Run run run run run run run....

⬆️ Thanks all! it's great to be back writing race reports, despite the dodgy boards platform update 🤭

Monday 19/07 - 7 miles @ 7:30 m/m

I was planning the day off as usual but with a good quality 4 mile race coming up at the weekend, I was advised to focus on getting an 80 mile week in and 'front load' the milage while also factoring in a taper for the race. This is always a difficult balance where you can easily end up overloading yourself early in the week and may end up making a mess of the race. To kick this off, I started the week early with 7 easy miles around the city after work. It was nice and very warm. I ran up around the Lough hoping the sight of water would cool me down. It did not cool me down. The legs were definitely still feeling the 20 mile effort but that was no surprise.

Tuesday 20/07 - 15 miles

• AM: 5 miles @ 7:24 m/m

A tired and groggy run around Ballincollig. No interesting insights or incidents. These are the mundane ones that have as much of a role to play as the big sessions. It all adds up, every, single, boring mile.

• PM: Track - 4x200m (200m rec), 8x400m (400m rec), 4x200m (200m rec)

Helter swelter. This was a spicy one and an ideal situation to take the top off. I think every fella took the opportunity at some stage or another, not that runners torsos are particularly aesthetically pleasing. Hey ladies, check out my rib bones! This was essentially a blow-out for the race Sunday, whatever that is. We tend to use that term 'blow-out' a lot but I get the gist. I threw on the Dragonfly spikes to try them out, assuming the cushioning would allow me recover well. I was also looking at doing a track race soon so I'd need to get them out for a spin. After the first few reps I just didn't feel that comfortable and was feeling a lot of impact on my weak achilles when turning. After the 2nd 400m rep, I decided to stop and take them off and put on Hokas instead which immediately felt more comfortable. The last thing I wanted was putting myself in danger of missing the race on Sunday because of stupidly wearing spikes for a session days beforehand. I had company for the whole session with a club mate and we had a good understanding taking every alternate rep with no nonsense. Thank fizz for that or this could have been a long one. Glad to get this done and dusted. I'm not sure if he's still alive digitally, but great to see @skeleton_boy back on the track after a lengthy injury absence.

Splits: 33, 33, 33, 33, 70, 70, 69, 71, 69, 71, 69, 67, 34, 33, 32, 32

Wednesday 21/07 - 16.5 miles

• AM: 11 miles @ 7:25 m/m

My track legs were quite sleepy and unhappy this morning but I knew I wouldn't regret getting the longer miles in early today with the Azores high planning on torching the country for the day.

• PM: 5.5 miles @ 7:12 m/m

I met up with a buddy at around 6pm. It was still 24c but almost pointless waiting until later in the evening, it wasn't getting any cooler. Just get it done. It was grand. Sleeping is a challenge these days.

Thursday 22/07 - 12 miles @ 7:25 m/m

I would have done another repeat of yesterday but with golf on the menu for the afternoon, that would in effect be a 5 mile run. I got out nice and early for this with a club mate, it was cool and that's all that matters. The legs were still a bit fatigued but I was confident they would come around for Sunday with a bit of rest and a rub.

Friday 23/07 - 10 miles @ 7:09 m/m

Beautiful morning in Cork. A nice trot to the marina and back with a club mate. The legs definitely felt fresher which was surprising because I was wrecked after the golf in the heat which also meant I slept like a log. It's a strange phrase, to sleep like a log. Tree's definitely don't sleep, especially murdered ones. Got a nice massage later that morning to freshen up the legs a little.

Saturday 24/7 - 7 miles @ 7:16 m/m

The (race) day of sabbath day is upon us but with a few races under the belt now, the apprehension leading up to a race feels back to pre-covid levels. I decided to go easy on the legs and headed for the grass sanctuary of the UCC farm. It was a lovely old trot with a few strides on a beautiful sunny morning. We seem to be in bonus territory with this mediterranean weather now. We'd all expected it to turn but it's hanging in there. 11am tomorrow is going to be toasty so I'm getting plenty of fluid into me today and I've kept spirits up by washing two cars, doing some garden jobs and watching crappy television. What a day. I'll probably spend most of the evening playing GeoGuessr, my new favourite pastime in the world. See ya at the next race report...

I probably should have done this 4 minutes after the actual race because I'll be honest, it's feeling very hazy now. I'll try de-haze it as best I can.

Sunday 25/7 - RACE! Fermoy 4 mile (10 miles total)

So, my 4th race in 3 weeks and I am really loving being back in the thick of it. Grange-Fermoy were one of the few clubs last summer who took it upon themselves to put on a road race amidst all the chaos. They managed to pull together a small invite-only field and it was a cracking race despite a hellishy difficult course. That was the same weekend last July and I came 12th in 20:03. The standard was top notch and had me walking away happy but distinctly aware of where I stood in terms of the top performers. This is what it must have been like in the 80's. Very few races but high quality fields and a standard you just couldn't compare to today. It has to be one of the reasons why they were so good. Running a 4 mile in sub 20 minutes would have you barely making the top 10 and you just had to work harder to get anywhere near the top. Plus they had no bouncy shoes.

Gladly, the race was scheduled again for this year with another good field promised. Before opening up to the public, they opened registration a day early to anyone who ran last year in an effort to encourage a good standard. I was more than happy to take on another race and I always enjoy the 4 mile distance. It's essentially a 5k effort where you give no consideration to the last mile until it's actually happening.

I front-loaded the milage this week and tried to come down a little closer to race day to get fresh as this was one you would want to be fresh for. Having ran the course from last year, I knew it was going to be challenging but with my last two races on difficult courses, I was feeling in a good place and able to tackle anything hilly. We just heard a few days before the race that the course had changed due to unforeseen circumstances. This made little difference, it was going to be just as hard as last year.

It's race day and looking out my bedroom window, the sun is piercing my eyeballs with the temperature already close to 20C at 9am. I wasn't too worried about that, I can run ok in heat, it's only 4 miles and how can you ever complain about such glorious weather. The drive up to Fermoy was nice and relaxed and I arrived at 9:30am for an 11am kick off. I'm getting good at this. We got a recce of the course done in a bus driven by a friend of the club and that was actually great again having the course knowledge in advance. it was kind of looking uniformly difficult with no major hills but just plenty of small difficult pulls. Once we hit mile 1 we'd turn right, left, and left again, making a small triangle before running mile 1 again in reverse. I guess you could say the course looked like a corner flag. We ran the first mile out and back for the warm up, which definitely warmed us up but it was nice to have that done a good half an hour before the start.

The atmosphere around the start was great and the beaming sunshine had people in great form, if a little apprehensive. There we all were, parked in a farmers field lathering buckets of sun-cream all over our pasty white skin while doing hamstring stretches. An Irish road race in summer if ever there was one. Finally it was time to lumber off to the start line where people took shelter in any sort of shade they could. The start line was packed with quality. Amongst my own club mates was Ryan Creech, a serious talent having been unlucky with injuries but now probably in the form of his life having witnessed the stuff he's doing in training. To me there was no doubting the winner when he was standing on the line. Fellow Wexfordian Ger Forde had made the trip to Cork and always seems to do well in these shorter events. Niall Shanahan of Limerick is in flying form but I just can't seem to ever get near him, he's been a bit too quick. Other familiar Cork faces like Tim O'Donohoe, Alan O'Shea, Sean Doyle and club mate John Shine were also nearby so this was shaping up to be a really good race. As with the last race, I turned off the split notifications on my watch, put on the time of day and promised myself to focus on the racing. Nothing else.

Mile 1 - 4:48

Well to say this went out fast is an understatement. It went out very fast. I must have been back in 8th or 9th, really working to just keep contact but it was already splitting up at the front. It was a bumpy ride up until about halfway through the mile and then relief in the form of a nice fast downhill where I felt I was starting to relax and get into my stride. I was after making up a couple of spots and sitting in 7th coming to the end of the mile. My coach was there shouting out the splits and I was almost going to plug my ears but was too intrigued to hear what it was. Pretty happy to hear the 4:48 and feeling reasonably in control. Could I keep doing 4:48's though? No, probably not.

Mile 2: 4:58

We'd turned right and I knew there was a difficult hill here about halfway through. I was still sitting in 7th and on the tail of Tim O'D and both of us were closing a little on Sean Doyle. Tim was really moving well and edging his way away from me and making his way up to the group ahead of Niall and Ger. When I got to the hill I was right behind Sean and tried my best to kick up the hill to get ahead. I did get a small gap but coming off the hill and taking another sharp left, he tucked in right behind me. Knowing the ability Sean has, he was not going to be easy to shake. We're on a straight section of main road now, Ryan was starting to get out of sight up ahead and very rapidly closing in on a Watergrasshill runner who went out very very hard. At the end of the mile I spotted said Watergrasshill runner at the mile marker, sitting in the ditch looking pretty spent. That puts me in 5th now but there are many footsteps aggressively pursuing me. I was starting to feel the effort now. Things were hurting, as they should.

Mile 3: 5:00

Shortly after the 2 mile marker, we took another sharp left, just about avoiding a lethal pothole which was circled with white spray paint to highlight its lethalness. This was a reasonably unremarkable mile and pretty incident free. I don't remember much other than just focussing on getting to the 3 mile mark and trying to kick for home. I was moving well. I eventually got to the crossroads where we first turned at the first mile and now it was onto the home straight. Straight but lumpy. I was really starting to breath heavy but kept telling myself it's just 5 minutes more. I was now about 15 seconds behind the trio of Ger, Tim and Niall who were all in close proximity and getting ready for the battle of the minor podium spots. Ryan was out of sight. Of course I wanted to be up there with them but I wasn't strong enough and realistically I was not making that gap up so my primary focus was to hang onto what I've got and I reckoned I'd be walking away quite satisfied. I knew I had the ability to see this one out but a mile is a long way.

Mile 4: 4:59

Not long into the final mile and I arrived to what was once a lovely downhill section on mile one, now a loutish uphill on mile four. I had confidence in my ability to run the hills well, just putting in that short sharp effort and taking some relief if there was any going on the way down. It was actually nice in a way not knowing how long exactly was left or what time I was on for. The good news is that the footsteps behind me were quieter than previously and I was probably pulling a little clear. I didn't let up though and hit the next few bumps just as hard and the ragdoll arms and legs were most likely making an appearance at this stage. I was aching for that final corner where I knew once I'd hit it, the final 300m or so would take care of itself. I was really in the hurt zone now, getting little recovery from the drags but I knew I'd put in a decent shift today just by position alone. Finally I could see a crowd ahead and that meant home was within touching distance. I turned the left corner and put in one final spurt to the line, crossing 5th in 19:47. I only saw my time just as I crossed and I was happy to see I was well under 20. Around 10 seconds later, I managed to turn around in time to see John Shine, Sean Doyle and Michael Bruton all barrelling over the line, 1 second separating them all. I was glad I kept focussed for that last mile or it could have easily been an 8th place finish. Ryan had run a blistering 19:00 with the trio behind all around 19:30. What a show. Water, water. Give me water.

Summary: 5th place in 19:47

Overall, happy to walk away from this one with a sub 20 time and a decent placing in a strong field. Things are going quite well and I'm doing something right and feeling in good racing form. I just need to keep on the same path without doing anything silly, like taking up smoking. Afterwards, I headed up to the Fermoy reservoir for a really nice dip and then it was off into to the city for strictly controlled pints and pizza in the evening sun. It's good to stop and celebrate the small achievements but my god almighty I am such a lightweight. Monday was rough.

weekly mileage: 78

Monday 16/08 - Rest

Todays "rest" involved 4 hours of sub-standard golf in Macroom. I was completely wrecked after it.

Tuesday 17/08 - 15 miles

AM: 10 miles @ 7:25 m/m

Just another boring but probably enjoyable morning run to kick start the week.

PM: 5 miles @ 7:32 m/m

My achilles, my beloved left achilles has been bugging me lately. It's not like a typical usual flare-up where I just know I need to stop for a few days but it's more a pain that isn't actually impacting running. If I pinch the area above my heel, it's incredibly sensitive and sore yet I don't feel any pain when running. It's worrying but I think it just needs to be managed. I went to a buddy for a rubout after work and then headed to the farm for a few easy miles.

Wednesday 18/08 - 16.5 miles

AM: 12 miles @ 7:20 m/m

And another boring morning run. Half on the road, half on the farm. More and more of my miles these days are edging towards the farm for some reason. It's a safe harbour with mythical powers that are rumoured to keep injury at bay. But seriously I definitely think the grass running is helping me get through these miles, not to mention the fact you nearly always have company out there and the miles just fly by.

PM: 4.5 miles @ 7:19 m/m

Farm. Can't remember it. Saw a few trees.

Thursday 19/08 - 13.5 miles

AM: 5 miles @ 7:16 m/m

You know you're knee deep in a marathon when you do a 5 mile run the morning of a race but there's really no wiggle room if you want to get the miles in with a day off a week.

PM: RACE! Rathcormac 4 mile

Another race? sure why not. This one seemed to fit well in place of a tempo this week so myself and my training partner John decided to head up to Rathcormac on a fine Thursday evening. I've had the tendency to skip racing during marathon build ups in the past but I think they can play an important role as long as expectations are reasonable and tapers are minimised if not banned. You can't be expecting to lighting up shorter races when in a heavy marathon block on constantly tired legs (which actually turns out to be a great excuse if things go south). There would be no winding down for this one and I probably expected the legs to be a little rusty having not run anywhere near 5 minute miles since the Fermoy race 3 weeks ago. I was a little concerned about how the ribs would react knowing that things are not quite fully healed in that department. I was the first to arrive to race HQ, clearly having learned from my Dundrum 10k experience, now a distant memory. At least I would definitely leave today having come first at something. There was a great buzz around the sleepy little village and a nice pre-race atmosphere building up. You just can't beat the mid-week summer races. I headed off for a warm up with a few club mates and we soon realised how quick the first mile would be and subsequently how difficult the last mile would be. When we were standing on the line, it felt like it would be a mini repeat of Fermoy a few weeks ago with Tim O'Donohoe of East Cork, myself and training partner John Shine all toeing the line today. We came 3rd, 5th and 6th respectively in that race. Would it be a repeat? Standing on the line I also realised that eating a very spicy curry for lunch was an awful decision, it felt like someone had started a bonfire in my stomach. It's alright I thought, it's only 4 miles, just survive it. The course would be a simple loop basically out for 2 downhill miles and back for 2 uphill miles.

Mile 1: 4:46

So off we went and eager to bank some of that free downhill money, I set out hard and sat right in behind Tim and John with another Midleton runner tracking just behind. I was feeling quite good at these early stages but how couldn't you with a breeze on your back while flowing down the admirably paved country roads in bouncy shoes. At the halfway mark of the mile, the three of us had broken away and it looked like this was the battle for the top 3 spots. I had the time and splits turned off on my watch so no distractions to allow me focus on one thing, racing. I had a feeling we were running quite fast though but I also knew what lay ahead in the 2nd half so I wasn't getting ahead of myself.

Mile 2: 4:59

At the start of this mile, I'm still in 3rd and we hit the first climb. It was a tester and it was here that Tim displayed his strength and conjured a couple of daylight units to separate himself from myself and John. I made an effort to go ahead of John here to pull us up the hill to Tim but the gap just remained the same. About halfway through the mile we took the first of the right turns and enjoyed some respite with a nice quick downhill. There was some good support around here though I was hurting at this stage and unable to properly appreciate it. Tim is really pulling away now and John is stuck to me but this was really keeping the effort honest. I knew the hardest part was yet to come but I'm feeling reasonably strong.

Mile 3: 5:08

We took the next right turn for home and are now faced with a pretty angry headwind. I just focussed on Tim ahead though it was getting hard to see him at this stage. He was getting smaller which usually means far away. I had time to think so I'm wondering what sort of time I'm on for. Can I look? Nah, just get back to it and stop thinking about the time. We're halfway through the mile and it's really, really starting to feel tough and with John right behind me I'm thinking I probably need to develop a gap if I want to stay in 2nd as John has a kick, a better kick than me. The problem is I couldn't make a gap, it was really hard.

Mile 4: 5:12

Onto the finish straight and it's literally all uphill from here. I was breathing really hard and the rib is starting to hurt now. It feels like a really bad stitch but I am somehow still able to maintain a decent effort. All I'm thinking is it's 5 minutes, just suck it up and run. Just run. He's still right there, breathing as hard as me so I know we're both deep in the pain cave. With about 400m to go we get to the Y junction signalling the end of the loop and it's straight uphill to the finish line. I start pushing now and get a small gap on John and I just push, push and push more up the hill. I can hear the fanfare though I can't see the line yet. I start to see a crowd and a little bit of metal bar which is hopefully a metal bar attached to a finish line. It is. The rib is absolutely killing me at this stage but I don't let up and push it all the way. John had apparently started reeling me in over the last few meters but I get in just ahead of him in 20:03. Absolutely spent.

I barely had enough energy to congratulate Tim and John but that's why races are better than any session. I swiftly retreated to the safety of the curb and sat down to stare at the ground for a while munching on a banana. I don't think I could have gotten much more out of myself today and I'm delighted with that effort when only a few weeks ago I feared being sidelined for a lengthy period. While the splits don't look pretty, given the course profile I think that was reasonably well paced and it seemed everyone was leaking time in the 2nd two miles. In the context of the heavy training and the silly rib layoff, that's a really good result so no complaints and I'm in a good position now to kick on with the training for Berlin. I'm having fun doing it all, that's the main thing.

Summary: 2nd in 20:03

Full results

That's me running

Friday 20/08 - 10 miles @ 7:20 m/m

Clearly having not fallen out over our battle the previous evening, I got out early with John for a nice 10 miler around the city. I say nice but it was the most disgusting wet and windy morning I have ever seen (this week). Got another rubout in work and some physio advice on the achilles. I heard exactly what I wanted to hear - if it's not hurting you, keep on training and we'll manage it.

Saturday 21/08 - 10 miles

AM: 5 miles @ 7:22 m/m - Farm

Met a couple of club mates nice and early followed by coffee and cinnamon swirls.

PM: 5 miles @ 6:55 m/m - Farm

This was a little bit of calm before the storm planned for tomorrow. Even though the forecast is actually excellent

Sunday 22/08 - 25 miles

AM: 20 miles @ 5:48 m/m

And it was a beautiful morning. Sunny and calm, perfect for a bit of hurt. We decided that given the mid-week race, it would be a good idea this weekend to skip the Saturday workout and put in a harder effort on Sunday. The last time we did this sort of steady run was a few weeks ago at around 6 min/mile. That went well but we'd aim for about 10 seconds a mile quicker today and overall it went grand, ticked all the boxes. We got going just after 8am when the roads were quiet and after a 0.5 mile warmup jog we kicked into the first mile at 5:55 pace. John had dropped Maurten bottles out on the course so we had fuelling sorted the whole way and I took a half of a Maurten gel to try it out. It makes such a difference to the workout when there's a little planning and intent. This seems like an intimidating session but once you break it down and make mini targets, the miles just look after themselves and I find these runs really satisfying. Beneficial? we'll have to see. We ran a relatively flat out and back route with some tricky spots when going through the city but luckily didn't have any trouble and didn't have to stop at any point. We hit the 10 mile mark in around 58:40 and then naturally picked up the pace on the return leg, finishing with a 5:33 final mile and the 2nd half in 57:30. I felt as good as I could really, it never felt uncomfortably tough and the heart rate was quite steady at 146 avg. A good finish to the week. These long run efforts feel like good stressors and also confidence building for the big MP session in 2 weeks.

PM: 4 miles @ 7:25 m/m

There was only one place I was doing this. After watching Cork getting a little bit mauled, I peeled myself off the couch and headed for the safety of the farm. Fantastically boring run. Another good 90 mile week banked and 2 more big ones to survive. Now it's time to pray to superman.

Weekly mileage: 90.5

Thanks AMK, it was a good week alright when I read it back. Looking forward to a day of rest today, both mentally and physically.

Donie is my coach alright but it's very much an informal structure. We definitely don't plan months ahead and outside of marathon training, I arrive to most sessions not knowing what's on the menu. For Berlin, I came up with a rough 7 week plan myself and just left mostly placeholders for sessions so we're just taking it week by week. For example, I had a 4 x 2 mile session and a 20 mile easy down for last weekend but we decided after the race to change it up and the steady long run would be better. Rigidness and sticking steadfastly to plans really has no place in marathon training.

You're probably seeing a bit of a pattern to the weeks, it's typically 2 big sessions and a long run. I know that works well for me and I have adapted over the years to absorb the higher mileage. The specifics of the sessions don't really matter to me and not something I get bogged down in. If your working hard, pacing it right and stressing the body without overdoing it, then a session is going to benefit you no matter what. It's a two-way street with Donie because at this stage I know my body well and I know what training I respond well to and sometimes if I'm brave, I'll challenge him on things. A coach shouldn't be dictating every step you take. When you see their role as more of an advisory then the dynamic shifts and you're more in control of your destiny.

That said, I'm very lucky to have someone like Donie who not only ran at the highest level but always take lifestyle, work, health etc into account when he coaches. He doesn't operate in specifics (e.g run your 10k effort in this rep). It's run hard or run easy, but run relaxed. it's very old school and there's a certain wisdom there that can't be taught.

3 weeks to go to Berlin from yesterday. I started last week with the mindset that I just needed to get one more big week in, including a testing 14 miles @ pace on Saturday. If I could crest that week I knew the bulk of the work would be done and it's then just a case of getting fresh, being extremely paranoid and getting to that start line in one piece. I'm now in that place. Bubble-wrap me.

Monday 30/08 - Rest

Probably my favourite rest day to date, one that felt both necessary and deserved. I really don't think I even walked much.

Tuesday 31/08 - 15 miles

AM: 10 miles @ 7:17 m/m

Routine is the friend of any marathon plan. It doesn't even require discussion or thought now, I just know I'll meet my club mate at 7am and we'll go to the farm. These doubles have been the bread and butter of the last few weeks and I've actually really enjoyed them. It's disgraceful. The legs weren't too bad but certainly feeling some effects of that 10 miler.

PM: 5 miles @ 7:15 m/m

To the sacred farm again where there's really been a great buzz these past few weeks. With team sports back and runners pounding the grass every evening it's just a really nice place to be. A real social hub.

Wednesday 01/09 - 17.5 miles

AM: 40 minute tempo (12.5 miles total)

I was a little apprehensive about this one being so soon after the race but if you're not tired at this point of a marathon block, you're probably doing it wrong. The work just needed to be done. Thankfully I had my club mate John as usual and being under a bit of time pressure with work we set off at 6:45am for the warm up and kicked into the session at around 7:20am without even a shoe change. I wear the Nike Tempo shoes for most sessions. They're clunky and noisy but I find them comfortable and they've worked well so far this year. The Marina was quiet enough with traffic but there was a temperamental breeze hanging about. We started off pretty stiff and lethargic and I really wasn't feeling it at all. I knew it would be a grind. The 3rd mile into a headwind was a particular struggle but I just had to remind myself of the tiredness and race fatigue and there was no panic about the pace, it was what it was. I was glad we ran this pretty sensibly and got into a decent rhythm for the last few miles feeling good and covering 7.4 miles in total. Glad to have that one ticked off. 5:23, 5:24, 5:30, 5:25, 5:23, 5:22, 5:20, 0.4 miles @ 5:17

PM: 5 miles @ 7:05 m/m

After this morning's effort, 5 miles at the farm felt like almost getting no homework. I bumped into a few lads I hadn't seen in a while and ran away with them as the time just flew by. I did not make the same mistake as last week of under-fuelling for this run. Decent day of it.

Thursday 02/09 - 15 miles

AM: 10 miles @ 7:14 m/m

Standard carbon copy of Tuesday.

PM: 5 miles @ 7:06 m/m

As above

Friday 03/09 - 10 miles @ 7:18 m/m

How on earth did we suddenly get to pitch dark at 6am? I needed an extra 4 zombie minutes to sit on the side of the bed, staring emptily at the ground. Eventually I got going, threw an espresso down the hatch and met John at 6:30 for a nice run to the Marina and back. The city centre is noticeably busier, even at that hour. Topped off with a scone and a latte and it's time to get ready for the big one tomorrow.

Saturday 04/09 - 25.5 miles

AM: 20.5 miles w/14 miles @ 5:30 m/m

The big day. I've never gone beyond 10 miles up marathon pace in a build before so 14 seemed like a fairly tough session on paper especially given the tiredness built up over the last few weeks. Myself and John picked a nice 7 mile out and back route for the faster miles and had dropped Maurten at 4, 7 and 10 miles. After 4 easy miles we started the faster section aiming for in and around 5:30's but the main thing was finding the right effort, aiming to ease the pace and come home slightly quicker. I turned off mile splits on my watch and just kept an eye on the average. Overall felt quite good for this, never felt in trouble and bar the legs being tired, the breathing and heart rate were ideal for a marathon effort (151bpm avg). I couldn't believe how fast it was going, suddenly we were at the 7 mile turning point and on the way back. We had averaged 5:32 m/m for the first half and I was finding a nice rhythm now. We hit 10 miles in 55:15 or so and the half marathon in 72:25, the 2nd half slightly quicker. 2 mile cool-down and job done. That was a massive confidence booster and both of us were buzzing after it. If I were to repeat that effort for 26.2 in 3 weeks I'd be a very happy boy. Of course anything can happen on the day but barring events outside of my control, I feel I can certainly get to 20 miles at that pace and then anything can happen.

PM: 5 miles @ 7:17

I travelled up to Dublin in the afternoon as I've a wedding in Meath on Sunday. I was staying in a hotel near Santry stadium this evening so got out into the beautiful Santry park for a few miles. Really impressed with this place as I'd never ran here before apart from the odd short warmup before a track race. It's way bigger than I had thought. It was a glorious and peaceful sunny evening, the legs were surprisingly good and I really enjoyed this one.

Sunday 05/09 - 10 miles @ 7:24 m/m

The wedding wasn't until 3pm so I went for a nice relaxed run around my old haunts of North Dublin when I was a student in DCU, ensuring to run past all of the old houses I lived in over the years in Whitehall and Glasnevin. How things have changed from those lazy days, drunken nights, chinese takeaways and Pro Evo tournaments. Running? The only bit of running I did was when I played ultimate frisbee, the odd game of 5 a side or maybe getting to the off-licence before it closed. This was a nice little trip down memory lane and tops off what will be the highest milage week of the build-up and time to focus now on getting to that line in good nick.

Weekly mileage: 93.5

And so I've stepped in through door of taper city though I really don't feel I'm fully in the door, at least until the last week anyway. This week the intensity of the training didn't really change, just marginally lower volume setting a precedence for the next 2 weeks as the start line edges closer and closer. As much as I want to treat this like any other race, it's really hard not to. I found myself stepping out of the shower very carefully today, a sign of things to come. It's a marathon, it's a 26 mile race and if you want to do yourself justice you just have to put in the work and give it the respect it deserves. You also have to be very paranoid and careful in the last 2 weeks, while all the time making sure you tell everyone you're running a marathon.

Monday 06/09 - Rest

Thank gravy my rest day is a Monday. The wedding on Sunday was really enjoyable but also a little draining. It was very strange meeting old friends and not knowing if we should touch elbows or hug. Needless to say once the night got going, hugs became mandatory. I did enjoy kicking back with friends and enjoying a few drinks, you have to be able to do that without worrying about the running. At the end of the day I'm just an amateur athlete and letting your hair down the odd time does more good than harm. That said, it helped that the wedding fell 3 weeks out. I'm not so sure I'd have been as relaxed if it was the week of the race. The drive back to Cork the next day felt endless. I did have to stop about halfway as my eyes were closing so I just pulled in, lay back the seat and nodded off for 30 minutes. It was just about then I felt very old.

Tuesday 07/09 - 15 miles

AM: 10 miles @ 7:16 m/m

And back to the grind. I met John for a few miles to the farm before he headed off early for work and then I bumped into Lizzie and ran with her for the 2nd half. Nice to have the company as I was feeling fairly wrecked and zombie-ish. I went for a nap around 4:30pm before heading off for a rub. Working at home is great.

PM: 5 miles @ 7:14 m/m

After the rub I headed to the farm for another serving of 5 miles on the grass, still fairly tired. I'm looking forward to getting fresh as I'm getting to the point where I think another week of this sort of intensity of training would start having negative consequences. It's just not sustainable.

Wednesday 08/09 - 17 miles

AM: 40 minutes tempo @ 5:20 m/m (12.5 miles total)

It was an oddly warm and humid morning. I met John at 6:45am and we jogged towards the Marina for the session. I had a singlet under my t-shirt thinking it would be cold for the warm-up but only a mile in I had to take off my t-shirt I was sweating so much. We kicked into the session and felt a stiff breeze already. Like last week, we ran the first mile slower and at that hour of the morning when you're still barely awake, it just feels like an extended warm up. We eventually got moving into the 5:20's for the rest of the session and I was feeling relaxed and well in control. 7.5 miles covered and another decent tempo in the bag. 5:29, 5:21, 5:22, 5:21, 5:18, 5:18, 5:18, 0.5 mile @ 5:08

PM: 5 miles @ 7:06 m/m

There were a lot of strange droplets of a mild liquid substance falling out of the sky at the farm this evening. I actually can't remember the last time I ran in the rain, I guess that would make that a very successful summer. It really was nice when you think about it. The legs were surprisingly nimble following the abuse this morning. When I finished up I figured that was probably the last time I'll run 17 miles in a day. The madness is finally subsiding thankfully.

Thursday 09/09 - 15 miles

AM: 10 miles @ 7:15 m/m

A very humid morning but quite a nice one. Usual route to the farm and back. Traffic has gone absolutely mental but thankfully for me I get to observe it, not sit in it. It hit me this morning that this may well be the last double of this marathon block. I've really enjoyed it all but as I've alluded to, I'm at the point now where I'm ready to wind down, the fatigue is real.

PM: 5 miles @ 7:09 m/m

Usual evening routine with John. I was glad to get this one done and then it was time to kick back with dinner and a great TV show I started watching called Silicon Valley.

Friday 10/09 - 8.5 miles @ 7:20 m/m

Usual Friday route through the city, to the Marina and back. Still getting used to it being pitch black at 6am but it turned into a decent morning and it's still singlet weather, for now.

Saturday 11/09 - 10/9/8/7 min off 2 mins (12 miles total)

Off to the farm on a perfect Saturday morning for a session. When I heard the session I suggested dropping the 7 min rep as I was just conscious of starting the wind down but Donie just said to basically do it but keep the efforts the same. Donie knows. Normally for a session like this we'd dial up the pace a little every rep as the time comes down. In with a nice group for this and overall it went pretty well with 34 mins of work below 5:10 m/m. The first rep was possibly slightly too fast but I settled in after that and kept them all pretty even. Great session.

10 mins @ 5:05 m/m

9 mins @ 5:08 m/m

8 mins @ 5:10 m/m

7 mins @ 5:05 m/m

Sunday 12/09 - 15 miles @ 7:25 m/m

15 miles on a wet wet wet morning. I'm not used to running in the rain still, just shows how good we had it for the last few months. Met up with some other club mates and kept the pace nice and sensible, not too knackered from yesterday. A good week of it, now it feels like it's wind down time.

Weekly mileage: 83

The Berlin 1/4 marathon

This isn’t the race report I was hoping to write but at this stage I’ve come to expect the best and worst out of running. It’s all part of what we sign up to. I arrived to Berlin in probably the best shape of my life and having put in what I think is my best and most consistent year to date. I’m running sessions and milage now I would have only dreamed of a few years back. I’ve already spoke about it in previous posts but for me the journey to Berlin this year was one of the most enjoyable to date, with a trusted trainer partner and we genuinely enjoyed the training more than ever. There were tough days, setbacks and of course mornings I didn’t want to get up and run but doesn’t that just makes me human. On the whole, there’s nothing else I’d rather spend my time doing.

The one thing worrying me the day before was my upper chest which took a hammering at the Fermoy toll booth as I leant out the window. I knew it wasn’t quite feeling right and if there was anything going to be causing me to finish early, that’s what my money was on. After a surprisingly good night of sleep, race morning arrived and I was feeling ready. At 6:15am I drank my Maurten drink, swallowed some toast with peanut butter and jam and I then managed to sneak another 30 minute sleep, waking for the last time at 7am. I donned the race gear and went to meet the two lads at 8am and we jogged the mile up to the towering Bradenburg gate. What a view it was to turn onto that finish straight and I was already visualising myself striding down there with roaring crowds flanking each side, galloping to the finish line on for a massive time. It was so exciting to be back at a major marathon, what an electric atmosphere. The morning was looking hot, very hot. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at 8:30am and the sun was already beaming down on the helpless and unsuspecting competitors. It was no doubt going to be a tough day but nobody was really talking about it. A collective dissonance.

It was a breeze to get to the start block where I met a few friendly faces from home. There was a nervous tension in the air, a little more palpable than usual, perhaps because of the 2 year marathon sabbatical for most. Eventually it was time to line up in coral A and we were minutes from the start. I took a gel and started to focus. I was maybe 3-4 rows back from the very front and I looked up that wide Tiergarden road ahead, a glorious sight in the morning sun and I couldn’t wait to get going. The plan was to ease into 5:30 mile pace, roughly 17:10 or so through each 5k. The now familiar tense start line music blared from the loud speakers and the countdown was on. Suddenly it’s happening, I’m back in Berlin and it’s marathon time.

5k - 17:10

I knew the GPS in Berlin can be haywire so my pace was to be guided by a pace band on my wrist today with a checkpoint every 5k. I got out with no issues, a lot of people storming out of the traps as expected. I settled into a comfortable pace and noticed John wasn’t coming with me but probably choosing to be a little more conservative. Steady was my goal of the day so I planned to just run my own first few miles and assumed a group would form on 2:24-25 pace. The first few miles were very relaxed and I was happy with how I was feeling. The chest pain? What chest pain! I think if there is any sort of discomfort in those first few miles, it can really tamper with your mindset and set you up for a difficult day but all seemed to be good in my world at this point. I was tracking a group of 3 men who were clearly pacing an African woman who sat right behind their triangular formation. I figured this would be a steady group to cling on to. I got to the first timing mat at 17:10, spot on. I took a glance back and didn’t see John but we always had that understanding that when it came to the race we’d be doing our own thing. I was certainly aware of the morning sun beaming down at this point but I wasn’t feeling affected by it. It was still very early days.

10k - 34:15

I noticed in the first 5k an uncomfortable amount of friction in my shoes. Nothing to make me panic but it did feel too early for that. After maybe 6 or 7k I was really noticing it and getting concerned, I could feel blisters forming in both feet. I say too early but in reality, it shouldn’t ever happen. It’s one of these things that no amount of training or willpower can overcome but on the other hand, blisters are so avoidable. I’d worn those socks before in the 10 mile MP effort but that was not run in the AlphaFly shoes. That never crossed my mind beforehand. Still, it felt a very odd for both feet to have blisters. The only thing I can think of I did different was just before the start when I bent down and pulled the top of my socks up really high, so it wouldn’t chafe on my ankles (as it did in a training run before). At 8k I was actually moving really well, I was alongside a guy and we were maybe 20-30 meters behind the African lady’s pacing group and in a great rhythm. The pain was really starting to get to me now, as much as I told myself I could deal with it. In reality I had 21 miles to go and it was starting to hurt. I was clearly in denial mode. I got to the 10k mat and saw the time of 34:15, the 2nd 5k in 17:05. Bang on target and feeling great (apart from the obvious). I was now solo as the guy ahead of me had made a dash for group ahead and I declined, opting to keep running the 5:30’s but also now very conscious of the feet. Running solo was the least of my worries.

11k came and suddenly it was like running on hot coals. I think the blisters had broken at this point and the writing was on the wall. Every corner I took was excruciating and I was adjusting my stride to avoid hitting the blister straight on. This wasn’t going to happen, I just knew it. I was keenly aware that there was a drink to be collected from a friend at 12k, so that was my mini target to reassess, perhaps even pull in and fix my socks but in all reality I knew I was just going to get there and pull the plug. There was some solace knowing there was someone out on the course rather than pulling in randomly and trying to find my way back. It turns out I didn’t even get that far. Just before the 12k mark, and just as I was about to reattach to the group ahead, I shook my head and waved the white flag. I couldn’t run another step. My feet were burning and every additional step I ran was prolonging my future recovery from it. Time to be smart and call it a day. It’s such a shame as apart than that, it was probably the most comfortable and confident I had felt at the start of a race. I was moving so well but writing it all down now, that’s a huge positive I can take away.

I pulled in to the side of a very crowded and raucous roundabout and I couldn’t wait to get those blasting clown shoes off me. I was aware of all of the spectators eyes on me, showering me with their sympathy but I was actually really ok with it. There was no sense of anger or injustice, just a strange resignation and acceptance that this wasn’t my day. I took a look at my shoes, a little blood-stained blotch decorated the cushion on each shoe with a matching red blob on the socks. Ow. The blisters most definitely had burst, I’ve never seen or experienced anything like that before. I can’t explain it. As I was getting up, I saw a Cork jersey jogging towards me. Strangely a comforting sight. It was Joe, the guy who was managing our drinks that day, and he was rushing his way to the U-Bahn to make his way to the 32k (20 mile) spot for the next drink drop off. His planning was militant and quite impressive to be honest. I said the best thing for me to do now is to tag along with Joe and cheer on the lads, no time for pity parties. What good would it do me to head back to an empty apartment? I limped along with Joe to the U-Bahn and I was so glad to have the company at that time. It was all a little raw and it really took my mind off my own experience and I could now at least play a small part in helping others get through what was to be a torrid day at the races. We arrived to the 32k mark just as the leaders passed and we got to see the elites in full flow. It was hitting me now just how hot it had gotten. From what I heard it got up to 24C by the end, absolutely no condition for fast times. It was also now dawning on me that perhaps I had just been pardoned from death row. It was confirmed later when I saw the finish times. Nobody ran their expected times. The heat had utterly crippled people in the 2nd half and it made for grim viewing. All of our crew passed us and none of them looked particularly comfortable but the worst seemed to come in the last 10k. John was first of the group home in 2:34 and for a fella who doesn’t run well in heat, he did really well. Most were 4-5 minutes outside their target including David Mansfield who I met at the start. He still ran an incredible 2:19 but had been shooting for 2:15. Even the winning time was the slowest in 12 years.

Today, though I still feel some disappointment, I’m a little relieved. I feel that if I didn’t have the blister issues, there was no way I was holding that 2:24 pace but I still think I could have been walking away with a PB. It’s not really worth pondering over for too long, it’s pretty much irrelevant. I don’t have a marathon to recover from and (after my upcoming week in Cyprus) I can head back and hit the races again. I have an entry for Manchester but I don’t think that would be smart right now. I’ll take my time and go again properly when the time is right. There’s something to learn from each marathon and having talked to a friend last night, I’ll be learning to tie my laces properly. Apparently there’s a method that’s foolproof for avoiding blisters.

All in all, as I hope was evident, this wasn’t about the destination but enjoying the journey. I’ve loved logging again, I’m so glad I raced more than usual in the build up and despite not crossing the line, I got more out of this than I probably realise right now. The marathon is a tough nut to crack but when you do crack it, it’s all worth it. There’ll be better days ahead yet.