Well, since I got home last week, I was laid up in bed with a nasty little cold and chest bug. Thanks to flying in a metal box so far, the germs were distributed into my system and I ended up in bed for a few says laid low.
Thankfully it has now all but passed through my system, and I was able to get to the gym last night and managed a 3 mile treadmill run in 23:44 to turn the legs over. Absolutely no reaction from the legs, which were given the luxury after the marathon of a few days in bed, but the cardio was a little lacking, understandably.
Will just take it easy over the next couple of days, and rebuild gradually before racking up the training for the next set of races in March. I have two 5K's, a 10 Miler, and a Half marathon lined up next month as I build up for Connemara. Racing is the motivation to keep me progressing - fingers crossed it will work.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Surf City Marathon - Or Wet and Wild Adventures
OK, the picture above was taken on Saturday morning, 24 hours before the Marathon in Surf City, Huntington Beach, California. I didn't get a chance to take a picture on Monday morning, but it was a typical sunny, warm, California day. Unfortunately for everyone, the race, the inaugral Surf City Marathon (replacing the former Pacific Shoreline Marathon), was run on the Sunday - And This was more typical of a winters day in Ireland, in fact, to be honest, we don't get days quite like that at home either!
Let me start at the beginning... Last year I was aiming myself to run a Boston Qualifier at Philadelphia, but came down with PF and had to curtail my training in October. As I really wanted to make Boston this year as I celebrate my 50th burpday in March, I looked for an early marathon where the weather would possibly be conducive to running the 3:35 I needed, and plumped for Surf City in California, I mean, It Never Rains in Southern California!
What added to this being special was the fact that a large group of friends from Kickrunners were going to be there too, and a fair number of them are in the pic above.
In the build up to the race, I was aware that I hadn't done enough training to merit a crack at 3:35, but as I had paid my airfare, booked the hotel, I was going to fly a 24000 round trip and have a great time. I was planning on hooking up with Elizabeth, a fellow Kickster, who was planning a 3:50 crack at her own Boston qualifying time, so the plans were made to run together, along with another friend, Joe. All in all there were 5 of us running the full marathon from the group, with the others planning on running the 5K and 1/2 marathon - although there lies another story for some :).
I flew in on Friday, a few delays meant I didn't get in until 8pm, so went for dinner on my own and tried to have a reasonably early night, trying to adjust my body clock rapidly. Saturday was bright, sunny, and warm, if the race would have been run then, it would have been perfect. The expo was busy, easy to navigate, and the Crocs bag a welcome gift, along with the long sleeve technical shirt. We gathered around outside as new arrivals appeared, and I was delighted to meet Amy, one of the race organisers, who has been following this blog, and eventually we all wandered off to Wahoo's for Fish Taco's, taking over most of the restaurant.
After a return to the hotel, Joe and myself drove over to Brian and Becca's condo, or honeymoon retreat, for the pre-race gathering. What a blast, and I have to confess it's the first (and I'm guessing last) time that I turned up to a party with Kitchen Towels. A big thank you to all the chefs on the day, and meeting everyone and chatting away for a few hours was a great way to relax the day before the race.
OK, The Race Day!
I woke up at 3:15, looked out and it was dry! Maybe the forecasts were wrong. I went back to bed for an hour, only to woken by the rain lashing against the window - Oh dear! Why were the palm trees bending over at dangerous looking angles? Great, wild winds too, just what we needed.
Joe and I walked down to the start, were soaked before we got 100 yards, and met up with Elizabeth, Nettie and Tim were also around, but the Kick Tent was nowhere to be seen - It was too windy and horrible to even think about putting it up.
We lined up with the intention of running 8:35 pace, and at a little before 7 am, to the backdrop of Wet Sounds, as against Pet Sounds, we were off! The Marathon only had 1000 entrants, so it wasn't too packed and we soon eased into a steady pace, running Mile 1 in 8:38 along the sea front, although we had as much water coming down on our heads as the ocean was showing. Just after Mile 2 we turned off the PCH up Seapoint, and crossed a timing mat at Mile 3 - 25:29 (official time). Elizabeth had to make a potty break not long later and Joe and I pushed on, hoping she would be able to catch us up.
The race turned a few times around here, through parklands, with narrow paths, and great support from a lot of youngsters encouraging us all, despite the rain - they were a highlight of this part of the race. Joe and I were running very easily at this point, and another Timing Mat at Mile 6 had us at 50:42, an 8:27 average pace, and no sign of any wheels coming off. Joe was running very strong, and as we came out of the parklands, back onto the roads, we knew there was the only real hill, at Mile 8, and it came, we buckled down and reached the top, only to blown away with a Force 9 gale , and still it rained!
Just before Mile 10 we turned onto the PCH again, and passed the very appropriately named Bolsa Chica Wetlands - they were! Around this point I felt that my hamstrings had not warmed up at all, and were still very tight, something I would suffer from if I continued at this pace, so I told Joe to head on and keep up the good work, I would ease back and wait for Elizabeth to catch up, she couldn't be too far behind - she wasn't and was going well. I ran with her for a short while, and at Mile 12, another timing mat showed 1:42:31, still averaging 8:33 pace, and I made the half way point in 1:52:40 - I was very happy with that, but my legs were starting to cramp up a little, and still no loosening of the hammies.
It was around Mile 14 I met Tory, who was struggling badly. We walked a little, ran a little, she tried to persuade me to run on, but I couldn't leave a damsel in distress, so I made the decision to effectively end my race, and spend a couple of hours trying to ensure that Tory finished her 13th marathon with company. We turned off the PCH just before Mile 16 and ran along the coastal path for most of the rest of the race, meeting up with Tory's husband and kids around Mile 18, and chatted away, running lamposts, turning at Mile 20 and heading towards home. The running bits got shorter, and the walking a little longer, but we were determined to get to that finish line, so we persevered. The rain actually stopped somewhere along here as well, so not all was lost.
We plodded along, trying to keep Tory going, passing a few people, who then passed us as we walked, then I spotted my hotel, it was only a 10 minute walk to the finish from there, we were nearly done. Those nasty race organisers tried to inflict one last sadistic aside, with a little loop towards the pier and back, with a photographer waiting for us too - so we ran that bit, then climbed back onto the PCH and the finish was in sight. Tory was stuggling, but she gritted her teeth we passed Mile 26 and ran home - all the way she was chanting "Yes I can" - and she could, we crossed the line together...relief was on her face, and Jeff, her husband was thanking me for bringing her home and staying with her - I enjoyed the run with her, and so my final time of 4:31:14 didn't really reflect my own capabilities on the day, but I was happy to have helped, and I have my little surf board medal to show.
Joe ran a PR of 3:42 and Elizabeth made her Boston Qualifying time with 11 seconds to spare, and the beer garden was cold, but a welcome beer all the same. We then returned back to the hotels, before Joe and I walked up to Oggi's and watched the Superbowl with the gang, drank copious amounts of beer and ate pizza's - You can do that when you run a marathon :) - Nettie also made her PR and Tim had to drop out due to injury, but all in all a good weekend for the Kickrunners on Tour.
If I am being honest, I wasn't impressed by the course. Too much isolation along the coastal path, not helped by the awful weather. The fans were very thin on the ground, understandably, and maybe if the weather is better on another day, I would have a different perception of the race. On the plus side, the medal is awesome, the shirt was cool, and the enthusiasm of the youngsters in the park was great to behold. The flatness of the course does make it reasonably fast, at least on a good day - So maybe I might come back and run it again, just to spot the difference, as long as someone can guarantee the weather.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Perfect Tune Up for Surf City
With a week to go before my trip to California and the Surf City Marathon, it was a chance to see how the training has been going, and a chance to let the legs turn over sharply before putting them thru 26 miles next week. The Raheny 5 is a classic race here on the last Sunday in January, and this was the 24th running of the event, and my third year in a row taking part.
My training has been going well in the last three weeks since the cross country race at the beginning of the year, and whilst I may be short of the distances in my legs to have a chance of a Boston Qualifier next week, I was confident that my speed over shorter distances would be getting back to a respectable level. Before the race I was saying that I would hope to be around 38 minutes, whilst privately I was thinking that, if the weather conditions were right, I would go a bit faster. A speed session on Friday night augered well for a decent run, and with the weather being a perfect January day, sunny, and in the sun at least - semi-warm! - with only the slightest breeze, I would have no excuses.
As I said, this is a well established, and very well supported, road race, and the good day certainly brought the numbers out, so the start was a little cramped. The race starts on the road, in a housing estate, and as such there is limited space, so when the start came, there was a somewhat chaotic dash, then a stop as the domino effect took place, then within 14 seconds I was across the line and off, almost without a hitch.
It was obvious to me right away that I was feeling good and was up for a decent run. The first couple of turns saw me holding my position well, keeping flaying legs of fellow competitors away from myself as I bobbed and weaved around the slower starters. It was relatively incident free, which was a surprise given the numbers involved, but I soon settled into my stride, and before I knew it I was at Mile 1 and 7:35 was on my watch, almost perfect. The race settled into a pattern for me, easing along, with only one hiccup when a young runner tried to cut across me at a turn, and almost knocked me over, and as he had ear phones in (I hate people who race with earphones!!!!) he failed to hear my expletive, but he felt my elbow as I defended my position on the road!
Mile 2 was a 7:22 and the third mile down towards the coast road saw a 7:18 clocking. I started to push on as I felt strong and Mile 4 was reached in a further 7:10, progressively quicker each mile, and the Mile 4 marker is just as we climb away from the coast road towards home. Given I have run this race before I knew what to expect and I dug in as we completed the gentle slope - it's not a tough climb, but around 100 yards of gentle uphill after the initial lift. When it levelled off, I eased into a strong rhythm and prepared for the finish -
- I was deciding where to kick, and remembered that there are three turns as we approach the finish - The finish is back where we started, with a small park that we run around the outside of - You can hear and see the finish as you approach the first of the three turns, and a few people started to sprint out then, but I knew we still had 400 to go, so I held back, pushed on down the length of the park, before the second turn where I picked off the jump-starters and as we turned the last corner, I kicked out, sprinted for the line, some 50 yards, and crossed the line stopping my watch in 36:27, 7:02 for the last mile, and a very satisfying performance.
I also use the WAVA tables to work out my age related performances, and although I ran this same race two years ago in 36 minutes dead, this years performance was actually a better age performance, with a 66.83% performance, my best age adjusted performance over ANY distance since 2001!
Now I can look forward to next week with a confident feeling, although I won't be going mad and expecting to run a BQ performance, but I will be confident of a decent run and, more importantly, having a good time.
My training has been going well in the last three weeks since the cross country race at the beginning of the year, and whilst I may be short of the distances in my legs to have a chance of a Boston Qualifier next week, I was confident that my speed over shorter distances would be getting back to a respectable level. Before the race I was saying that I would hope to be around 38 minutes, whilst privately I was thinking that, if the weather conditions were right, I would go a bit faster. A speed session on Friday night augered well for a decent run, and with the weather being a perfect January day, sunny, and in the sun at least - semi-warm! - with only the slightest breeze, I would have no excuses.
As I said, this is a well established, and very well supported, road race, and the good day certainly brought the numbers out, so the start was a little cramped. The race starts on the road, in a housing estate, and as such there is limited space, so when the start came, there was a somewhat chaotic dash, then a stop as the domino effect took place, then within 14 seconds I was across the line and off, almost without a hitch.
It was obvious to me right away that I was feeling good and was up for a decent run. The first couple of turns saw me holding my position well, keeping flaying legs of fellow competitors away from myself as I bobbed and weaved around the slower starters. It was relatively incident free, which was a surprise given the numbers involved, but I soon settled into my stride, and before I knew it I was at Mile 1 and 7:35 was on my watch, almost perfect. The race settled into a pattern for me, easing along, with only one hiccup when a young runner tried to cut across me at a turn, and almost knocked me over, and as he had ear phones in (I hate people who race with earphones!!!!) he failed to hear my expletive, but he felt my elbow as I defended my position on the road!
Mile 2 was a 7:22 and the third mile down towards the coast road saw a 7:18 clocking. I started to push on as I felt strong and Mile 4 was reached in a further 7:10, progressively quicker each mile, and the Mile 4 marker is just as we climb away from the coast road towards home. Given I have run this race before I knew what to expect and I dug in as we completed the gentle slope - it's not a tough climb, but around 100 yards of gentle uphill after the initial lift. When it levelled off, I eased into a strong rhythm and prepared for the finish -
- I was deciding where to kick, and remembered that there are three turns as we approach the finish - The finish is back where we started, with a small park that we run around the outside of - You can hear and see the finish as you approach the first of the three turns, and a few people started to sprint out then, but I knew we still had 400 to go, so I held back, pushed on down the length of the park, before the second turn where I picked off the jump-starters and as we turned the last corner, I kicked out, sprinted for the line, some 50 yards, and crossed the line stopping my watch in 36:27, 7:02 for the last mile, and a very satisfying performance.
I also use the WAVA tables to work out my age related performances, and although I ran this same race two years ago in 36 minutes dead, this years performance was actually a better age performance, with a 66.83% performance, my best age adjusted performance over ANY distance since 2001!
Now I can look forward to next week with a confident feeling, although I won't be going mad and expecting to run a BQ performance, but I will be confident of a decent run and, more importantly, having a good time.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Slack Posting but running go OK
I know, I know, I'm as bad as ever at keeping this as up to date as I should. But on the plus side, I have been running well in the last two weeks, with training completed on 11 days out of the 14, and the base mileage building up and consistency becoming the key word.
Now, I appreciate that there are a few readers and fellow bloggers who train every day, but as the years have advanced for me (slowly I hope!), I have always programmed rest into my plans, so no apology for the rest days - we need to recover.
What I have been doing is planning out the next few months of racing and goals. This Sunday I have the Raheny 5 Road Race, and I would hope to be running sub 39, depending on weather. The following week I am off to sunnier climes, and California for the Surf City Marathon, and although this was originally planned as a Boston attempt, I will now be looking for around 3:50 and a good hard training run with friends :).
When I get back I have a couple of cross country races in February, all the time building the training for the spring and a few key races. Firstly, my last race in the M45 Category, the Ballycotton 10, and naturally following on, my first race in the M50 class, although I'm not certain which that will be, but I have entered the Omagh 1/2 Marathon on March 29th, however their are a couple of other races before that one which could make the First!
All these are gearing me up for the Connemara Marathon on April 6th, the tough Galway race that sorts the men out from the boys, and the women from the girls. All being well I am really hoping to run sub 4 here (worth 20 minutes elsewhere!), with the last 3 miles the tough part.
That's where I am at, and here's hoping that I can get through this period unscathed and all will be well for a late spring/early summer attempt at the 3:35 I need to make Boston next April.
Now, I appreciate that there are a few readers and fellow bloggers who train every day, but as the years have advanced for me (slowly I hope!), I have always programmed rest into my plans, so no apology for the rest days - we need to recover.
What I have been doing is planning out the next few months of racing and goals. This Sunday I have the Raheny 5 Road Race, and I would hope to be running sub 39, depending on weather. The following week I am off to sunnier climes, and California for the Surf City Marathon, and although this was originally planned as a Boston attempt, I will now be looking for around 3:50 and a good hard training run with friends :).
When I get back I have a couple of cross country races in February, all the time building the training for the spring and a few key races. Firstly, my last race in the M45 Category, the Ballycotton 10, and naturally following on, my first race in the M50 class, although I'm not certain which that will be, but I have entered the Omagh 1/2 Marathon on March 29th, however their are a couple of other races before that one which could make the First!
All these are gearing me up for the Connemara Marathon on April 6th, the tough Galway race that sorts the men out from the boys, and the women from the girls. All being well I am really hoping to run sub 4 here (worth 20 minutes elsewhere!), with the last 3 miles the tough part.
That's where I am at, and here's hoping that I can get through this period unscathed and all will be well for a late spring/early summer attempt at the 3:35 I need to make Boston next April.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
First Race (X-Country) of the year
Oh dear!
I did think I was getting back to a reasonable level of fitness - sadly, it was clear by the events today that I am either getting too old for all this, or I have a lot of work to do to get back to a decent level of fitness. Or (thinking positively), I just had a bad day!
A few years since I ran my last X-Country race, I was encouraged by colleagues to take part in the first BHAA race of the year - the South Dublin Co Co Cross Country 4 mile race in Tymon Park, Templeogue. It was a cold day, but fair to say the conditions underfoot were good, and I dusted my spikes off, and lined up with a few other hardy souls, and off we went on a 4 mile trudge around the park, three laps of the circuit.
I won't bore you with the painful details of the race, suffice to say I had a bad day at the office. I took 35:30 to run the 4 miles, and felt terrible. I have felt better at Mile 20 in a marathon when I wasn't fit :) - But I got around, and next week, it's Race 2 in the series, next one over 5 miles - Here's hoping I have a better week.
I did think I was getting back to a reasonable level of fitness - sadly, it was clear by the events today that I am either getting too old for all this, or I have a lot of work to do to get back to a decent level of fitness. Or (thinking positively), I just had a bad day!
A few years since I ran my last X-Country race, I was encouraged by colleagues to take part in the first BHAA race of the year - the South Dublin Co Co Cross Country 4 mile race in Tymon Park, Templeogue. It was a cold day, but fair to say the conditions underfoot were good, and I dusted my spikes off, and lined up with a few other hardy souls, and off we went on a 4 mile trudge around the park, three laps of the circuit.
I won't bore you with the painful details of the race, suffice to say I had a bad day at the office. I took 35:30 to run the 4 miles, and felt terrible. I have felt better at Mile 20 in a marathon when I wasn't fit :) - But I got around, and next week, it's Race 2 in the series, next one over 5 miles - Here's hoping I have a better week.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
And now for 2008..........................
Having given you my life lines on 2007, it's time to turn to my running and look back on 07 and forward to 08. 2007 was not my best year ever, but strides were taken in the second half of the year, albeit they were small strides, which lead one to hope for better things to come. It took until June for me to record 100 miles for the year, although there were good reasons, but July, August and September saw strong miles logged and improvements in my running was noted.
I was sidelined for most of October with PF, which put paid to my attempts to qualify for Boston at Philadelphia, but thankfully that seems to have cleared up, and I can renew my quest for 3:35:59 with vigour in 2008.
I was happy with a couple of my races in 07, with a reasonably decent run at the Dublin Half Marathon in September, recording 1:48:58, only 33 seconds off my M45 best, and the Spar Laganside 10K in Belfast saw me running my fastest 10K in four years, with negative splits and a WAVA equivalence of 66.58%, so all was not lost for the year. My total mileage for the year was only 543.8 miles, but given the missing months, I can be reasonably happy that things are going the right way.
The goals for 2008 must start with CONSISTANCY! One hundred miles per month must be the minimum target, and regular running, with no less than 5 days per week a target. I already have a number of races planned, with a trip to California and the Surf City Marathon on Feb 3rd first up. I would hope to be under 4 hours comfortably here, and then Connemara on April 6th, where I will be hoping to break 4 hours on a very tough course. After that, I am leaning towards another US trip and the Flying Pig Marathon on May 4th, where if all goes to plan I will be able to run that elusive Boston Qualifier.
As for other goals, obviously I will be setting new marks for all my distances as I hit the 50 mark in March and go into a new class, M50. Having said that, some of my times at M45 are soft, and I feel that I should be able to lower my times from 10K upwards. Goals of sub 45 for 10K, sub 72 for 10 miles, sub 1:40 for the half, and my marathon time of 4:07 from Prague is a very soft target. with a BQ of 3:35 the aim.
Philadelphia in November will round the year off, and if all goes to plan, and I can remain injury free, I should be running around 3:30 there.
All of this will depend on avoiding injuries and motivation. With the new age bracket I feel motivated to perform this year, only time will tell. One thing I do know, if I can remain injury free, I will have no excuses - As I've said before - If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me!!!.
I was sidelined for most of October with PF, which put paid to my attempts to qualify for Boston at Philadelphia, but thankfully that seems to have cleared up, and I can renew my quest for 3:35:59 with vigour in 2008.
I was happy with a couple of my races in 07, with a reasonably decent run at the Dublin Half Marathon in September, recording 1:48:58, only 33 seconds off my M45 best, and the Spar Laganside 10K in Belfast saw me running my fastest 10K in four years, with negative splits and a WAVA equivalence of 66.58%, so all was not lost for the year. My total mileage for the year was only 543.8 miles, but given the missing months, I can be reasonably happy that things are going the right way.
The goals for 2008 must start with CONSISTANCY! One hundred miles per month must be the minimum target, and regular running, with no less than 5 days per week a target. I already have a number of races planned, with a trip to California and the Surf City Marathon on Feb 3rd first up. I would hope to be under 4 hours comfortably here, and then Connemara on April 6th, where I will be hoping to break 4 hours on a very tough course. After that, I am leaning towards another US trip and the Flying Pig Marathon on May 4th, where if all goes to plan I will be able to run that elusive Boston Qualifier.
As for other goals, obviously I will be setting new marks for all my distances as I hit the 50 mark in March and go into a new class, M50. Having said that, some of my times at M45 are soft, and I feel that I should be able to lower my times from 10K upwards. Goals of sub 45 for 10K, sub 72 for 10 miles, sub 1:40 for the half, and my marathon time of 4:07 from Prague is a very soft target. with a BQ of 3:35 the aim.
Philadelphia in November will round the year off, and if all goes to plan, and I can remain injury free, I should be running around 3:30 there.
All of this will depend on avoiding injuries and motivation. With the new age bracket I feel motivated to perform this year, only time will tell. One thing I do know, if I can remain injury free, I will have no excuses - As I've said before - If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me!!!.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Relections on a year gone by
2007 – A reflection.
I thought I would jot down a few thoughts about life in general as 2007 slips away into memories. I will also write a plan for 2008 and a more in depth reflection on my running for 2007, but first the way 2007 panned out for me.
Obviously the major event in the family last year was the passing away of my mum on May 27th. She had celebrated her 93rd birthday on the 2nd May and whilst her health had been ailing for many months, and the reality to all that visited her was that her days were numbered, her death still came as a shock to us all, and whilst you can appreciate that it is coming, when it actually happens it hurts just as much. I can take solace from her passing peacefully, and knowing her great faith, she was ready and willing to go and join her brothers and sisters in heaven and all her friends that had gone before. She inevitably leaves a great gap in my life, a loss that can’t be put into words too easily, and I am only thankful that I decided to come home 5 years ago, along with Liam Óg, and we were able to spend precious time with her over her last years.
But mum was always one with a smile and a jovial quip, and life must go on, a cliché I know, but go on it does, and there were some bright moments within 2007.
I am living in an apartment in Dublin Docklands these days, and feel like a yuppie amongst the young and trendy who share my block. Maybe I should have said I feel like the proverbial old man amongst the young things, but in truth, I have a great apartment, in a great location in a rapidly developing area of the city. I am 5 minutes from work, and only ten minutes from the centre of town, so have turned “green” in walking most places, and my car gathers dust in the garage for most of the time.
In 2007 I met Adrienne, and we have become a firm fixture. She is a ray of sunshine who has come into my life and helped me through the worst of times, without having met mum. She has been a solid brick to me, and helped me move forward. She lives outside Dublin, around 20 miles out of the city, but we spend a lot of time together and ((fingers crossed)) we will spend a lot more in 2008 and beyond.
Work wise, I am settled into my role within the Irish Civil Service, and love the job. I spend all my time auditing taxpayers, and some non-taxpayers, and am now enrolled with the University of Limerick doing a degree in Applied Taxation, with one week a month spent back at school, and ominously, exams set for March!
Liam Óg is still at Queens University up in Belfast, but is home every weekend, and he has now acquired a steady girlfriend and is smiling and enjoying life. He is hoping to head to Canada in the summer for a vacation, and is working at Lillies Nightclub here at weekends to save for his trip. He celebrated his 22nd birthday in November, and Melanie had her 20th, albeit over in England. Mels had taken a gap year, but I am pleased to say she has been accepted to start at Sheffield University next September on a degree course in nursery education, so she too will be off to college to gain the tools for a successful career.
One of the highlights in 2007 was meeting distant relatives for the first time. A few years ago I was very fortuitous in coming across a namesake, Sarah Mycroft, in the results of a marathon race in Australia. I found an email address, made contact, and lo and behold, this contact led to me discovering family on my father’s side that I was unaware of. Time passed, contacts were made, and this year, Frank and Tricia Mycroft, Sarah’s parents, and my second cousins, came to Ireland and we met up a couple of times on their visit, and hopefully this will lead to more such “family” gatherings in the future.
My best wishes to one and all and hope that 2008 is bright and happy for all.
I thought I would jot down a few thoughts about life in general as 2007 slips away into memories. I will also write a plan for 2008 and a more in depth reflection on my running for 2007, but first the way 2007 panned out for me.
Obviously the major event in the family last year was the passing away of my mum on May 27th. She had celebrated her 93rd birthday on the 2nd May and whilst her health had been ailing for many months, and the reality to all that visited her was that her days were numbered, her death still came as a shock to us all, and whilst you can appreciate that it is coming, when it actually happens it hurts just as much. I can take solace from her passing peacefully, and knowing her great faith, she was ready and willing to go and join her brothers and sisters in heaven and all her friends that had gone before. She inevitably leaves a great gap in my life, a loss that can’t be put into words too easily, and I am only thankful that I decided to come home 5 years ago, along with Liam Óg, and we were able to spend precious time with her over her last years.
But mum was always one with a smile and a jovial quip, and life must go on, a cliché I know, but go on it does, and there were some bright moments within 2007.
I am living in an apartment in Dublin Docklands these days, and feel like a yuppie amongst the young and trendy who share my block. Maybe I should have said I feel like the proverbial old man amongst the young things, but in truth, I have a great apartment, in a great location in a rapidly developing area of the city. I am 5 minutes from work, and only ten minutes from the centre of town, so have turned “green” in walking most places, and my car gathers dust in the garage for most of the time.
In 2007 I met Adrienne, and we have become a firm fixture. She is a ray of sunshine who has come into my life and helped me through the worst of times, without having met mum. She has been a solid brick to me, and helped me move forward. She lives outside Dublin, around 20 miles out of the city, but we spend a lot of time together and ((fingers crossed)) we will spend a lot more in 2008 and beyond.
Work wise, I am settled into my role within the Irish Civil Service, and love the job. I spend all my time auditing taxpayers, and some non-taxpayers, and am now enrolled with the University of Limerick doing a degree in Applied Taxation, with one week a month spent back at school, and ominously, exams set for March!
Liam Óg is still at Queens University up in Belfast, but is home every weekend, and he has now acquired a steady girlfriend and is smiling and enjoying life. He is hoping to head to Canada in the summer for a vacation, and is working at Lillies Nightclub here at weekends to save for his trip. He celebrated his 22nd birthday in November, and Melanie had her 20th, albeit over in England. Mels had taken a gap year, but I am pleased to say she has been accepted to start at Sheffield University next September on a degree course in nursery education, so she too will be off to college to gain the tools for a successful career.
One of the highlights in 2007 was meeting distant relatives for the first time. A few years ago I was very fortuitous in coming across a namesake, Sarah Mycroft, in the results of a marathon race in Australia. I found an email address, made contact, and lo and behold, this contact led to me discovering family on my father’s side that I was unaware of. Time passed, contacts were made, and this year, Frank and Tricia Mycroft, Sarah’s parents, and my second cousins, came to Ireland and we met up a couple of times on their visit, and hopefully this will lead to more such “family” gatherings in the future.
My best wishes to one and all and hope that 2008 is bright and happy for all.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Stockport 10 - A Visit to England
Many of you know that I moved home to Ireland back in 2002, and last weekend I made my first real visit back to England since I came home. It all came about around the Dublin Marathon, and a group of runners who had met over on Runners World's Forum relating to the Dublin Marathon. A few of these folk came from the north-west of England, and an idea for a trip back to that part of the world was framed, and the Stockport 10, hosted by Stockport Harriers was arranged.
It really helped that Stockport County, the soccer team I follow, were also due to be playing at home on the Saturday, so the ferry was booked and at 9 on Friday evening we set sail for the 4 hour crossing, and subsequent 2 hour drive to our hotel. By the time we woke up on Saturday morning, it was throwing it down, the rain was incessant, and the afternoon spent at the soccer game was damp :) - On the plus side - Stockport won Six-Nil, and the evening was spent over a nice meal, some Xmas Shopping, and a drink with Angela and Simon, who would be running Sunday.
Thankfully on Sunday morning, the rain had vanished, and we strolled to the park where the race was starting, and once a minor panic and delay due to a lack of safety pins!, we were ready to go on the 10 miles around Stockport. I had met up with Wrexham Rob, a friend from Wales, and decided we would run together and have fun.
The race was described as tough, and the opening miles lulled us into a false sense of security, as we gently ran along at around 8:15 pace, before the first small hill slowed Rob down and we reached half way in 42:30, exactly 8:30 pace - The tough bits were to come.....
What was surprising and shocking in equal thoughts, was that I knew about 6 of the marshalls from my previous life in England, or from the Dublin Marathon runners, strange coming so far and knowing more people than I know at races at home! These thoughts were in my mind as I recalled that the road we were running just after half way, would begin to climb, and climb it did! A steady mile long climb from the river up a main road, with traffic not excluded, meant a single file drag. I pushed on up the hill, as I like to take on a challenge of a hill, and this one was tough, but I passed a lot of people on the climb, and once at the top, I relaxed and waited for Rob to join me. We continued on, commenting that the Marshalls were certainly getting better looking - even some of the blokes :)....
By the time we reached the 7 Mile Marker, I decided that I had to push on and leave Rob as I needed a test, so we parted ways and I "sped on". I started to pass a lot of people at this stage, gradually picking off people as we headed back towards the City Centre, before turning at around Mile 8 1/2 for the last, and hardest, climb of the day, up New Zealand Road to Vernon Park. I just put my head down and seemed to glide along as I worked on the hill, continuing to pass people, and ahead I could eventually see the flat top of the road. This is where I made my big mistake of the day - my lack of memory of the area was brought home to roost as I gave all to reach the road, only to turn the corner and see a further 200 yard climb ahead - OUCH! I had spent my energy to this point, and a lot of the good work was undone, as I had to let 10 or so of teh people I had passed earlier go past me here. Silly mistake...
Once we levelled off, I knew that the rest of the race was along the flat, with the finish on the track. I pulled alongside a young woman and we briefly chatted as we entered the park and ran the last 1/2 mile together. It was only her second ever race, having lost 40 lbs in twelve months, thanks to running, and she was enjoying the experience, albeit the hills had hurt. So we ran in together, hearing my name being called out by an old friend who was acting as a Marshall, a welcome surprise as we ran onto the track. We agreed that a sprint finish wasn't expected and so we ran together until the last 10 yards when I politely offered ladies first to my companion and allowed her to take the spoils.
The last three miles were run in 24:55, which given that included a mile of stiff climb, I was very happy with. My total time was 86:26 - not a fast workout, but given I had enjoyed my run with Rob for 7 miles, and the hills in the second half of the race, I was happy enough. Spent an hour or so catching up with friends, then we headed for sunday lunch with other, non-running, friends, and in the evening headed home for the ferry, and work again on Monday. A good weekend all in all.
This weekend I have two 10k's to deal with. The first will be run with Adrienne on Saturday morning, but I will be trying to race 10K on Sunday morning in Marlay Park - We shall see.
It really helped that Stockport County, the soccer team I follow, were also due to be playing at home on the Saturday, so the ferry was booked and at 9 on Friday evening we set sail for the 4 hour crossing, and subsequent 2 hour drive to our hotel. By the time we woke up on Saturday morning, it was throwing it down, the rain was incessant, and the afternoon spent at the soccer game was damp :) - On the plus side - Stockport won Six-Nil, and the evening was spent over a nice meal, some Xmas Shopping, and a drink with Angela and Simon, who would be running Sunday.
Thankfully on Sunday morning, the rain had vanished, and we strolled to the park where the race was starting, and once a minor panic and delay due to a lack of safety pins!, we were ready to go on the 10 miles around Stockport. I had met up with Wrexham Rob, a friend from Wales, and decided we would run together and have fun.
The race was described as tough, and the opening miles lulled us into a false sense of security, as we gently ran along at around 8:15 pace, before the first small hill slowed Rob down and we reached half way in 42:30, exactly 8:30 pace - The tough bits were to come.....
What was surprising and shocking in equal thoughts, was that I knew about 6 of the marshalls from my previous life in England, or from the Dublin Marathon runners, strange coming so far and knowing more people than I know at races at home! These thoughts were in my mind as I recalled that the road we were running just after half way, would begin to climb, and climb it did! A steady mile long climb from the river up a main road, with traffic not excluded, meant a single file drag. I pushed on up the hill, as I like to take on a challenge of a hill, and this one was tough, but I passed a lot of people on the climb, and once at the top, I relaxed and waited for Rob to join me. We continued on, commenting that the Marshalls were certainly getting better looking - even some of the blokes :)....
By the time we reached the 7 Mile Marker, I decided that I had to push on and leave Rob as I needed a test, so we parted ways and I "sped on". I started to pass a lot of people at this stage, gradually picking off people as we headed back towards the City Centre, before turning at around Mile 8 1/2 for the last, and hardest, climb of the day, up New Zealand Road to Vernon Park. I just put my head down and seemed to glide along as I worked on the hill, continuing to pass people, and ahead I could eventually see the flat top of the road. This is where I made my big mistake of the day - my lack of memory of the area was brought home to roost as I gave all to reach the road, only to turn the corner and see a further 200 yard climb ahead - OUCH! I had spent my energy to this point, and a lot of the good work was undone, as I had to let 10 or so of teh people I had passed earlier go past me here. Silly mistake...
Once we levelled off, I knew that the rest of the race was along the flat, with the finish on the track. I pulled alongside a young woman and we briefly chatted as we entered the park and ran the last 1/2 mile together. It was only her second ever race, having lost 40 lbs in twelve months, thanks to running, and she was enjoying the experience, albeit the hills had hurt. So we ran in together, hearing my name being called out by an old friend who was acting as a Marshall, a welcome surprise as we ran onto the track. We agreed that a sprint finish wasn't expected and so we ran together until the last 10 yards when I politely offered ladies first to my companion and allowed her to take the spoils.
The last three miles were run in 24:55, which given that included a mile of stiff climb, I was very happy with. My total time was 86:26 - not a fast workout, but given I had enjoyed my run with Rob for 7 miles, and the hills in the second half of the race, I was happy enough. Spent an hour or so catching up with friends, then we headed for sunday lunch with other, non-running, friends, and in the evening headed home for the ferry, and work again on Monday. A good weekend all in all.
This weekend I have two 10k's to deal with. The first will be run with Adrienne on Saturday morning, but I will be trying to race 10K on Sunday morning in Marlay Park - We shall see.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Jingle Bells 5K
Today was our version here in Dublin of the Jingle Bell run, and I had no great expectations of how I was going to do. After a less strenuous Philadelphia than expected, due to PF, I have been back into training properly this week, but only steady runs, so as long as I was under 25 minutes I would be happy.
Had a lousy nights sleep as the people downstairs decided to have "another" party and like to play crap boom-boom music (and I use the word music loosely), and they were still at it at 7:30 this morning when we were getting up - The weather was pretty terrible - heavy rain showers and the wind blustering around 30 mph at times - Not the ideal.
The race was in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and is a regular Xmas event, although I have only run it once before, back in 2004, although I do recall the uphill finish, and a few exposed places in the Park, I wasn't looking forward to. Adrienne was also running, and we also met up with my old training partner Kieran and my Italian friend Monica, so a pleasant get together as we sat in the car before the race, thankfully the rain had abated, and the sun was actually shining as we headed up to the start, shortly before 11 am.
To be fair, my race was relatively uneventful. Adrienne was going to walk run, so Kieran, Monica and myself edged nearer the front at the start, and I surprised myself by setting off reasonably quickly with both my running buddies dropping back within the first few hundred metres. As ever the crowded start was a little dis-orgranised, with santa clauses, elves and mrs clauses to the fore ... Eventually it started to settle down and I hit the first Km mark at 4:42, and from there on it was pretty reasonable running -
The wind played it's part between 2 and 3 km as we had a cross wind which was difficult to deal with, then we turned into a head wind and that was a head down job, but I was running pretty even splits, with 3K hit at 14:10, and once we turned away from the winds and onto the Lower Glen Road I was able to keep the pace going, 4 km passed in 18:55, and easy math told me that a steady run to the finish would see me under 24 minutes comfortably.
As we dropped into the bottom of the Glen, I remembered that there was a sharp turn then a 100m climb before the finish, but I dug in and pushed myself up the hill and when we levelled off, I could see the finish line ahead and coasted aggressively (if you can do such a thing!) and crossed the line, stopping my watch at 23:25, a 4:30 last kilometre, including the climb, so I was very happy with my day's work.
Kieran finished around 30 seconds behind me, with Monica a couple of minutes further back. K and I ran back to run Adrienne home in 37:40 in her first real race, which was realy good given she was walk/running and it was her first race. We got a nice coffee mug for running the race, and went back to the clubhouse of Donore Harriers, the host club, for a hot coffee and some snacks - very welcome on a cool day.
Off to England next weekend for the Stockport 10, and another race to gauge my fitness levels.
Had a lousy nights sleep as the people downstairs decided to have "another" party and like to play crap boom-boom music (and I use the word music loosely), and they were still at it at 7:30 this morning when we were getting up - The weather was pretty terrible - heavy rain showers and the wind blustering around 30 mph at times - Not the ideal.
The race was in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and is a regular Xmas event, although I have only run it once before, back in 2004, although I do recall the uphill finish, and a few exposed places in the Park, I wasn't looking forward to. Adrienne was also running, and we also met up with my old training partner Kieran and my Italian friend Monica, so a pleasant get together as we sat in the car before the race, thankfully the rain had abated, and the sun was actually shining as we headed up to the start, shortly before 11 am.
To be fair, my race was relatively uneventful. Adrienne was going to walk run, so Kieran, Monica and myself edged nearer the front at the start, and I surprised myself by setting off reasonably quickly with both my running buddies dropping back within the first few hundred metres. As ever the crowded start was a little dis-orgranised, with santa clauses, elves and mrs clauses to the fore ... Eventually it started to settle down and I hit the first Km mark at 4:42, and from there on it was pretty reasonable running -
The wind played it's part between 2 and 3 km as we had a cross wind which was difficult to deal with, then we turned into a head wind and that was a head down job, but I was running pretty even splits, with 3K hit at 14:10, and once we turned away from the winds and onto the Lower Glen Road I was able to keep the pace going, 4 km passed in 18:55, and easy math told me that a steady run to the finish would see me under 24 minutes comfortably.
As we dropped into the bottom of the Glen, I remembered that there was a sharp turn then a 100m climb before the finish, but I dug in and pushed myself up the hill and when we levelled off, I could see the finish line ahead and coasted aggressively (if you can do such a thing!) and crossed the line, stopping my watch at 23:25, a 4:30 last kilometre, including the climb, so I was very happy with my day's work.
Kieran finished around 30 seconds behind me, with Monica a couple of minutes further back. K and I ran back to run Adrienne home in 37:40 in her first real race, which was realy good given she was walk/running and it was her first race. We got a nice coffee mug for running the race, and went back to the clubhouse of Donore Harriers, the host club, for a hot coffee and some snacks - very welcome on a cool day.
Off to England next weekend for the Stockport 10, and another race to gauge my fitness levels.
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