submit my medical declaration, get my kit checked, get my timing chip and so on. Then out into the mud to label my bicycle and position it in the transition are for tomorrow's race. It had been raining nonstop for the last week or so and there was little the organisers could do to prevent the bike station turning into a mud bath. It was so muddy that some people had gone barefoot to the bike racks while others with better planning skills wore wellington boots and walked carefree to their racks. I thought I could get away with it but as I gingerly tiptoed towards my bike rack I could feel the mud seeping into my shoes as each step I took sunk a little deeper into the mud. Having extracted myself from the mud we had a long drive back to Westport and home for the night. It was already close to 11pm with a 40 minute drive ahead of us. I had to be up no later than 4.30am to get fed and dressed for the day, then travel to Westport House for my 6am bus to the start line.

Frank Duffy 10 miler

This is the annual 10 miler that forms part of the Dublin City Marathon series (5, 10 and 13.1 milers). I wasn't really sure if I was ready for this race having, yet again, failed to train during the week and on the day I arrived a tad late but one of the benefits or riding a motorcycle is that you can park fairly close to the start line.

As I parked the bike I heard the starting gun go off and the race was really on to get across the start line before they dismantle it. I had to get my riding gear off, store it in the panniers and get my running gear on. I had to run along the starting corridor and pin my number to my shirt at the same time; I'm not know for multitasking but the mixture of sharps pins and running resulted in several minor pricks that I could have done without...

Out of breath and already feeling tired I think I was last to cross the start line. I had set my trusty Garmin virtual partner to run the race in 1.32 which, if I kept up, would give me a new PB for a 10 miler. I struggled through the first 2 miles, passing a lot of walkers, joggers and eventually the slower runners. Once I caught up with the runners I started to feel better, must be a pack thing.

The rest of the race was tough and I pushed hard to keep up the pace. But it paid off and I crossed the line in 1:32:58, a new PB!! According to fetcheveryone.com my marathon prediction based on that run is 4.17 but it's hard to predict what will happen after the half marathon stage, especially after 20 miles.

Gael Force 6 is next on the list!!

14 miler!

After a 2 week break (for no good reason) this run was an effort to catch up on lost training. It turned out to be a very slow 14.35 miler, running it in a little under 02:37, that's an average pace of 10:56 min/mi!! I did start really fast which is always a mistake but I always do it when I run on my own, my best pace was a ridiculous 5:54 min/mi!

Guitar Lesson #5

Last class tonight and we're down to 4 students. After the usual revision we got stuck into plucking and strumming!!


Tonight's ditty's included Konckin' On Heaven's Door (Eric Clapton), Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison), Heart Of Gold (Neil Young) and Redemption Song (Bob Marley).

Tonight's takeaways:

• Even more strumming techniques
• A short into to a vast array of new chords including E, Am, Dm, A7, E7, D7, G7, C7, F, Am7, B7...
• Yet again... sore fingers!!

No good excuse...

... but I do have a bucket full of really bad excuses for not running recently. My last training run was over a week ago, that's asking for trouble... it may be early days but from experience every training run counts!!

Guitar Lesson #4

After a fairly soggy ride to the class I was relieved to find that my guitar case was, as advertised, waterproof. Tonight's class was very exciting as we were introduced to the tricky art of fingerstyle which is what I'm really interested in, or at least that what I consider to be the most difficult and flexible style of playing. After some revision and more on rhythm we go stuck into plucking!!

Tonight's ditty's included Ride On (Christy Moore) and Good Riddance; Time Of Your Life (Green day)

Tonight's takeaways:

• More strumming
• Fingerstyle
• More Capo
• Cords: C, D, and Em... oh and A!
• Yet again... sore fingers

12... errrrrr 14 miler

Yes, did it again... this weekend run was supposed to be a 12 miler but in my bid to avoid "making up" distance at the end of the run I took the scenic route around the Curragh. It was an enjoyable run, I felt good the whole way around even on the two occasions when the heavens opened up and drenched me. The final distance was 13.71 miles which I ran in 2:21:11, that's a slow but reasonable pace of 10:18.

U2-tastic

I never was a big U2 fan and have never had the urge to see them live before but last night's concert in Croke Park (Dublin) was awesome. I'm not one for drama but it was infinitely better than I thought it might be, the stage alone was incredible... it managed to do what all the marketing bumf claimed it would do by "establishing a physical proximity" where "the band is just sitting in the palm of the audience's hand". The entire stadium felt connected to the stage as its' claws reached out into the crowd... nowhere to be seen was the traditional outdoor concert appearance where the stage is stuck in one end of the stadium flanked by stacks of speakers.

This stage was closer to the center of the stadium and having no defined front or back it was surrounded by the crowd. The biggest feature turned out to be the cylindrical video screen which was positioned high above the band for the first half of the set and in the second half it expanded down like a giant concertina to form a dramatic cone of light that flooded the stadium and projected the performers outward.

"We have some magic, and we've got some beautiful objects we're going to take around the world, and we're inside that object."

Last mid-week 3 miler

For the first time in ages I have stuck to the plan and ran all three mid-week runs, if I keep this up I may even get close to a 4 hour marathon in October.

This morning's run was early (7am) and I ran a little over 3 miles in 27 minutes, that's a little under 9 minute miles and right where I want to be. Next is a 12 miler the day after the U2 concert in Dublin... something tells me I may be pushing that one out by a day... BUT it will be done!!

Lunchtime 6... errrr... 3 miler

Yes, the other way around today! The plan was to run 6 but on the treadmill I could only manage 3 before boredom set in and I switched to a bike. You can't beat the outdoors!!

Guitar Lesson #3

After a two week gap we're back in the class room. A few faces missing tonight, I hope they haven't given up. I was late and missed the first 10 minutes, arriving just as our teacher began to inspect our homework... DAMN!!

Tonight we focused on rhythm, and how to keep it flowing... and like most things on this course it wasn't easy but there lies the challenge! Tonight's ditty's included Wonder Wall (Oasis) and This Year's Love (David Gray), and after our performance we've got a lot of work to do before next week's class.

Tonight's takeaways:

• Even further strumming
• A little more plucking
• Using the Capo
• Cords: Em7 and A7sus, with a brief into to C, D, and Em
• Sore fingers

Lunchtime 3.. errr... 4 miler

Working from home today I could nip out at lunchtime for my first midweek run. I had 3 miles on the schedule but didn't notice my distance until I had travelled 2 miles. I finished having run a little over 4 miles in 36 minutes, a nice brisk pace.

Yawn...

An odd thing happened this morning... every time I woke I thought it was a little earlier than before, as if time was going backwards, and the really weird thing was that all the evidence supported that logic...radio, clock, etc. It was so convincing!!! And yes... I woke up late...

Adidas DCM 5 miler

I had 11 miles on my schedule for today and as today's race was 5 miles I though running 6 miles before the race would be a great idea... add that to the 5 mile race and I'll have done my 11 miler!! However, that brilliant plan scuppered due to several beers the night before, severe lack of sleep and training but above a complete absence of the will to do it... in fact the will to live was struggling to get a look in as I tumbled out of bed this morning.

Before setting off I had to fix the panniers to the bike to store my motorcycle gear while running. A major benefit of riding a motorcycle is being able to get closer your destination, frequently right beside it! This was the first time I had taken the motorcycle to a race a I wasn't sure if was practical but when I got to the Phoenix park there were quite a few other bikers getting their gear on, or off, and some getting their grove on but I think they were foreign (just a guess as they were tanned and attractive, not typical Irish characteristics).

The race started late, but we all expected that. I ran the first half mile at a pleasant pace with a fellow fetchie before taking off to catch up with my virtual partner who was fixed on a 40 minute time. I ran at what I thought was a fast but reasonable pace, I didn't want put everything into the first few miles only to lose it later in the race. I really wanted to beat the magic 40 minute barrier but I crossed the line a second over 43 minutes, while not what I wanted it was a really good time and I'm very happy with it.

We spent about an hour at the finish area eating, chatting and making plans for later and by the time I got back to my motorcycle stretching had completely slipped my mind. It was during dinner later that night that I remembered but a busy restaurant is not the place to be throwing legs over shoulders so tomorrow I will surely pay the price with a pair of aching legs...

Germans...

... or specifically German Engineers really do say what they mean! My motorcycle (German as it happens) has a neat feature that counts down remaining kilometers when the petrol level
drops below one quarter. I had the pleasure of seeing it in action this morning when, on the way into work, petrol was getting pretty low and by the time I arrived at my office it had only 2 kilometers in the tank. As an optimist (others may use more colourful descriptions) I took that as 2 kilometers and a bit extra... you know, a little bit extra just in case. That evening the first thing on my to-do list was getting to the nearest petrol station.

Luckily, I thought, it wasn't far... literally down the road. Unluckily it was a pretty long road which turned out to be 2.5 kilometers. As I approached the 2 kilometer mark and within sight of the petrol station the bike slowly lost power and gracefully glided to the road side. It was amazing... as the counter rolled from 1 kilometer to 0, at exactly the same moment, the bike ran dry.

I put the side stand down, put my helmet and gloves into one of the panniers before I stated to push. I knew this bike was heavy but after a hundred meters it started to get very heavy, and got even heavier and heavier with every step. After negotiating a major junction and two sets of tram lines I made it to the petrol station where I one last obstacle to scale, a short but sharp uphill ramp into the station. After a final big push I was in.

Never again will I second guess anything this motorcycle tells me! I've learnt the hard way that there are no if, buts or maybes... it tells you the way it is and that's that, ignore it and you will be sorry! I'm off to re-read the user manual...

Guitar Lesson #2

With 3 cords, strumming technique and a firm but proper grip on my guitar I was looking forward to the next installment. There were a few comedy moments but that's to be expected. After strumming and a reminder of our 3 cords we were introduced to the next trio; G, Cadd9 and Dsus4. Once we'd mastered those we were making music, of sorts, by playing along to Sweet Home Alabama but it would be fair to say that Lynard Skynard did a better job, but only just.

Apart from sore fingers I am really enjoying this course, a lot more than I thought I might.

Today's takeaways:

• A re-tuned guitar
• Further strumming
• A little plucking
• Cords: G, Cadd9, and Dsus4
• Sore fingers

Achill Half Marathon 2009

Last year if you said to me that I'd be running the Achill half marathon this weekend I'd say you'd be right... and you are, clever thing! This is my third Achill run and every year I run a better time, thankfully this year was no exception.

We drove across Ireland to Keel (the race start, finish and HQ) the night before the race to pick up our race numbers and decided to get some food once we've got the race pack in the bag so to speak. Big mistake... Keel is not known for it's late night culinary offerings and, as we found out, neither is Achill Sound or Mulranny (now spelt Mallaranny) where all kitchens seem to close at 9pm and as our accommodation resembled a building site and only had a microwave oven for cooking our options were limited.

Later that night after a couple of tasteless re-hydrated pasta packs, ham sandwiches that tasted more like chicken and a warm cup of tea (or so it said on the box) we sat on our upturned crates and planned for tomorrow's events.

The day started out overcast and a little chilly which meant no need for sunscreen, but that gradually changed as the race went on. The first mile was nice an easy, I ran it in a little over 10 minutes before stepping up the pace a little to just beyond my comfort zone. I was going for a sub 2 hour half marathon and felt that I could do it this time.

Around mile 5 it dawned on me that I obviously have a selective memory as I climbed yet another hill having told everyone that there was only one significant hill at mile 9. The sun started to shine and the odd brief shower cooled us down, a curse in disguise as my skin baked in the sun.

As expected, mile 9 was the start of the dreaded hill... it was steep and very, very long which probably explains why it stuck out in my memory. After "the hill" the remaining terrain was undulating all the way to back to Keel. I didn't quite make it in under 2 hours but I did come close, the official time was 2:02:36... the one to beat next time!

The lack of sunscreen and the surprise appearance of the sun during the race slowly but surely became obvious as my face arms and legs began ripen like plum tomatoes. By the end of the night I was positively glowing like a man shaped radiator. Today's lesson... lash on the sunscreen if there's even a remote possibility of sun!!

Here's the route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8024483

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!

The day after the night before the day after the night before...

... and yes, it was a long one but I did manage to get to bed by 3am, I may not have slept much but I was in the best place at that time of night considering what I am about to attempt tomorrow! It took a while to pack, say goodbyes and get going but we were on the road in good time and arrive in Naas on time. The plan was to ride the motorcycles to Cork but that plan was hatched weeks before over a cold beer or two. Now that we have factored in running a marathon the next day it may not be the cleverest thing to do but in true man-style and after much debate we decided to do it anyway and worry later.

We spent so much time talking about it that we were now running late so we abandoned plans to ride the long, scenic route there and instead we'd take the direct and faster motorway route. The journey was largely uneventful but still a lot of fun. We did make a couple of stops, or bio-breaks as my American colleagues might call them... I won't go into detail but they can be multi directional and involve liquids, solids or both!! Too much detail??

The scenery was rich and varied, and half way along I realised that today was my fellow runner Monika's last day in Ireland before she heads back to Italy. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye but perhaps she'll be back, it's a very small world!

We had to make it to Cork City Hall by 6pm otherwise we would miss registration and time was flying by. We arrived with minutes to spare and were some of the last to get our packs. Just outside the city hall the owners of a gourmet coffee stall were just about to begin packing up and as they poured the last 2 excellent cappuccinos of the day we began to realise that we were here, in Cork and that tomorrow morning we would be standing less than 100m away in a long line of athletes about to start a 26.2 mile run around this undulating city... and now we were scared! The conversation turned to finishing strategies... we were going to finish but we just didn't know how. I had only ran 22 miles during the entire month of May... 22 miles!! Now that's asking for trouble!

The day after the night before...

Not the best preparation for a marathon but it was jolly good fun... did I say jolly? Anyway, it's a birthday weekend and we're staying in the gorgeous seaside village of Carlingford... gorgeous? Hmmm... Last night was great, we had divine dinner in a darling little restaurant followed by drinks in a handsome little pub on the... oh dear... divine, darling, handsome... crikey!

Anyway, after a late night and very little sleep we were up early this morning to keep the appointment we had made with a man from the Kayak trade. We struggled into our snug wet suits and after a short kayak/paddle orientation session we were on our way to the waters edge. It was a little smelly, quite gooey and very slippy but we were made of strong stuff and held it together until we were clear of the shore and into the deep blue. That's not altogether true, while the water looked deep it was in fact very shallow, no deeper than 4 feet as I accidentally found out... a number of times.

Our instructor was a man who obviously loved his job which usually makes for a memorable experience. Within the first 10 minutes he had us sitting, kneeling and standing on our kayaks. I think we all experienced several unplanned and very cold swims back to our kayaks having been separated by gravity, usually accompanied by a loud girly scream and that was just the men... there was nothing graceful about falling out, swimming to and especially getting back into our kayaks.

The session lasted for the entire morning and I was exhausted by the time we got to shore. I wonder what was in that water, I must have swallowed several litres and it left me feeling a little light headed, lighter than usual... might explain divine, darling and handsome...

Tonight is party night, and the party is in the house that I'm staying in, the same house that has several tall refrigerators stock full of beer, the same beer that will undoubtedly find it's way to me throughout the night and morning and tomorrow we drive to Cork for the marathon the day after. Am I worried? Oddly and perhaps sadly no... must be the water!

OK, just one more time...

It's Friday and with only 4 days to the marathon I just had to get one last run in before I officially rest so early this morning I managed to get 6 miles in. I've gotta say they felt pretty good, perhaps this marathon won't be a complete nightmare after all... having said that there are 20 more miles to do after the first 6... yikes!!

Last chance...

I couldn't sleep last night, the reason was obvious... I was awake. At 6am I gave up and went out for a run, I wasn't sure how far I was going to run but it was great to be out, so good that I cannot figure out why I have been so utterly rubbish at getting my running act together for the last few weeks... especially as the weeks leading up to a marathon are so important.

It was a nice easy run, an average pace of 9:47 over 40 minutes brought me a little over 4 miles. I reckon I'll be OK on Monday... see, still not bothered!!!

Mid-week melodrama...

OH MY GOD... there are only 5 days to the marathon... this is not going to be fun... it's been a full 2 weeks since my last run, 2 weeks... yikes!! I think it's finally sinking in... I'm in big trouble and, unlike my legs next Monday, time is running out fast!!

Weekend-end...

...it's Sunday night and exactly a week to the Cork marathon. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but... I haven't managed to get out for a run since the 13 miles in Spain 2 weeks ago. It's not looking good, in fact it's looking bad.... really, really bad BUT even so I am still confident that I'll make it around the course without any difficulty... how odd?

Friday night...

... in the pub is never a good time to plan a trip, and to prove it here's a summary of what I found this morning scribbled on bits of beer mats:


View Larger Map

... and back of course! In the cold light of day it looks a little adventurous... perhaps it was bike talking??

Jazz-tastic

Yes, I'm taking more singing lessons, this time Jazz which I find unbelievably challenging as it demands a lot of tonal improvisation, as in you're encouraged to wander around the tune while somehow making musical sense, if that makes any sense... Tonight was week #5 and we're already half way through the course.

I feel like I'm on a musical roll and have decided to take some Guitar and Piano lessons later this summer, just to see if I have any talent in that department. From what I can see it's not that hard, it's simply a case of plucking a string or pressing a key... the trick is doing it in the right order!!

Beeming...

Tonight I just picked up my new motorcycle, for those in the know it's a BMW R 1200GS, for everyone else it's wow... that's a big bike! Frankly it's an awesome machine and a world away from the CB500, it's going to take some getting used to but it'll be a lot of fun doing it!

Reconnected

While in Spain I had been electronically disconnected from the outside world which was very, very nice! It was an absolutely fantastic few days away and I spent it with the most fantastic bunch of people you could imagine! On the running front I did manage to get some miles in but only on the first day (Wednesday) when I ran 13.1 miles along the seafront, here's the route I took: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/6206573. It was tough and I did mean to follow up with a couple of short runs but they never happened. Now that I'm back I need to think about that missing 20 miler... is it too late? The marathon is only 2 weeks away... by doing it this close to the big day would I effectively shoot myself in the foot?

The rain in Spain...

...will hopefully fall far, far away from Marbella! We're off to Spain for a few days, I'm looking forward to blue skies and constant sunshine! I've got to say I'm feeling a lot better and will be taking my trainers to get some miles in; I've been told that there a cycle/walking/running track that runs the entire length of the coast from Puerto Banus to Marbella and beyond. Speaking of miles, I haven't done any running - at all - so far this month... this is going to be a really tough marathon, any training I get in from this point on is not going to contribute much. And yet I'm not particularly bothered... how odd!!

Weak from hell...

I think I'm finally getting over this flu/cold thing that's been beating me up for the last week and a bit. I lost a couple of weekends and consequently a couple of long runs including the all important 20 miler last weekend. I haven't been running since the 6 miler on the 29th of April and I'm a little worried... but considering there are only 3 weeks to the marathon I probably should be really, REALLY worried but I'm not! Bizarrely I have faith that it'll all work out.

It's quite remarkable. You see I know it's not going to work out, in fact I know (this is a fact for I have been there) that if I don't get those big miles in 3 weeks before the big day it will be torture, particularly the last 6 miles but there is some kind of cerebral cushioning going on that will not let me recognise even the most simple and obvious facts. Is this how religion works? Is there a trigger that switches off our ability to reason, question and recognise the obvious when we really want to do something, believe in something, or have worked long & hard for something?

Woof woof...

I feel even worse today... yuk!

Woof!!

I feel as sick as a dog!! I think I've got the flu! I woke up feeling like someone removed my insides and replaced them with goo! I was supposed to run 12 miles today, maybe tomorrow... boo hoo...

Mid week 6 miler

No excuse for missing my run on Tuesday (yesterday), well I do have an excuse but it's too pathetic to mention here. Tonight was the 5 mile run I should have done with a little more to make up. All went well, a little over 10 minute miles. I'm looking forward to building up to the 20 miler in a next couple of weeks.

18 miles is a very long way to go...

This was the first of my really long runs before we taper off. I ran it on my own and it went surprisingly well considering I haven't been sticking to the schedule. The planned route was 2 loops of the familiar 7.5 mile Curragh long route and I'd make up the 3 miles somewhere at the end.

The first loop went really well. I brought my iPod with me, it was the first time I had used it outside (i.e. not in the gym) for many, many months and it really helped. The second loop went really well too although I had to skip past a few songs that didn't fit... namely the brilliant but depressing "Every Body Hurts" (REM), the stop - start - stop "Quite" (Bjork) and the "not for a man to run to" for all kinds of reasons "Dancing Queen" (ABBA).

At 15 miles I was back a the car and had 3 miles to go. For some reason I miscalculated the distance it would take cover 3 miles... one would think it should be 3 miles or twice 1.5 miles but I returned to the car with another 2 miles to run... so off I went again, this time getting it right and got back to the car with zero mile to go! 18 miles in the bag, I'm so glad to have done it, only a massive 20 miler to do now!!!

Mid morning 4 miler

I was expecting delivery of my hire car this morning and I had about an hour to kill before delivery, perfect for a quick 4 miler. And quick it was with an average pace of 8.49. I got back just in time for the delivery guys and with no time to change I wasn't a pretty sight. I'm not sure if they were expecting to hand over the keys to a barefoot, scantly clad, sweating client... but I'm sure they've seen a lot worse in their line of work!

Bullets Under Foot

Not unlike all our long runs to date this one was difficult. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it was dead calm, hardly ideal for a long 12 mile run and such was our negative mental state that, just to make the worst out of a bad situation, we duly took that rather large chip and swung it over our shoulders before we started to run.

It wasn't that bad. Although we didn't really want to run at all that day and the thought of stretching out on a comfy bench while 2 creamy pints of Guinness were delivered to our corner of the beer garden were very vivid and very distracting, once we got going and into a rhythm we began to enjoy it.

Our route took us on a large 7.5 mile loop around the parameter of the Curragh, along some quite country lanes, across beautiful countryside, back into the Curragh camp and out the other side back towards the car. We had another 4.5 miles to run so to make that up we took in the large field that ran along the M7. Half was around this final loop I started to get really tired and slowly dropped behind, my legs were getting heavier and heavier with every step. Before I knew it I was so far behind I was just out of shouting distance, I kept my head down and focused on moving those tired legs.

Just then something sparkled in the grass and caught my eye. My concentration was focused on running I kept plodding along but my legendary concentration skills let me down yet again and I had to turn back to have a look. It turned out to be a shiny new bullet, my guess was that some private with concentration skills no better than mine had dropped it while on a training exercise last night. So I did what any idiot would do and picked it up to bring it to the MP's when I finished my run. A few steps later I decided that was a retarded thing to do and as I looked for a safe place to drop the bullet, somewhere findable again, I noticed a batch of other bullets. That'll do I thought to myself. There must have been 20 or so rounds lying there. A closer look revealed that although they were unfired they were blanks so I was not uncomfortable leaving them there until I finished my run.

After an agonising 2 more miles I finally reached the end of the run just before I reached the end of my teather. After a long stretch we circled back to report the bundle brass. It's a little worrying that we're having such trouble with a fairly trivial 12 mile run, and with the marathon about 6 weeks away we really need to fix this or it may be a marathon of comedy moments...

Horses for courses...

Tonight, according to the schedule, I had to run 8 miles. This distance from my house to the Curragh and back is 6 miles, critically it had street lights all the way, useful when you're running in the dark! By the time I got to the Curragh it was still bright, but only just. I had to find an extra 2 miles to make up 8. It looked like the street lights carried on up to the race course so I followed the light.

As I passed through the gate to the race course I wandered onto the course itself hoping to find some grass to run on. As luck would have it I happened upon two fenced sand covered tracks that ran parallel to each other, they must be used as a training run for the horses before races. The surface was raked and bouncy, just perfect for running.

It was going really well until about half way in the sun disappeared, I didn't notice it slipping behind the horizon, it just dropped! At that moment I realised I couldn't see a thing other than the white fences guiding me along. It was a little scary, there could be anything out here, I could be mugged by a gang of delinquent foals around the next corner.

I had to decide if should keep going into the unknown or do the sensible thing and turn back along the path I knew? Of course I kept going, running into the darkness I was convinced that these two tracks were in fact one long track and that met in the middle... they didn't.

At the end of the first track it took a little blind cross country to get to the other track. I found the white railings of the second track and continued the run back towards the light.

That extra round trip was a little over 3 miles and combined with the run home I notched up 9 miles, a little more than planned but then a lot of tonight was unexpected...

Wednesday's excuse is just no use...

After such a good start to the week I was just too tired this morning and missed my 8 miler. I had every intention of running that evening but it just didn't work out. Looks like I'm going to be out of sync by a day, I can see a pattern here...

Tuesday's run before the sun...

Another mega early start just before dawn, ran 4.02 miles in 36 minutes, that's a pretty good pace of 8:54!

16 miles to hell... and back...

It was a bad start, neither one of us was in the mood to run any distance don't mind the longest run on the Cork schedule so far but we got on with it and drove to the Curragh to run the entire distance on grass.

The first 10 miles were fine but I started to get really tired from 11 miles. 12 to 13 miles were a little better but after that it was a struggle all the way to the finish. It felt like my legs had been replaced by lead weights, every stride took so much effort and I could feel my heels dragging on the ground with every step.

When we got back to the car my Garmin had registered only 15.8 miles so I insisted we carry on past the car to make up the missing distance. Passing the car was heartbreaking, it represented an end to this suffering, with soft comfy seats out of the wind and rain... OK, it wasn't actually raining but the was definitely a cloud following me around...

We ran a total of 16.01 miles in 2 hours 46 minutes, that a pretty slow pace of 10:25 which is fine for a long (slow) run.

Here's a link to the route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/3534759.

Extra early start...

Another mega early start this morning. Ran 8.11 miles in 1 hour 21 minutes, that's a pace of 9:58!

Readjustment...

I'm a day out of sync but I did get up mega early and get out to run yesterdays 4 miles. I did it in a pretty respectable 36 minutes, a pace of 9:01.

Banking crisis me arse...

... didn't happen, the weather was terrible, you know... wind, rain, cold, outside... OK, rubbish excuse BUT I did have a revelation today which, although it doesn't make up for being a lazy git, it did make me wonder if there may be some weight in the well know phrase "money is the root of all evil". You see I picked up a rather unusual injury recently which left me with an occasional hobble. Let me explain...

About 3 weeks ago I noticed that every time I got out of a chair I felt a dull pain on my left side, in the hip department... just below the hip to be more exact... and to the rear... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I had a pain in my left arse cheek. The pain was so bad that when I tried to walk I had a limp, but only for a short while and the pain usually eased off after a minute or so. I put it down to a running injury although I couldn't figure out how I injured myself there... perhaps a stretch too far?

This went on all week and showed no sign of easing. On week two there was still no sign of improvement and I considered seeing a physio but that's just more money on an already stretched budget. I took out my wallet and apart from a bunch of receipts and coffee shop loyalty cards it was fiscally challenged BUT something did occur to me... with my wallet out of my rear pocket I felt a little more comfortable, and yes I do carry my wallet on my left side. Could this be the root of my problem?

To confirm my suspicion I began a controlled experiment; for the rest of the week I'd carry my wallet in one of my front pockets and when at my desk I'd leave it on the desk. The experiment was a success and it proved that once again money was just a pain in the arse!

2009 Great Ireland Run

This was a tough day, I had to wrap my 15 miler around the 10K race this afternoon. The race was due to start at 1.05pm and as we all know nothing starts on time in Ireland so I figured that if I parked the car near Collins Barracks Museum at 12.45pm I'd have a 2 mile run to the start line and arrive in plenty of time. When I got to the start area the race hadn't started and there were no signs of movement so I decided to make up a little more distance but running around the field between Áras an Uachtaráin and the US ambassadors residence.

Each lap of the field was a little less than 1/2 a mile and after my first lap there was still no sign of the race starting so I carried on and ran another lap. After the second lap there was still no movement so a third lap was in order. As I rounded the last corner I notice the elite women runners flying down the road, at that stage they had already ran 2 kilometers but it still looked like the main race hadn't started so to avoid being on the wrong side of the road when the race starts I decided to move over to the start line side of the road and ran loops of a small wooded area. After 2 loops I noticed that the crowd had started to shift, the race had started but I thought that it would take some time to get 11,000 runners across the start line so I ran another loop before crossing the start line myself.

As I finally ran towards the start area I was a little surprise to find it deserted, it didn't take as much time as I thought it would to shift that many people... As I ran down Chesterfield Avenue the was a sudden sense of urgency as I could see that the starting area was being dismantled. I could see that the timing mat was still in place and as I crossed the line I heard a beep that registered my start time.

It took about half a kilometer to catch up with the slowest walkers so I completely misjudged the start time, oh well! After another half a kilometer I began passing some of the slower runners and by the second kilometer I was surrounded by runners. I continued to overtake for the first half of the race. I slowed right down at the 5K water station, I had been running for 7 miles at this stage and was starting to feel dehydrated so I had to take on the entire bottle of water. However, just around the corner from the water station was a serious hill that seemed to go on forever so I clutched my unopened bottle, got my head down and ran until I reached the top of the hill before I took on water.

The remaining 3 or 4 kilometers were easy, I really needed that water. I had no idea what time I crossed the line in, I was timing the entire 15 mile run, but most important was the fact that I had covered ten miles when I did cross the line. Unfortunately it wasn't a finish line for me and after the briefest pause to remove my timing chip and pick up the all important goodie bag I was off again, this time down Chesterfield Avenue towards the city.

I ran back to the car to get rid of the goodie bag and had a little over 2 miles to run to complete the 15 miles. These last 2 miles were the most difficult, I had to fight hard to keep going as I ran through unfamiliar back streets, lanes and alleyways to gain critical inches that would all add up to make those last 2 miles.

Finally my trusty Garmin rolled over to 15 miles, I continued on into the Museum car park and when I found a suitable place to stretch I stopped running and stopped the watch. In the end I ran 15.23 miles in 2 hours 31 minutes and those all important 27 seconds. The average pace was 9:57, just about right for a long run. In hindsight I wouldn't wrap a long run around a race again, I should have run at a steady 10 minute mile pace for the entire 15 miles but it's difficult to run a race that slowly, not to mention crossing the finish line only to carry on for another 5 miles, that was a killer.

As for the GIR bit, I ran than in 58.12.

Here's a link to the complete 15 mile route: http://connect.garmin.com/player/2977743

Week 10: 15 miler

The plan was to run 15 this morning and then run then GIR 10K tomorrow... however sanity has prevailed and I'll do it tomorrow before or after (or perhaps both) the GIR.

Week 10: Third midweek run

Still going good, ran 4.2 miles this morning in 44 minutes.

Week 10: Second midweek run... 7 miler

I have finally got my act together! Early, very early, this morning I got out of bed determined to make up for lost time. It was chilly outside, a little mist hung in the sky but it was dry, perfect for running. The sun had been up for a little while and had started to thin that early morning mist. I sat on the doorstep lacing up my shoes while my Garmin fixed a signal, as soon as it had I was off.

It was a beautiful morning and after the usual aches during the first couple of miles I settled into the run and began to enjoy it. I decided to take a different route to the Curragh which added a little more distance and once there I took a new route for a change of scenery and ran south towards the military graveyard and, as I soon found out, what looked like a training ground the tanks.

After that excursion I headed back towards familiar territory having clocked up an extra mile. By the time I got home I had ran 8.54 miles in 1 hour 22 minutes (and 53 seconds, it all counts), that's a respectable 9:42 minute miles.

I feel like I'm back on track, and not before time... the Cork marathon is only 7 weeks away!

Week 10: First midweek 3 miler

Funny story... didn't happen... next...

Dunboyne 4 miler

OK, this is getting ridiculous... no prizes for guessing that I missed this one too. As we leave week 9 and start week 10 we're slap bang in the middle of the Cork marathon training schedule but I'm afraid to say it doesn't feel like it. We've got a lot of work to do if we're going to be in as good shape as we were for last year's race. Week 10 will be a turning point, we're no longer home to Mr. Cockup! If he comes knocking tell him to bugger off, we're getting serious and it starts now!!

Wow, I almost convinced myself there... hang on, that's the door, back in a minute...

Week 9: Weekend 10 miler

Predictably this run never happened, but I do have a fantastic reason! Well, maybe not really fantastic, pretty pathetic now that I think about it especially as it was completely self inflicted but it is a reason and a lot better one than "it just didn't happen"... It all started with a fantastic home cooked dinner with some friends on Friday night and ended the next morning staring out from under the duvet as a demolition crew were hard at work dismantling the inside of my head.

Needless to say I barely made it through the day doing next to nothing and any thoughts of running 10 miles were not entertained.

Week 9: 4 miler that didn't happen.

I know there was a really good reason for missing this run, I just can't recall what it was...

Week 9: 7 miler from hell

After missing our run yesterday this one had to be done at all costs. It was off to a bad start as, not unlike our spirits, it was cold and wet outside. Not only that but we were running into the wind.

We battled on to the 3.5 mile mark where we turned around and retraced our steps to make up the 7 miles. Having fought against the wind on the way out we hardly noticed it on the way back, where's the justice in that?

Still, we managed to run the 7 miles in a little over 1 hour 5 minutes.

Week 9: First mid-week 3 miler that never happened...

... no good excuse, a few really bad ones alright but nothing that could pass as a good reason not to run.

Week 8: Around the Curragh in 13 miles...

After the 20 miler I had to do on my own for last years Dublin marathon this had to be one of the hardest training runs I have ever done. Psychologically I was in the wrong place which, from experience, will make the difference between a good and bad run.

We started off well and ran towards Donnolly's hollow. It's a flat easy stretch with plenty of open space to run on. After rounding Donnolly's monument we made for the golf course and straight in to a headwind which didn't much for our failing moral. It wasn't too bad, this part of the route was tree lined and we had plenty of shelter from the howling wind.

After a mile or so we turned right where the trees gave way to bushes and scrub land. It took twice the effort to maintain our speed, our failing moral hit rock bottom but we knew had 13 miles to do and there was no getting out of it. We had started and as always we were going to finish.

After a couple of miles we reached the next turn that would bring us through the Curragh camp. This stretch was all uphill and mid way it dawned on me that our moral was now beyond rock bottom and going down. It took incredible effort to get up that hill and why, WHY was that wind still head on?

Now, on the other side of the Curragh, it was down hill and getting a little easier. When got back to the car we had only covered 5.5 miles, we had 8.5 miles to go, yikes! We carried on running, this time along the motorway to Kildare town and around by the Curragh camp again. By the time we got back to the road we had covered almost 11 miles and the end was in sight. We ran what we thought was a 2 mile loop but we were a little short and a little extra jaunt was required to make up the 13 miles.

It took us 2hrs 16 minutes to run the distance, which really isn't that bad considering we had 3 stops (all water, 2 in and 1 out!) but it was a tough one. The first thing to get into gear before any run is your mind, if it's not in the right place you will suffer a lot more than you need to.


Here the map of our route and stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2705050.

Week 8: Last mid-week run...

...and I'm still furious about that speeding ticket! 3 miles less than 27 minutes says it all!!!

Week 8: Wednesday's 6 miler...

... didn't start well. Driving to the start line I was pulled over and given a speeding ticket, that's a fine and points on my licence... DAMN!!! On the up side I was so furious that it put a serious spring in my step as I led the way around the track finishing in 56 minutes.

Week 8: Tuesday's 3 miler...

... didn't happen, St. Patrick's day and all that...

St. Patrick's Festival 5K.

I was really looking forward to this run. My running partner was a running novice and today she's lose her 5K cherry! The race was organised by Eamonn Coghlan, a running legend in these parts, who ran and won this very race in 1983 before going on to win the world championships the same year.

There was lots of excitement before the race in the Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, as we rubbed shoulders with complete unknowns like ourselves. Having arrived early I had plenty of time to pin my number to my shirt, something that can take most of the morning. With our goodie bags in hand and numbers pinned on we made our way outside where a local motorcycle club were positioning their machines at the start line. There was an impressive array of bikes on display and as there were a few knackered looking antiques parked among the lines of dream machines my bike would have slotted in beautifully.

Not long after we were off to a nice steady pace. The route took us up Dawson Street, along Stephen's Green, around Fitzwillam Square where we zip-zagged toward the canal. Then we turned right and ran along the canal for a kilometer or so and made our way up Earlsford Terrace, up Leeson Street, back around Fitzwilliam Square, along Stephen's Green and across the finish line in front of the Mansion House.

We kept a nice steady pace the whole way around and finished in 39.37. Here's a map and stats of our run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2601899. We wandered back into the Mansion House and were pleasantly surprised with tea, coffee and tons of those chocolate covered mikado biscuits that you can only get here... yum! I stood beside a table with a plentiful supply and happily listened to speech after speech after prize after speech, etc. I was supposed to be on a diet but I reckon after yesterday's 12 miler and today's 5K I deserve it!

Week 7: Weekend 12 miler.

With 11 weeks to the Cork marathon the training mileage is starting to get noticeable. This weekend's treat was a 12 mile long run from Newbridge to the Curragh and back. It was still early by the time we reached the Curragh and the sun was starting to burn off the morning mist. We had covered 3 miles getting there and had 6 to run before the return leg home. Our route took us through south west of the army camp, through the oldest golf course in Ireland and back through the middle of the camp towards the road home where we passed a never ending line of race horses out for their morning stretch.

Running the 12 miles in 2 hrs 7 minutes we didn't break any records but it was a lovely run.

Week 7: Third mid-weeker...

... is in the bag! 3.2 miles in 28 minutes, reasonable!

Week 7: Second mid-weeker...

...was a little stronger. We managed a little over 6 miles in 55 minutes, if it were a race I'd have a new PB... but it wasn't, oh well!

Week 7: First mid-weeker...

...turned out to be a weak one alright!! We accidental stretched our 3 miler into a 3.2 miler and ran it in 29 mins, that's a lot slower that usual but hey, the heart wasn't in it and we did well to get out at all!

10K Between the Bridges, Belfast

It was an early morning start, very early, and the glasses of sparkling Chardonnay last night didn't make it any easier to get up and out. The night before I drove the car dry and had to find a petrol station as soon as I set off. Luckily there was one less than a mile away that was just opening and happy to take my cash. I unfolded my google maps directions and headed north.

The drive north was uneventful until I heard the news at 8.30. Overnight two soldiers had been shot dead with four others injured. This happened just north of Belfast and although I was heading for west Belfast I began to worry that I may be getting into something I should avoid. I continued north and decided that if I started to meet check points I'd turn around and head for home.

I didn't see any evidence of tension or heightened security for most of the journey. When I entered Belfast I did notice a lot of Police cars and the occasional Land Rover but had no way of knowing if this was normal. My printed directions quickly became useless as the event was using the M1 motorway, now closed for the run, and my directions used that very route. After several wrong turns I found the signs I was looking for and headed up the Falls Road towards the start line.

Further along the Falls Road traffic started to build up. After about ten minutes of stop start traffic I notice a policeman directing traffic. When I reached him I told him what I was going to and could he give me directions. As luck would have it he was directing traffic away from the race area. I could park anywhere nearby and I'd be a short walk from the start line.

As I walked down the Falls Road I began to notice the security presence. It seemed to me that every third Police officer carried, in addition to their sidearm, a large rifle or machine gun. I passed a lot of police officers on that short walk, that adds up to a lot of hardware.

Next to the start line was a shopping mall where the registration office was set up. After I picked up my number and goodie bag I got on the phone to hook up with my running partners. They had arrived much earlier that I had and managed to park directly outside the mall. There were two races happening that day, our 10K and a 5K run/walk. The 5K race was stating first and as we had a few minutes to spare it seemed like a good idea to shed anything we didn't need and put them into the car nearby. I offered to run around to the car so with the car keys and the bundle of extra stuff I ran around to the other side of the fence to the car. As I got to the car I fumbled a little to get the key out of my pocket, carrying a bundle of gear and wearing gloves didn't help. My grip on the key loosened and I dropped the it. As I looked down to where I expected to see the key there was nothing except a very large and deep storm drain. What were the chances of there being a drain directly under the driver door of this particular car? I couldn't believe it, I got down on my knees and peered under the car and to my surprise, relief, shock and utter joy there was the key, sitting about one foot under the car. How it failed to go down the drain I'll never know, it must have bounced off the metal grill for I was standing directly over it, there was nowhere else for it to go. I felt ill with relief, I just couldn't believe how close I came to disaster!

Having avoided the worst possible start to the day, never mind the race, I rejoined the group as the 5K runners/walkers were already crossing the line. I couldn't stop thinking about how close disaster had come and worked hard to get it out of my head, it didn't work and it regularly popped into my thoughts along the entire route.

It wasn't long before it was our turn to get going and not before time, we were starting to turn blue with the cold. The route brought us directly onto junction 1 of the M1 motorway heading south west. We ran along the southbound carriageway uphill all the way to junction 2 where we left the motorway and ran under and up the other side and continued to run on the other carriageway back the way we came towards central Belfast. We had covered about 1.5 miles and were just beginning to warm up when on this side of the carriageway we met a strong head wind that sucked away any warmth we had earned. This continued until we reached lower ground and began to benefit from the high walls that bordered this part of the motorway.

The road surface was great, a brand new 3 lane highway all to ourselves. We passed the starting point where the M1 becomes the A12 an ran on for another 2.5 miles parallel to the Falls Road until we reached the Divis Road where we turned around and ran back towards the M1. I was hoping for a water station somewhere close to the half way mark but it wasn't to be. I was getting really thirsty and really starting to regret those last few glasses of Chardonnay last night. The finish line was in the shopping mall car park and we crossed the line in 56.26, that's a new personal best for me!! Having crossed the line I expected a water station of some description but there was not a drop to be seen. We had to get money to buy some water, luckily one of the cars was close by but this time I didn't volunteer to open it, best not to push my luck too far!

Here's the map of the route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2448561

The rest of my day was spend pottering around Belfast and after a couple of hours, and the contents of my wallet, spent in Ikea I made for the south and home.

Week 6: Friday 8 miler

OK, spot of bother this weekend. On the schedule we've got to run a 12 miler but we've got a 10K (or 6.2 mile) race on Sunday in Belfast. I've been looking forward to this race and really want to do it, but what about the 12 miler? The easy option is to run 6 miles tonight or Saturday and when we add the 6 mile race on Sunday we'll have made up the distance (with a significant break in between runs, not ideal for distance training). The hard option would be to run the full 12 miles in addition to the race. I'm not one for extremes so we decided to compromise and run 8 miles tonight giving us a little break before the race on Sunday.

It was a tough 8 miles, running long distance in the evening is always hard. I much prefer to run early in the morning when my body is less likely to complain and my head is not at all sure where it is or what it's doing.

Week 6: Thursday's 3 miler...

... became a 5 miler, I'm in catchup mode after missing my Tuesday run. I got to the gym late and only had 50 minutes to run the 5 miles so I cranked up the speed to 11.2Kph, up from the usual 10Kph. To be honest I quickly got used to it and occasionally upped it to 12Kph. Perhaps I've been too easy on myself and should run at least 11.2kph from now on.

After much panting I ran a little more than planned in the 50 minutes; 5.6 miles in 51 minutes! That's a pretty good pace of 9.06 and felt pretty good afterwards! What a nice surprise!

Week 6: Wednesday 5 miler...

... became a 3 miler. Straight after work I made straight for to the Gym determined to get my training back on track. I took it easy, as I always do on the treadmill, averaging 10 minute miles, and ran the 3 miles in 30 minutes.

Here's an interesting fact: grapefruit is one of these negative calorie foods, as in it takes more calories to digest grapefruit that are contained in the fruit. They (who ever these people are) say that if you eat half a grapefruit or drink a glass of grapefruit juice before every meal you'll lose weight even if you don't modify your diet... now that sounds like a plan for me!

Week 6: Tuesday 3 miler

The temperature plummeted today, it must be the wrong side of zero out there. When I got off my motorcycle after riding home my hands nearly fell off they were so cold... in fact they were beyond cold, so cold that bizarrely the pain felt warm... what a brilliant design! If you're going to freeze to death something triggers a warm feeling that masks the pain just before you pop your clogs.

Anyway, it took me the best part of an hour to warm up and as it was far too cold to go back outside to run my 3 miles the only other option was the gym. After much procrastinating I found myself snuggled up in front of the TV with a cheeky Merlot... you know I wasn't going anywhere that night!

London Nike 10 mile race...

... me arse! I really thought I'd do it - even after all the eating, drinking and all the other shenanigans that go along with vacations - I really thought I'd get up at 7am on a chilly Sunday morning and race the 10 miles along the Thames with 250 other like minded souls before dashing to Upton Park to watch West Ham beat Man City 1-0.

This minor set back has put a significant scuff on my once polished training schedule. It'll be a game of catchup for the next couple of weeks!

Gym'll fix it...

London, and in particular Docklands where my hotel is located, has changed a lot over the last decade . This shiny new hotel is right beside the shiny new Docklands Light Railway and has a shiny new gym that was going to help me see how my back would react to a little running, critical if I'm going to run 10 miles with Nike tomorrow morning. Thankfully it couldn't care less so it looks like I'm injury free! No excuses now!!

Week 5: 3 miler

It's almost there... but not quite, let's give it one more day.

On the up side Nike got back to me and I'm in for Sundays 10 mile training run in London!

Week 5: 5 miler

It's getting better but I'm giving it another day before I run again.

No word from Nike yet...

Week 5: 3 miler

Scratch that, I'm still in pain so running is out of the question today!

I don't believe in fate BUT... I'll be in London this weekend and I'm scheduled to run 10 miles on Saturday or Sunday, hopefully my back will be better by then. Anyway, while working out potential street routes from my hotel an email from Nike dropped into my inbox. It was an invitation to a training run on March the 1st AND it happens to be in London when I'll be there AND it happens to be 10 miles... how weird is that?? It's an invitation only run that starts at Oxford Circus then heads south to the river and then east along the embankment. At the 5 mile marker there is a water station where we double back and run the same route back to Oxford Circus. There are only 250 places and I replied immediately in the hope of getting one...

Damn it to hell and back...

... I must have pulled something in my back after this mornings run, it's killing me! Hopefully it's trivial and I be OK for Tuesdays 3 miler.

Week 4: 9 miler

This was a real struggle and I spend most of the run playing catchup. I really felt tired during the entire run. I wondered if it was because I had postponed my Thursday run to Friday and left no recovery time for this 9 miler or was it a simple fact of poor fitness. Whatever the reason I am worried but there is time to fix it!

Week 4: 3 miler

I should have ran last night but just couldn't muster the energy, enthusiasm and whatever else is needed to leave a comfy sofa and warm fire after a long day to run 3 miles in the cold night air. I promised to get up extra early and run first thing in the morning and to my amazement I did exactly that! With my last midweek run done I had the 9 mile weekend run to look forward to!

Week 4: Midweek 4 miler

I have to say I felt great during this run, it looks like pain of yesterdays run paid off! I felt comfortable over the entire 4 miles and finished with plenty more to give, not a regular occurrence!

3 mile race pace training run

Ouch, this one hurt... we ran the first 1.5 miles at a blistering pace and it was tough to keep up. The return leg was less frantic but, tired from the first half, I found that difficult too. The takeaway is I have a lot of work to do if I plan on running a respectable time in Cork on June 1st.

Mid year marathon

I have decided to run the Cork marathon as my mid-year marathon. It's on June 1st this year and if last year is anything to go by it'll be a fantastic weekend and a great days running.

Cupid Dash 2009

Some might say it was a perfect morning for a run. Of course these people are either crazy or super hardcore runners, possible both. I, on the other hand, was at a disadvantage before I had even fallen out of bed that morning. A single glass of unremarkable red wine a few hours before made sure of that. It was that one glass from that one bottle, in addition to several glasses from another quite remarkable bottle, that set me up for a tough morning.

Tired and feeling like I had been dragged through several hedges backwards I managed to get up, get ready and get to the start line in once piece. It was a very, very cold morning... so cold that anyone in fancy dress opted for the more substantial costumes, leaving the mini skirts and nappies/diapers at home.

We were very late getting off and by the time the starting pistol rang out hypothermia was about to set in. The temperature was so low that it took me 3 or 4 kilometers to warm up, and my head was thumping as if a team of miniature panel beaters were enthusiastically redesigning the shape of my brain.

It was a tough run and completely self inflicted so I can't complain. But I was glad to have done it, these races are always a lot of fun and it's great to meet up with my running buddies. The time wasn't all that bad; 58.11 which is only 45 seconds slower than my personal best for a 10K. The takeaway there is that if I don't sabotage myself the night before I should have a shiny new PB next time I run a 10K!

Here's a link to my route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2160271

Gymtastyic

Having uncovered the mystery of my aching feet I switched back to my trusty blue Asics and hit the gym for my final midweek session.

After 3 miles on the treadmill, 6 miles on the bike, and 6 lengths of the pool I had done my bit without any sign of unexpected fatigue.

This weekend is Valentines weekend we've got the Cupid Dash 10K race in Dublin. While I'm looking forward to it I hope that fancy dress is kept to a minimum, seeing grown men running any distance in nappies (diapers) with a bow and arrow would put me right off!

Laced in haste...

Street running is a world away for the monotonous trudging on the treadmill, I wonder if my problem yesterday was more treadmill related than trainer related.

Tonight's 5 mile route followed the familiar streets of Naas and it was really nice to be outside again. It started well but very quickly my left foot started to feel a little uncomfortable, later followed by my right foot. I battled on but after 2 miles it was obvious that I wasn't going to run this off.

We were running at a relatively slow pace which helped a little and because I wasn't running alone I wasn't going to give up and stop. The discomfort slowly increased with time. It felt like pins and needles, and the more I thought about it I began to arrive at the conclusion that my feet felt constricted. Can you imagine if my laces were tied too tight? How pathetic would that be?

We finished the run after what seemed like a lifetime and I was so relieved to stop. I checked my laces and they seemed OK but I loosened them a little more anyway. The sense of relief was overwhelming!! Damn it, it was my laces after all. Just a tiny tweak made such a big difference. Feeling like an idiot quickly gave way to relief knowing that my new expensive trainers were OK after all!

A mile too far...

I have decided to run a marathon mid-year this year to help me get back into training and lose some of this festive bulk. Here are the options:

• The Cork marathon on June 1st; it is relatively local, familiar and really well organised. I really enjoyed it last year.
• The Prague marathon on May 10th; looks like a nice race. The weather is likely to be warm and I have never been to the city.

I'll have to decide which one to do over the next couple of weeks.

Tonight I ran in the gym. I climbed onto the treadmill with my trusty iPod and foolishly attempted to select an appropriate treadmill program while selecting an good starting song at the same time... I should know by now that multitasking is not something I do well, the results can be disastrous.

After that comedy moment I was on the way with ABBA's Dancing Queen filling my head... my iPod was on shuffle mode and an upbeat tune was hard to come by, I settle for the first one that came past.

3 minutes later I was in full stride when the next musical surprise revealed itself... The End by The Doors; a super slow song that seemed completely inappropriate at the time but turned out to be prediction of what was to come a lot earlier than expected.

After a few clicks of the next button I found a group of uptempo tunes that more or less matched my pace. My plan was to run 3 miles but after only half a mile I felt very uncomfortable in the foot department. As I approached my first mile the situation was getting worse. It was really weird, both my legs felt really tired and sort of numb. I tried to figure it out as I ran and decided that it must be my new trainers. I didn't think trainers had to be broken in but I must be wrong, unless I bought a dodgy pair which would really upset me as I bought them the Washington and that's a hell of a commute to bring them back.

After almost 2 miles I had to stop running but feeling guiltily about not running the full 3 miles I jumped onto a bike and cycled for another 20 minutes. Following that I made for the pool and swam for as much as I could, a pathetic 6 lengths, as I find that swimming does the world of good for tired limbs after a run.

I wonder if my new trainers are from a bad batch. I'll wear them tomorrow night for my 5 miler and decide then.

Bonjour le route...

Languages have never been my forte, I can barely string a coherent sentence together in English never mind French. When travelling abroad I find communication very difficult. Take France, I feel that I have a pretty extensive French vocabulary but more often than not I find that I am unable to use them in the right order. Frequently I have to rely on animated gestures and sound effects to get my point across.

This is becoming a bit of a problem; my niece, who lives in Brussels, is three years old and loves to talk. Her French is better than mine and I've been trying to learn it for over two decades, that's bad. What's really bad is that her English is almost as good as mine...

I'm in Brussels this weekend for the annual Brussels Running Club winter event, since this is the 29th the official title is the "29ème HIVERNALES DU RACING CLUB DE BRUXELLES". It's my second time running and I was looking forward to it. The race starts on the outskirts of Watermall-Bosvoorde, south of Brussels. The route briefly brought us into the town but by kilometer 2 we were on the way into the forest where the rest of the race was staged.

It was below zero, a little colder than I would have liked, and it took 3 or 4 kilometers to warm up properly but once I did the run was thoroughly enjoyable as it had been last year. My rubbish French meant that couldn't understand instructions from stewards as I ran past them, instead I had to pay careful attention to signs indicating the route as there was a 20K sharing parts of the same route and I didn't want to stray into that territory.

My finish time was 55:52, about average considering it was a 9.5K run. When I crossed the line we had warm tea with sugar (I think it a Belgian thing and it really works) and plenty of water. Looking forward to the 30th annual race next year!

Here's a link to my route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2160274