DCM to Boston Week 2/26 Done & Dusted

Slight amendments to the training plan this week, as I listened to my body, and added in a planned Rest Day on Monday, after a tough first week, and tired legs. But I didn't relax too much, and on Tuesday I threw in a Speed session with a good session in the gym, warming up well, and then running intervals of 4x500m @ 4:30 pace, with no effects, and heading towards the weekend I eased back on Friday, by walking around 9Km to collect my Race number for Sunday, which while not a logged workout was still a decent time on my feet.

Saturday saw me head off to parkrun at Hartstown, with my thoughts simply on a good even paced run. Sometimes when you least expect it, things slot into place. It was a bright sunny morning, and I eased into the run, maintaining a steady pace, with a strong kick finish, and managed a parkrun PB in 24:06 - Totally unexpected...

This brings us to the end of Week 2, and today it was another race, and the Terenure 5 Miler. Again, no preconceptions of a great time, but a Race Based Tempo Training Run on another bright sunny day. It was an Irish Warm Day, with temperatures around the 15/16 degrees mark, but that had little affect on myself, and I started the run along with the 40 minute pacers, holding steady over the first 6 Kilometres, very consistent withing 7 seconds of each split, before feeling the run from Saturday in the legs and taking it down a notch over the last two splits, finishing in 40:19, over a minute ahead of my time from the RTE Race last week.

Synopsis:

Week 1: 38.2 Km
Week 2: 34.6 Km

The Week Ahead:

Will take a Rest Day to allow recovery, and keep the speed/interval session in place, as I continue to build the base miles, rounding off the week with the Virgin Night Run 10K on Sunday.

Nice pic today with two running friends, Patrick & Lesley-Anne, taken Sunday after the Terenure Race.

The Medal for DCM 2016

To Be Collected by 12:45pm on October 30th - #DCMtoBoston

DCM to Boston Week 1/26 Completed

As promised an update on my first week of full-on training for the Dublin City Marathon in October, and my goal of achieving a Boston Marathon Qualifying time.

The first few weeks of the plan are all about base building, and getting the body used to running seven days a week. Nothing too strenuous, simply easy runs each day. Relatively short distances, and seeing how the body copes with the recovery. I haven;t used this plan since 2007/08, and obviously I am nearly ten years older too, so it will be a learning curve, which may require some tweeking as we progress, but the first week has gone as well as can be expected.

I had a 40 Km week plan, and missed only by 1.8 Km, as I had a shorter, but slightly sharper run on Friday, in preparation for a couple of races over the weekend. It may seem strange to build in races to my training schedule, but I enjoy the craic at races, and also I have a commitment to the Business House Races for work. I am not seeking fast times, or hard races at these events, but I will continue to participate as often as I can, and at this stage in the training, the races fit the plan at the weekends.

The training went well, although I can confess to feeling tired all week, and the legs are feeling it. I ran the two planned races at a conservative pace, completing the 5 Miler, BHAA RTE race, at Donnybrook, in 41:24 (63.05%), which was a little quicker than I had planned, and the Patrick Pearse 5K on Sunday, in 26:21 (59.91%), which is a little slower than I had hoped, so on balance, almost perfect.

Week 1 - Aim 40Km - Achieved 38.2Km - Weight 86.1 Kg

The plan for Week 2 is the same as Week 1, with the only difference being that 5K will be run on Saturday (a parkrun) and the 8K will be run on Sunday when I take part in the Terenure 5m Race. Again, the "races" will be run conservatively, and I look forward to another decent week.

To round off, tow pictures from today's Patrick Pearse 5K - One of my running group turning out in style from #RSP, and teh second of me being grateful the race is over as I crossed the line...

And now it's Serious - DCM to Boston...

In my last post I explained what I had been up to in the last four months, and the fact that it was all building up to a serious effort to come. I ran my first Marathon thirty years ago, in Windermere, the Lake District of England, clocking 3:23:59, and fifteen years ago, I was privileged to run the Boston Marathon, and always said I would come back one day. As most readers would know, Boston has some pretty high qualifying standards, and sadly, over the last fifteen years, those standards have been too hard for me to attain. The standards are worked on age, and you are able to qualify for your age group on the day of the race, in advance.

Let me explain.

In March 2018 I will turn the ripe old age of 60, and on April 16th 2018, the Boston Marathon takes place, just over a month after my birthday. However, the qualifying window for 2018 will start in September of this year, and if I set a 2018 Age 60 standard from that date, I can make it in... So, we move on to the Dublin City Marathon on October 30th 2016, this year. I will be 58 and seven months or so, and if I can run the standard this year, I will be able to run in 2018 in that age category. The actual standards haven't been published for 2018 yet, but the ones for 2017 are likely to stand, and that means a sub 3:55 is needed, although that in itself doesn't guarantee you entry, as the more under the standard you are the higher chance you have of making it - They can only accommodate so many.... Still with me?? Not sure I am, but, having looked at recent years, I am going to aim for a 3:45 run on October 30th.

The Perspective:

I need to put this into perspective as to where I am now, and what I can expect to achieve. I haven't run a Marathon since 2008, and certainly haven't put in anything like the mileage required for a sub 4 Marathon in recent years, so already a tough task. As an older runner, I have been using age graded tables for many years, it enables me to compare my performances of today, with those of past years, when I was younger, and obviously more able to run faster times. If I was to run a 3:45 Marathon in Dublin, it would be an age grade of 67.17%, again, the perspective, my all-time marathon best of 3:13 only gave me an age grade of 65.64%, the task gets tougher..... Final threat is my weight. I'm starting off at 87 kilos, and this is well above what an ideal Marathon weight should be, so I need to lose at least 7 Kilos over the coming months. Hence the reason I am going dry for 6 Months - The task seems impossible...

Think - Believe - Achieve...

My running group at the Runners Support Page uses the catchphrase of Think, Believe, Achieve to inspire... Well, above, you can see the way I am thinking... I truly believe that if I can get everything to line up, get the training done, stay injury free, lose the weight, then I WILL Achieve...

The Plan:

I devised a training plan for a 3:30 to 4:00 Marathon many moons ago. It worked well for me over the years, with 12 of my Marathon finishes being under the 4 hours, and 9 of those under 3:45, so I do have some experience, and know what it takes. Obviously I am older, maybe wiser too, and my body will not enjoy being put through the strains of an intensive programme, but with no pain, no gain. This is my best opportunity to achieve my dream of getting back to Boston, and I am prepared to put the effort in.

The Journey To Be Travelled:

Hopefully you can join me on the journey. I plan to update the Blog every week. Giving insights as to where I am at in preparation, reports on races I take part in over the summer, all with the one goal of lining up at the start line for DCM on October 30th with the capacity to run 3:45 on that day. By all means comment on my progress, kick me up the butt if I start to slide off the plan, and share my journey.

This Week:

Just so you can kick me or cheer me along, here is this weeks workouts. This first phase is all about Base Building, and all runs will be easy, at slower than 9 minute mile pace, or around 5:40 per km, with the exception of races, where I will be looking for a faster run, just to keep that little element of speed in the legs in this phase of the training. I will introduce speed and hill work into the plan around Week 9....

Week 1/26

Monday: 5 Km EASY - Tuesday 6 Km EASY - Wednesday 5 Km EASY - You get the picture about EASY....
Thursday 6 Km EASY - Friday 5 Km EASY - Saturday 8 Km The RTE 5M Race in the BHAA series - Sunday 5 KM Pearse 1916 Race.

I'll report back next Sunday with the weeks progress and next weeks plan....... Wish me luck....

It's Been a While...

For once, my absence from posting has not been due to a lack of running, more my idleness in blogging. In the first four months of the year, I have been running, training and racing too. These few months have all been about relaxing and enjoying my running, without any real pressure. All this has been about the lull before the storm, as my next post will explain..... (Cryptic here!)...

So, after my return from my holidays back home in Argentina, it was back to the winter blues and a build up to the Rock n Roll Half Marathon at the end of April, in Madrid. January saw my training around 67 Km, not a huge build up, but I was working on my speed a little, after some slower races in South America, so my runs tended to be short, but sharper. Two "races" were run, with a parkrun at Hartstown, completed in 25:51, with the Raheny 5 Miler at the end of the month rounding things off. February saw a few blips as I had a bout of plantar fasciitis (not sure how to spell that correctly), but I did manage to improve on my parkrun time at Hartstown to 25:28, but only 42 km run, due to the niggles.

March saw a better distance covered, with over 100 Km for the month, and a further improvement at Hartstown to 25:05, actually ran this on my 58th birthday. A few 15 Km runs in there too, as the Madrid build up continued.

April sees the real start of the spring to summer races, with the start of the BHAA series. Two BHAA races this month, the first the 4 Miler at St Annes in Raheny, where I improved by over a minute and a half on last years effort, with a 32:29 clocking, with the following week bring the 10K BHAA race out at the K Club in Straffan. This race was a little disappointing, as the reverse happened as I was around a minute and a half slower than last year, hitting 53:13 this time, not really sure why, but it was still an enjoyable day out in Kildare.

This brings me up to Madrid. This was never a time targetted race, but having run two under-performing halves in Dublin last year, I was certainly aiming for a more consistent run, and a much better time than the two 2:25ish runs last year. Paula and I headed off to Madrid early on the Friday morning, with a small bunch of #RSP runners also heading over, Rachel Hyland, Hayley Morris, Jennifer McAteer, Michele Mowlds, Karen Kelly and a few more to boot. We were staying with an old friend from Buenos Aires, and after popping early to the expo and collecting our numbers, we caught up with our friend Melanie, before she flew off to Birmingham for the weekend - must have been something we said :)...

Saturday was spent sightseeing, and we were up bright and early on Sunday morning for the race. Parque Retiro was the location for the start and we caught up with the #RSP gang in the corals, and my plan was to try and run around 6 minute pace for the entire race, keeping that consistency I tend to lack. Hayle, Rachel and myself started together, and before too long, Hayley had disappeared, as she was in great form and able to push faster right from the off. Rachel and myself kept in sight until around 10Km when I lost her as I walked through a drinks station, not to be seen again until the finish chutes. My plan was working, for the main, with the first 5Km in 30:22, followed by the next in 28:32, where the course flattened out, after a long drag of the first 8km - The hills weren't steep, just long and gradual. Slowed a little in the third quarter, clocking 31:07, and the last quarter almost saw me face planting the Madrid streets, as I tripped on an uneven surface around 18Km, doing a wonderful Bambi impression, but thankfully keeping upright, just.... I actually thought I had pulled a hamstring, and walked for a couple of minutes to ease off the strain, but thankfully all was OK, and I picked it up again, hitting that last quarter in 31:47, which included another couple of hills, these being a tad steeper, if shorter, than the first half. Back into the parque for the finish and given the way the temperatures had crept up, I didn't really kick out too hard for the line, finishing comfortably in 2:08:34, an average pace of 6:06 per Km, which, if I hadn't done my Bambi impression, would probably have been a minute or so faster - Just the consistent race I wanted to run.

Back home to Dublin on Monday night, with Paula heading down to South America for a couple of weeks, and a recovery week, as things will start to get serious from now on in. But before April was out, I had another parkrun to complete, and on Saturday last, I headed over to Waterstown, the one with the gentle inclines, and ran a nice steady training run in 27:47, as Sunday, MayDay, I was heading over to Boyne and the 10 Km race there, with THAT hill, I remember well from last year.

The Boyne 10K was not my best run, struggling a little, as I went off too fast, clocking 5:15 pace for the first 4 Km, and my legs feeling like lead. I eased right back, and when I came to THE Hill at 7km, I simply walked up the hill - There was no need to push as I wasn't looking for a fast time, but I have to confess it was a struggle, and although I managed to kick hard on the finishing straight, it was a relatively poor time of 55:50, some three minutes slower than last year, but the craic was great, and a few beers afterwards with the #RSP gang soon had me forgetting the poverty of the run.

So, that brings everything up to date, and the next post will map out where I am going.... Stay tuned.......

Heat, humidity, a Race, and a Holiday - What more is there to life?

Yep, the year is almost at an end, and I'm still running, despite temps being in the 30's all week. I actually took a week off, given that I am actually on my first holiday in over a year, and managed to chill out a little with a few beers, catching up with old friends down here in Argentina, and working on my tan! But I did have the little matter of a final race for the year, and being honest, a race I have wanted to run for a long time. The San Silvestre, Buenos Aires. This is a race that started in 1925 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and has changed distances many times, although the one in Brazil has settled at 15Km since 1991. As a youngster reading about classic races around the world, this was up there with the Boston Marathon (remember New York or London Marathons hadn't even been born when I was a youngster running), and I dream't of one day taking part. Well, 6 years ago, the organisers set up a spin off San Silvestre Race here in Buenos Aires, and unfortunately, I was never able to take part when I was living here, for one reason or another, but this year, I was here, I was fit (ish), and nothing was going to stop me, even teh temperatures hitting the 30's..

So, this morning, December 31st, at 8am, Paula and myself lined up for the start of the San Silvestre Buenos Aires 6th Edition, and along with nearly 5,000 others we ran around the Capital of Argentina, taking in the sights. I have to confess that I haven't acclimatised to the heat, and December/January is certainly not the best time to be running in BA, and with excessive humidity, running is tough for this Northern Hemisphere Pale-Skin. I had hoped to run around 45 minutes, knowing the heat/humidity would slow me down, but I set off at just under 5:30 pace, hoping I could sustain this. I reached half way in around 22 minutes, which was spot on target, but the wheels were starting to come off as we emerged from the side streets of San Telmo onto 9 de Julio, and the blazing sun - Yes, even at 8.30 in the morning it was getting towards 30 degrees... It was a bit stop start from there on in, taking in water at every opportunity, but enjoying the view as I strolled along, and as we past Casa Rosada, the Pink House of the President, some will recall from watching Evita!, and with only 500m to go, I dug deep, pulled myself together, focused on the finishing line in the distance, with the Obelisco, synonymous with Buenos Aires, despite a Canadian friend calling it a Big Willy!, just behind the line, I dug in, went past a few people, not letting anyone past me as ever, and crossed the line in the Chip Time of 46:40.

I was disappointed in the time, but at the same time, given the conditions it was very reasonable, and finishing in 2018th place, out of 4829 finishers, obviously I wasn't alone in finding the conditions tough. Once I collected my medal, took in copious amounts of fluid, I headed back to see Paula finish in under 75 minutes, which I know she was very happy with, although she also hated the humidity of the day - So it's not just us Pale-Skins! After meeting up we did what every runner should do after a race on the last day of the year, and went for an Ice-Cream - Delicious....

Well, that brings me to the end of 2015. A pretty eventful year, a few ups and downs along the way, but with 39 Races completed, comprising of; 3 Half-Marathons; 2 10Milers; 9 10Ks; 7 5Milers or 8Kms; 13 parkruns, plus an additional 5K Trail Race; a 4 Miler, and 3 Track Races over varying distances, the year comes to its conclusion. It may not have been a great year in terms of times, but certainly one of the busiest I have ever had, helped by the parkruns which are so tempting to run on a Saturday morning if nothing else on the calendar that weekend.

Although the year is ending, my holiday isn't, and I will have another week plus here, to enjoy the New Year Celebrations later today with the family, and another week of seeing friends, with the added spice that RSP does Jantastic

starts on Monday next. Although I can only commit to 2 runs in the first week, as I will be travelling at the end of the week over 2 days, it will be great to keep me motivated as I return to Storm Swept Ireland next Sunday (10th).

I will evaluate my goals for next year in another post. Suffice to say, I have already entered a few races in the year to come, first off being Raheny 5m at the end of January. I am guessing it might not be as hot and humid as today, so hopefully, I can run better in a race I have always enjoyed in the past. Ballycotton 10 in March, and the two Rock n Roll Half Marathons, in Madrid in April, and Dublin in August have had my money already, and I am sure the Dublin Race Series will be completed this year again, along with a number of the BHAA Races, not to forget parkruns - But the main focus will be on the Dublin City Marathon in October, but more about that later.

All that remains is for me to wish both my readers a Happy New Year, and for the runner in you to succeed in your own ambitions in 2016.

Athbhliain faoi shéan agus faoi shona duit.

December in the Sun - Warm weather Training

As ever its been a few weeks since my last update, and as I mentioned at the end of October, I was off to my Second Home in Argentina on the 20th November, for a well earned, and well needed vacation, for all of seven (Yes, 7) weeks. Escaping a good part of the winter months, and hopefully getting a fair bit of running in, wearing shorts and t-shirts, rather than layers and waterproofs. By all accounts, I escaped at the right time, with Storm Desmond and his mates reeking havoc on the Emerald Isle. No doubt there will still be some winter for me to endure when I get back in January, but for now, it's sun, sun, sun.....

But I'm getting ahead of myself, as the blog is about recording what I have been doing and how I am progressing as I move slowly (and as a runner, definitely slower than in days gone by) towards another age group, having gone over halfway through my present group in mid-September, so it's all downhill from here on in for the next 27 months... Or so it would seem, but I am not going to let that happen!

My last parkrun before I headed south was at Hartstown on Nov 7th where I recorded a reasonably respectable 26:32 on a damp day, when the Hartstown parkrun was celebrating their 1st Birthday. There were a few from the RSP Group also running on the day, so it was nice to catch up with folk, and after that I headed to Ongar for a slap up breakfast in the Rendezvous Cafe, which clearly is not something I can do on a regular basis, but it is nice to treat myself once in a while. A few days later it was out spectating at the Run In The Dark in Docklands, which did seem to be a little on the side of organised chaos, but all for a good cause, and a few of us braved the weather to cheer as many RSPers in as we could spot. Unfortunately after that, I was unable to squeeze in any running at all before I headed away. Partly because of the pressure of work, what with heading away for 7 weeks, and partly because I tweaked my back, which was a shame, as I had hoped to get in another parkrun before the holiday, but it wasn't to be. Thankfully, it appears that the back issue was only a trapped nerve, as it cleared up withing a few days, but given my history with the back, it was a little worrying.

Anyway, on Friday 20th, I was off, with my running gear all packed, and wearing my RSP Hoodie for the journey - at least until I crossed into the Southern Hemisphere, doubting the need for a hoodie at this time of the year down here. Having said this was a holiday, of course, you will recall that I lived in Argentina for four years, and Paula of course is Argentine, so it is as much a coming home, at least second home, as much as a holiday. A break from work maybe, but back into the routine very quickly, and with the intention of doing as much running as possible, and enjoying the weather (plus getting a tan too!)... To this end, the same day that I arrived in the morning, the evening took me to Puerto Madero, and an 8K Night Race, the Nocturna. Strange thing down here is that 95% of runners wear the Race T-Shirt in the actual Race, going against all the advice about not wearing anything new on Race Day. Well, for me, I wasn't going to be one of the masses, and wore my Runners Support Page T-Shirt with pride, standing out in Green, among the Blue Shirts everyone else was wearing. Nothing wrong with the Race Shirt, I just wanted to advertise #RSP On Tour - Plus I like to wear something I am comfortable in. The Race itself set off in the dark around 8pm (It goes dark earlier here in the summer than at home at an equivalent time), and with nearly 4000 participants it was similar to the Samsung back home, aside from the temps being around 20 degrees. Given I was tired from 30 hours of travelling, I took it nice and steady, followed the dark streets and dark crowds of blue shirted runners, and was glad that quite a few around me had headlamps at certain points where there were no street lights. I finished in a time of 46:57, obviously not my fastest, but turned out I was 1621st out of 3900 participants, not bad considering.

During the week that followed, I got into the habit of running every other day, getting up early before the temps got too hot, as I tried to acclimatize after a year away from this level of heat. Coming back from injury lay off, I don't want to overdo things, so this pattern for the first couple of weeks was the planned approach. Sunday the 29th, saw my second Race of the trip. This time a 10K, the Maraton Consejo. I've mentioned before that they like to call races over any distance a Maraton, it used to annoy me, but you get over it after a while. This was an early start, having to get across to the other side of the Capital, by early morning bus, but giving ourselves plenty of time, I was nicely relaxed when the race started at 8.30 in the morning, but the temps were already climbing into the mid 20's, and while the route was great through the parks of Palermo, there was little shade prevalent, and by 5K I was overheating. I simply took it easy, and reverted to a walk run strategy, and completed the race in 58:40, again, far from my fastest, but an exceptionally well organised Race, and finishing 444th out of 723, despite the slowish time was encouraging - even the locals struggle with the heat!

That brought me to the end of November, and finally I had clocked over 50K for a month. September and October hadn't reached 50 between them despite running a Half Marathon in those months. But with the knee problem, and then the back tweak, it was a relief to be running again, and heading in the right direction. One important thing to remember when coming back from injury, is not to rush things, and try and do too much, too soon, to get back to the level you were at before injury hit. With this in mind, I declined the invitation to take part in the Sanity Claus December Challenges of running every day in December, sticking to my alternate days for now, until the 25th, when, all being well, I will aim to do my own 12 Runs of Xmas Challenge, running each of the 12 days from Xmas Day to Jan 5th, which kicked me off nicely last year for 2015, here's hoping it will do the same for 2016.

One more Race to report to bring you up to date, Last Sunday, I took part in another 10K, this time the Circuito de las Estaciones - Verano. This is a series of 4 races run over the year, one for each season, something akin to our own Dublin Race Series. Obviously I wasn't here for the first three seasons, but looked forward to this run, given the forecasts were saying it might be a little cooler. Instead of the blue t's for the first two races here, this time it was a Green Shirt, so my RSP top didn't stand out as much, in the crowd of over 3,000, with the 5K being run in conjunction with the 10, splitting at around 2.5K into my race, which lead to a congested start, but, given the wide streets in Constanera Sur, where this race was taking place, it wasn't an issue once we got out of the starting pens. It actually was a tad cooler, probably around 20 degrees when we started, and this route had a bit more shade on it than the previous week's race, however, I had spent Saturday afternoon in my old local, catching up with some old friends, watching football, and partaking of a couple of pints more than one should on the eve of a race, so I wasn't exactly 100% for this one. Having said that, I managed to finish in 57:37, a minute quicker than previously, and again, around half way in the field, finishing 873rd out of 1525 for the 10K.

So, that's me up to date. The Temps are due to get hotter as we head into the summer here. I have two more Races lined up here, another 10K this Sunday, again in Puerto Madero, which is an excellent area for Road Races, and then the one I am really looking forward to, the San Silvestre 8K on New Years Eve, where I hope to run a reasonably decent time, although with 5000 participants running through the main tourist parts of the City, it might be hard. I've already been focusing on Upcoming Races back home, and whilst here, I have my entries made for the Raheny 5 Miler at the end of January, and have my Ballycotton 10M entry in for Mar 6th, and am thinking of parkruns to enjoy when I return.

I'll leave you with some pictures from my runs so far, which hopefully will give you a flavour of my time to date - Adios for now, end of year review to follow before I get home.




Oh yes, I hashed as well after the Consejo Race. The photo showing two of us apparently drinking (we were!) was at a Hash House Harriers Run, and my friend, Reuben was getting "punished" as the day before he had ran two races, a 3K and a 5K in the same day, and won them both!

Things don't Always Go To Plan

Running is a sport that gives and takes. You train hard, you start to show improvements, and then, just as you see a breakthrough coming, it takes away from you as you suffer an injury. For some it can be a very serious setback, which can put you out of action for months on end, as has happened to a dear friend this year, who suffered a stress fracture of the vertabrae and has been out of action for many months now. For me, it seemed something trivial to start with, a little niggle in my left knee at the 5 Miler in the Phoenix Park in the summer. I took a little break, and thought the worst was over. But then a treadmill session, where I might well have been favouring the other leg, resulted in my right knee swelling up and stopping me in my tracks again.

Rather stupidly, I thought it had started to clear up, and decided to run the Dublin Half Marathon in mid September. I should know better! I have been running far too long not to listen to my own voice when I say, don't run when injured. BUT, I didn't listen, I ran, and plodded my way around the Phoenix Park, feeling the knee getting sorer and sorer as each mile passed. The last couple of miles saw the old issue of the calf tightening up as well, so I was really crocked as I came towards the finish.

One of the best things to have happened with my running in the last year has been getting involved with my new Running Group from the Runners Support Page on Facebook. We are a mixed bunch of runners, a lot of newbies, a smattering of experience, all shapes and sizes, and all speeds. The Group is also a fantastic bunch - I have met so many people in the last year who I can genuinely call friends - Running brings people together.

Why did I intercede that as I was hobbling to the finish of the Half Marathon? Well! With a little more than 100m to the finish, the #RSP Cheerleaders were out in force, cheering myself, and every other Team #RSP (and everyone else to be fair) runners home. My left calf was tightening up, my right knee was swelling up, but with the encouragement and support, how could I not run hard to the finish! Thanks guys.... Running can be a lonely sport, even when you are a member of a club. It's all about your own performance, you rarely get a chance to see your friends run, as you are usually running in the same race. The support from this Group is incredible, as was shown a few weeks later in the Dublin City Marathon, but that's not my story.

As soon as I had crossed the line, I knew that was it for a while. The walk back to my friends car was difficult. The knee had swollen, was very sore, and suffice to say, a lot of ice was needed over the next few days, along with Ibuprofen. That was Sept 19th, and it was a good month before I could run again - Heck, it was about four days before I could walk properly.... But, one thing age has told me, you can't hurry things, you have to be patient, and I kept my enthusiasm up, planning next years runs and giving myself something to aim for.

I was looking forward to Cheering at the Dublin Marathon, and despite being envious of everyone who was running (although I had made no plans to run DCM this year), I was so happy for all the Virgins from our Group, seeing the emotions of the runners and friends, and not to mention enjoying the party afterwards :).

Which brings us to the end of October, and where I'm going from here. Started the slow comeback with a parkrun today in Hartstown, and my goal is still to run a Boston Qualifying time next October in Dublin. However, I will not be kicking off the New Year in Seville, as I have missed too much training to be ready for a Marathon in February, so I will look at a possible training Marathon in May/June, possibly the Walled City Marathon in Derry, but I'll decide on that after my Summer Break to my Second Home in Argentina.

Talking of Argentina, I will be heading there in less than three weeks, and have already entered two races on my travels. I will actually be away for nearly 7 weeks, so a good time to get some warm weather training in, along withe the races. I have an 8K night race on the day of my arrival, run in Puerto Madero, which is very similar in style to Docklands Dublin, followed a week later in a 10K Race an another suburb of Buenos Aires which I am looking forward to, and if all goes well, I plan on running the Buenos Aires San Silvestre 10K on New Years Eve, before heading back to Ireland in mid-winter, and the Raheny 5 Miler at the end of January.

As autumn turns to winter, I hope to enjoy the sun, and come back well refreshed for 2016 and hopefully, an injury free year. I'm sure the sport will continue to give and take from me, I just hope it will allow me to have more ups than downs.

Boston 2018 - First Stop, Sevilla!

OK - OK - Here it is - But be patient, there whole story has to be followed....

I was lucky enough to run Boston Marathon back in 2001, and I promised myself I would be back one day, as I didn't do myself justice that day, running 4:08 in the iconic Marathon. Now, unless you get a charity place, you have to qualify for Boston, and for one reason or another I have never got near the qualifying time (age related) since.

In March 2018, I will celebrate my 60th burpday, and the Boston Marathon takes place a month later, in April. At this moment in time, the qualifying time for M60 is 3:55 (as against the 3:40 for M55, my present age group). The qualifying period for 2018 starts in September 2016, so if I run under 3:55 next October in Dublin, I will have managed a qualifying time. (For some reason, your time, even if run 18 months before your birthday qualifies you at the age you are for the day you actually race - Are you still following?).....

SO, as most of you know, I am not running DCM this year, with my aim this year to re-build my body and get ready for the challenge ahead. SO, to this end, and thanks to Darren putting the seed into my head, (and hopefully joining us there) I am entering the Seville Marathon in Spain next February, exactly 26 weeks away from now, and hence today is the start of my training plan.

As I said, not THAT exciting, except to me, but I hope you will share the journey along the way to Boston 2018 - First Stop, Seville Feb 16, and there are certain to be other stops, and starts, along the way. ‪#‎RSProadtrip‬ ‪#‎RSPBoston2018‬ .... Now if anyone can come up with a snappy tag line for my journey, let me know....

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.......

Charles Dickens wrote those lines back in the nineteenth century, but how apt those words have been in the last month for me.

I have come around to updating my blog, roughly, on a monthly basis. Don't want to bore readers too much. This month has certainly seen good times and bad, lets start with the bad and get that out of the way.

Since the last update, I completed the month of June with three races, almost back to back. The first being a 5K Trail Race in the Phoenix Park under the BHAA auspices. I ran a half decent race, finishing in 25:08, and once again picking up a prize for the Team event, although overall I was disappointed as I felt I wasn't running as well as I could, even though I am not a fan of trail runs, even if this one was as flat as could be. I did finish strong, which I enjoyed, but overall, it was, as I said, a half-decent run.

Two days later it was a trip to Clonee and a 10K on a Thursday evening with Team #RSP friends, Patrick & Mel, where again I had a semi-decent run, clocking 51:59 on a relatively flat course, faster than the previous week in Dunshaughlin, but well down on what I had been hoping for, closer to 50 minutes. Still, I was in the middle of 4 races in 8 days, so reasonably happy.

Then came the Irish Runner 5 Miler and a return to Phoenix Park, this time on the roads. Now, I have always enjoyed races in the Park in the past, and I was looking forward to this one, hoping to get under the 40 minute mark again. Understandably I felt a little heavy in the legs as I set off, with the three previous races that week, but still was hopeful of clocking those 8 minute miles. Things were going well until we hit the Kyber Pass, downhill! Halfway down the hill I felt a twinge in my left knee, a twinge that was going to turn into more the following day. On the drag up the Military Road I slowed to a walk as the knee was starting to worry me, but once the hill worked its way out, and the Zig-Zags took us back down again, the pain seemed to go, and I plugged away to the finish, having given up any thoughts of time, just trying to "enjoy" the run to the finish. Nothing fancy, and a time of 41:55 wasn't the worst, but the next day I paid for it. My knee was really sore, and I knew then that I would be off running for a few weeks - The Worst of Times for me......

But - Then the Best of Times! Whilst injured I could turn my attentions to something far more important than running (Have to say that, somebody may be reading this!). On July 10th, Paula and I were married here in Dublin, cementing our six and a half years together. We were blessed with friends and family from all over the world who came to share the day with us, and it really was The Best of Times!

Unfortunately, the knee wasn't improving too quickly, and Paul and I had the second Race of the Dublin Series to participate in on July 19th, the Fingal 10K. It was to be Paula's first "running" 10K, following her mini-marathon at the beginning of June, and with my sore knee, I offered to run/walk with her, and on the day we were joined by our 5 month pregnant Team #RSP friend Susan Dixon for the journey. I convinced the girls we could manage a 3/1 run/Walk split, on what is quite a flat course, and we maintained this for the first half, switching to a slightly less strenuous plan over the second half, and finishing holding hands across the finish line, with the announcer having been tipped off that we were newly weds, although I'm not sure what those watching thought of me finishing with two women, one heavily pregnant, and being told I had just got married to one of them :)....

After this run, looming on the horizon was the Bank Holiday weekend, and the Rock n Roll Half Marathon here in Dublin. The bad knee meant I hadn't run seriously since June 27th, and on Friday last (31/7) I ventured out to test if I could manage to run on it. Thankfully the pain had gone, but I was still unsure if it had healed, it had, but my cardio was shot to pieces, and I struggled on the breathing and felt totally out of shape, hardly surprising with no running for 5 weeks, and 5 also being the number of Kilos I had added to my weight in that period - obviously not helped by the festivities surrounding the wedding!

And so it came to pass that we lined up on Sunday on the North Wall, outside The Point (It will always be the Point to me!), with a nervous expectation, not knowing if I would get around in one piece, and Paula planning to walk the race with Susan, now another two weeks more pregnant, with maybe a little running interspersed. It had been raining early that morning, but thankfully the rain abated before the start, and after meeting up with the gaggle of Team #RSPers, and a brief Hello to Mick Rice, my old friend from my club, Athenry AC, it was into Coral 5 for me, and a hope that I would be able to manage it around 2:15, given the total lack of cardio-fitness.

I started well, and felt OK as we ran alongside the Liffey, and even the climb up to Christchurch didn't faze me too much, with the knee giving me no problems at all. The first two miles were a shade under 9 minute mile pace, a bit too fast, but my plan was to run the first 25 minutes at this pace, and then switch to a 4/1 Run/Walk plan to offset the lack of training, and allow suitable recovery. This actually worked a treat, and I went through 10K in 63:46, all in good stead as we headed for the Park and the small detail of a few hills to work on. I was joined on a number of occasions by fellow Team #RSPers, usually passing me while I was on my walk break, all enquiring if I was alright, which at those points I was! Into the Park, and still all going to plan, until that damn Kyber Road downhill. Last time it was the knee, this time, the calf! Having run enough Marathons to spot the first signs of calf cramps, the twinge I felt as I came to the bottom of the hill was recognisable straight away - Ouch! I eased to a walk, and walked up the Military Road, before tentatively running down the Zig-Zags and feeling my way. Once onto the far road by the Furry Glen, every time I started to run more than 100m, I felt the calf twinge again, and resorted to a walk. To be honest, I probably walked most of the last two miles, not wanting to go into spasm at all, just stretching out as I walked, and saving anything I had left for the finish straight. There was no smackdown this time, just a gentle run in, to be greeted 50m from the line by Rachel Hyland, and her camera, and cheers from the #RSPers who had finished ahead of me, encouraging me to cross the line in 2:24:40, almost respectable given the level of fitness.

After a few bananas and collecting my medal, I met up with the gang, recovered a little, and then went back to pick up Paula and Susan. Susan had been struggling and I walked with her for a while before fellow #RSPer, John Dolan joined us, along with the rest of the 3K Fun Runners, and I then went ahead to bring home Paula to the finish of her first half-marathon in fine style. We were both feeling the effects of the distance in our legs, came home, and after lunch and a couple of beers, we went home, and promptly fell asleep on the couch!

So, that's where we are to date. From a running perspective, not a great time, with the knee injury, the added weight, and the loss of a lot of the cardio work that I had put in earlier this year. Thankfully the knee stood up well to the Half-Marathon, and the soreness in the legs will dissapate in a day or two, and I can get back into a decent training regime.

From a life perspective, much better times, a happily married man, a wonderful new life partner, and a future together that will bring smiles and happiness for many years to come. As Dickens went onto say, It was the age of Wisdom, the age of Foolishness, well running while less than 100% may be the Foolish part of my life, marrying Paula is obviously the Wisdom side of things.