7 June 2026: Marathon de la Liberté – How time bends.
Stats tell some of this story.
Nine months ago, I started a new job. It, frankly, upended my life. The M50 is thankfully no longer part of my commute, the getting home in the evenings is slightly fiddly. Any regular user of Irish public transport knows it can be hard to trust.
Getting back into a consistent running routine never settled and I had a nagging feeling a few months ago that my training was undercooked, to say the least. There is a gym in the building, which I’ve used once. 3k on a treadmill…pass.
Sept: 107.25 km
Oct: 50.62 km
Nov: 87.88 km
Dec: 84.30 km
Jan: 166.85 km
Feb: 95.75 km
March: 204.66 km
April: 184.15 km
May: 139.63 km
A goal time was never the intention, even upon booking last November. I was going to potter around because it was about the location, to have an easy marathon before Dublin. That didn’t happen because I didn’t have the endurance or fitness. This is a good lesson for anyone, be they experienced or not. I'm thinking of the DCM novices first, though. The 3 hour+ long runs to get to 32k were not plain sailing. They alone weren't enough without the consistency of 60 minutes easy Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday to also underpin the rest. That aerobic piece is essential. And I half-arsed too much of it.
Foam rolling fell away too. I meant to keep a log (not for here) and that stopped quickly with work. I printed the plan and meant to tick it off. It fell far down the list, compared to having a clean shirt, making lunches or being constantly glued to the work laptop, answering all forms of calls, messages and editing things left, right and centre, getting senior level input all over the place too. My work phone has stats of over 25 hours of incoming/outgoing calls. Seven days of being continuously (Sat/Sun included) on are part of it by roster, and I've had nine too due a colleague being ill. Other days have been 7am-10:30/11:15pm. Or very late lunches.
I love the job, and have done since the beginning. There have been some very cool professional opportunities, such as being in government buildings and more behind the scenes stuff, being about three metres from the Taoiseach at a big event.
Numbers. If the yardstick for training is generally 80/20, mine felt more like 35-45/5-10 of the norm and that’s probably being a touch generous. Done right, the 80 in 80/20 builds a physical and mental elasticity, imo.
My attendance at the club's S&C classes dropped off a lot as well. I was there in late January and not again until there was more light in the evenings. I had more consistency in the 6am gym, which was never going to carry the day alone. I still like that gym as it’s a little more formal and focused. Things like tuck jumps, lateral jumps and box squats keep it interesting.
I never got to more than 57km (iirc) in a week, which is pretty low, compared to previous training blocks. I think back to Connemara 2018 and how that 4:30 time was the goal (and successful) and felt like little more than a LSR.
I'll be transferring my DCM ticket this year due to pushing 80 hour weeks in work. Running has gone from a primary hobby to far down the list because life has become about running the country…
It's a shame as last year a friend started putting sub 3:30 in my head and it was going to be my A race. Certainly, would have been possible to train with the old 9-5 job. I do think a half is doable in the current circumstances, but again, I wouldn’t be after a time. That said, I have no sense of training now, of any description. Anything serious is certainly out of the question for 2026 with how short staffed we are.
I have a race in mind which may mean a return visit to Kerry towards the end of the year. It came up on my phone, as these things do. Went there in January for Inch beach parkrun. I hope to do Bere Island some time too. My 250 is coming up soon. I used a trip to Galway to get my U. Charlie Byrne’s bookshop may the best one in Ireland. It was here a I bought a book by Mary Peters. She won gold in Munich in 1972. It’s a decent read. There’s a track named after her in Northern Ireland.
Back to matters French.
Pre-race
Three nights in Paris encompassing Notre Dame, the Louvre and Versailles. Versailles would make a cool parkrun location, although the gardens and palace are not free to enter. Paris metro was great. On the way to Versailles I saw a bloke carrying a number of baguettes in his arms after I stepped out of the metro. Obviously I’ll start doing the same walking to the office. More on this later.
Five nights in Normandy, including Omaha beach, the visitor centre, the cemetery. Caen is pleasant little city and a little overlooked in Normandy's story. Next year is a big year for them with the connection to William the Conqueror. I based myself in here for the race because it finishes there. On a track. And they have two tracks, the second is a four lane one in the local I’d say school, but it might be a university. Before leaving Ireland did I consider hiring a car to drive to get to Jersey parkrun on arrival in Normandy? Yes, but it would have been overkill before the race, the drive and ferry, timings, etc.
On Friday, I did a guided tour and learned Caen castle is five acres, grounds free too. There’s a sign elsewhere which translates as ‘freedom was won here’ (la liberté s'est gagnée ici). The night before the run there was a women’s race for cancer around Caen. All ages, an impressive sea of pink shirts.
The marathon bit.
The expo was good, enjoyable. I had bag, so they checked before going in for security. I had printed my paperwork with a QR code. When I went to the information desk to find the right area, they opened a ring binder with lists of the names and pointed me to the right desk. I got a green wrist band, which they said would survive having a shower. The tricolour they had printed on the bib was a nice personal touch. I was pretty excited afterwards. I bumped into some British folks one of whom was doing her first marathon. There were stands for a few other races. One caught my eye, and from the photos, feels a little like Connemara, only with vineyards. The half in 2027, perhaps.
The most common response I got when I told people my plans for 2026 was - France. June. Heat. There was some of that on the weather app before I fly out, Paris was 31C, for example. However, it was moderate double digits for Caen. I did throw on some P20 to keep the sunburn I was not too worried about the first half of race because was near the coast. I’d liken it to running from Skerries, down to Loughshinny and over to Rush, only a bit longer. That is how I pictured it would be.
I was up early with a small pot of Flahavans and walked to the shuttle buses. We had a decent drive out to Courseulles sur Mer. I based myself in the 4:15 group. A few people stood out here. A woman with a pink ribbon, two faces on a badge. In front of me, two men were running for endometriosis. This is a little close to home for a family member of mine. 90 minutes before the race, a local cycled through the start area with a bag of baguettes on the handlebars. Shortly after 8am, I started to warm up. The toilets were clean wooden shacks, rather than the usual ones you get.
The details of race itself are somewhat of a blur. Within the first 1-2k some very fit looking men tore up the left shouting ‘a gauche’ (left). It was cloudy. Temperature was fine. The first 9k were not pleasant at all, even though I felt the warm up had worked well. From 10-15 was OK. I think I was at the half way mark around 2:13 or thereabouts, but that could have been a shade or two before hand. Things got worse from here. Had I my phone on I’d have called my friend. Once the 4:45 pacers passed by that was the nail in the coffin. Had I started with them it might have been easier. Had I several months of 250-300km it may have been a run and not something I ended up walking many chunks of. I dunno what is best at the moment or by history and don’t care to further assess. It was sunny and warm in parts, not beyond what a decent summer’s day is like at home.
I didn't chat to anyone during as I heard no one speaking English. I saw two people off to the side with medical needs in foil blankets and others on the ground with cramp. It’s not a race where you’ll much hit congestion, really. It took my brain to register the orange fruity things available to take. Figs, of course. Support through the race was fairly consistent, apart from a few places. By the time I got to the roads into the city it was pretty quiet.
To some degree, the mileage above isn’t ultra important. Looking at it another way, I forget the average weekly minutes of exercise, in general, that are health promoting, even for non-runners. Things unravelled and it was a bad day. Enter the sledgehammer. I’m sure more details of the race landscape will come back. It had a localised feeling which is probably its main strength.
Official 5:16:11. Just about made the cut off, 5:30.
Watch: 5:16:14.
42.59km at 7:26 /km
I flew home at 4:30pm the following day, after a zippy 9am SNCF train from Caen to Paris. Two metro trains and the airport’s internal train. All very smooth. I had already changed my return flight once due to work.
I can confirm, yes, I did buy the official socks at the expo.
Out.
Et voilá. Sledgehammer of a race. Knew that some months ago. Report to follow.
The best of luck with the new job B and I hope those niggles continue to improve.
I fell off the wagon in 2020 . I have had my fair share of heatlth issues since but im back running a few months now. Had to start from scratch again so it will be just 5ks and parkruns for now and see where that takes me.
Good to hear from you take care.
I spoke to a couple who also ran the Hawkshead 16k. They said the Lakeland events are well organised. They were parkrun fans too.
Thanks T. Hope all is well with you.
New job is going very well. Still getting used to the routine of it, so I've done little running. I had a niggle around mid-October and had only ran three times that month at that point. I did get it checked and the physio couldn't replicate the pain. It had eased a bit when the appointment came up. Then it didn't really improve. I initially thought that a faulty move at an S&C class might have been the culprit, given the lack of running. It got a bit worse, then a week ago I noticed it was gone when walking the supermarket. No idea why it might right itself. Three of us did four sets of 100m repeats in the manky rain last Thursday and I had no negative effects on the leg afterwards.
I've had doubts if I can do a full block of months of typical training. Missing some weeks is unavoidable due to being on call - seven days and longer hours, constant Teams pings. I've not yet gotten back to 4 days of running, really. Before DCM I did 28k with who someone had previously only done 24 and needed to do 30. She was missing stuff due to her work. She ran 3:34 last Sunday, 9 min PB.
There's no big rush to getting back marathons, but I do like them and still want to travel. I'm not that interested in a half, really. Haven't used work's gym yet.
Volunteered at a pedestrian box at DCM last weekend. Good craic, as always. Aside from the usual mix of Dublin clubs, there were plenty from Clonmel, Dunboyne, Newbridge, West Waterford, Mayo and many more. Some folks from Estonia, Mongolia and Denmark too.
A few things that have come up my internet trawling:
Plenty more I haven't bookmarked, but for now, time to revise my French.
Good to see you're still getting out and the progress you have made .
I'm not heading to New Zealand this year. Marathon prep is not under way. Recent change of jobs. It's more important for my career, personal circumstances and so on.
Hard to know if we'll even have boards next year…
I'll possibly be volunteering at the Lusk 20 mile/half/10k. The 20 miler sold out very fast, so I didn't put a link in the events forum.
parkruns over the past while, in no particular order
Clonmel, Con Smith, Cootehill, Rostrevor, New Ross, Castleblayney, Longford, Mullingar, Monaghan Town, Carlow Town and Knockbracken Reservoir.
Week 6
May 26th-June 1st
Mon
Final night in Amsterdam. Did a canal boat tour in the morning, which was good fun. Saw I’m With Her at the Paradiso, tickets were a mere €27 and €4 for membership of the venue. It was the first night of their tour. This and parkrun were the main reasons I travelled and because the band had no other European dates, apart from London. They got a rapturous reception and were in top form.
Tues
Flew home
Evening training
10 easy (9:45)
3x6 mins (plan called for 4, but everyone did 3) at 10k pace, walk 2 mins recovery
4x2 mins at 5k pace, 1 min recovery
10 easy (9:42)
Really enjoyed this as a group effort
10k stuff was 4:19, 4:18, 4:19 – a little quicker than needed
5k bits 4:21, 4:15, 4:08, 4:11
Weds
Lift strong class. New phase – trap bar, push press and so on.
Thurs
Lift strong class.
Bunch in the club were doing Balbriggan 5k. If not, plan called for 10 easy with 5 strides, which I did on Friday. 11.72km at 5:55/km, plus an OTC session - iirc, this was our relentless training for 24 minutes episode (RT24). Then a guy from the development squad had us do a group chair exercise, which was good craic.
Sat
Trip down to Carlow parkrun. 6 strangers couldn't find the start at first. The RD said it had been voted as Ireland's most beautiful parkrun in a KCLR poll - one person voted. 4.98 easy at 6:31/km
Defintely a little achey from Friday's class, as were others, going by the messages going around.
Sun
19k
10 easy, 4 tempo, 1k at 10pace, 4 easy
19.01k at 5:44/km
4:43, 4:50, 4:44, 4:46 and 4:27 for the faster stuff. Still not quite 10k pace, which has sometimes been the theme of this training block…
OTC S&C afterwards.
Week 7
June 2nd-8th
OTC bank holiday session a little earlier than our usual slot.
10 easy
7x4 mins at 10 pace 2 mins walk recovery
Meh. I believe this is one I gave up on.
Lift strong am class
Thurs evening
Plan 11k as 3 easy, 5 tempo, 3 easy
Actual 10.01k at 5:03/km. More like easy, steady, tempo
5:36, 5:12, 5:09, 5:12, 5:12, 5:02, 4:58, 4:48, 4:46 (3:54). Then 4 of us went for a swim at Rush south beach, which was lovely.
Fri
OTC S&C.
Longford parkrun. 5.11km at 6:28. Aside from the sports centre bit, it's quite a tranquil place, imo.
21k as 12 easy, 4 tempo, 5 easy
Tempo bits 4:47, 4:45, 4:44, 4:47
OTC S&C
Capped it off with the Roxanne burpee challenge which I recently discovered.
Week 8
June 9th-15th
OTC - were on stations for 4 minutes per round, jaysus - the sweat!
Tues 7.4k easy at 6:31 after work
Lift strong class. Trap bar, etc.
Plan 5 easy, 3 tempo, 3 easy
Actual 11.01km at 5:09.
5:45, 5:28, 5:29, 5:05, 5:17, 4:38, 4:38, 4:35, 4:30, 5:39, 5:30 (6:21).
Baldungan loop and some of the hub. Not many out, it was pretty wet.
OTC RT24…bus drivers and such. If you lost form you had to do burpees, mountain climbers or squats.
Timekeeping at Laytown. Rain was up there with the time I did Edwin Carolan.
18.01 easy at 5:59. OTC session after.
Week 9
June 16th-22nd
This was when most on the plan were doing Dunshauglin on the Saturday. Had heard it was quite warm. The lead in runs for it were
15 easy. 4x4 at 10k pace, 2 mins walk. 15 easy
10k easy with 5x20 sec strides
Actual
Mon was OTC.
Tues 7.42k at 6:17.
Weds S&C am. 8.63k at 6:55 in the evening.
Thurs S&C am. 11k easy at 5:17, three of us did Baldungan
Job offer arrived, finally - after a few months of pre-employment checks with the civil service. Applied in April 2024.
OTC in the evening, as usual.
Sat - walked Donabate. Later did the session at the Forge. 15 easy. 4x4 at 10k pace, 2 mins walk. 15 easy. 4.71km at 5:15, with the 4x4s at 4:15, 4:15, 4:20, 4:11. Generally faster than needed.
Sun 15:01km easy 6/km. OTC after.
Week 10 - unofficial week.
June 23rd-29th
Mon S&C Trap bar and so on in the morning. OTC in the evening.
Tues 6 easy after work at 6:18.
Weds - more trap bar. Lifted a bit less this week to ease off.
Clonee 10k - June 26th
Some months ago, the intention was to get under 44 minutes. This was partly due to something about getting under 45 being important for attempting a sub 3:30 marathon…a reference to this in a Runners World article. So I wanted to push even a little more. RW, hah. The Running is BS podcast think very little of that particular outfit and tbh, it's not a site I really spend time on.
I knew from the training block, though, it was looking unlikely. I was happy enough with the 4x4 mins stuff and was doing those a touch faster than needed and felt pretty comfortable. The harder stuff was in the 11k - easy/tempo/10k/easy, i.e. nailing the 10k in that. The 4x4 stuff was a little easier to manage. Tempo bits at other times were generally fine. A few times I did wonder if it was something I could sustain for a marathon, which my friend felt sounded like it wasn't tempo enough. I felt similar. /shrug
Anyway. I went to Clonee with a friend who had an entry, but gave it to another club member due to injury. It was great to back at a smaller event in the evening time. The Man O War 7k in August 2021 I think was my last time racing something similar. I rolled across the start line and was pretty happy with the first 2k. 2-6k, not so much. Felt a bit better for the rest of it and was only looking at the watch for pace, not time elapsed. Such avoidance isn't great and had I done so and I might have shaved off a few seconds. Still, first PB since Wexford 10k in 2019 (46:01). Found it hard to sleep afterwards, quite a bit of that going around.
Official 45:31
Watch 10.07k at 4:31/km. 45:30.
4:45, 4:26, 4:26, 4:35, 4:30, 4:31, 4:32, 4:33, 4:36, 4:20 (3:41)
Fri OTC
Sat - walked Donabate
Sun OTC
Next focus is preparation for New Zealand. Marathon season, let's be having ye.
The road to Clonee 10k, June 26th. Trying to get under 44. My PB of 46:01 is from 2019, Wexford 10k. I've been following a club plan. The general set up is three prescribed runs Tues/Thursday/Sun, everything else is up to yourself and must be easy. It's taken a while to write this up, it mightn't be accurate. The plan comes through Whatsapp. I'll probably poster later as plain text so it's easier to follow.
Week 1
April 21-27
Monday S&C, designated as bank holiday Monday madness: Sweat central. Consisting of cardio (row/ski/bike), goblet squats, farmers carry, trap bar, burpees, inverted rows (new to me), planks and running outside - just a rest for you, TBO!, as one of the non-runners put it.
10k easy, with 5x20 sec strides. Wet, wet, wet. 10.01km at 6:23 /km.
Weds rest
Lift strong class (morning), easy 5.53k at 7/km (evening)
Friday
Took the morning off. Ran and went to a social event for remote/hybrid workers, which was very enjoyable.
Plan stuff 20 minutes easy/20 tempo/10 easy
21:05 at 6:19, 20:01 at 4:40 and 10:30 at 6:23. Some of the tempo was a little uncomfortable. I sometimes get a feeling in my stomach, it's not nausea. I've had it the odd time towards the end of parkrun too.
Monaghan town parkrun, their 300th event. Good banter between the volunteers.
4.10km at 8:21.
LSR 16.01k easy at 6:14/km.
OTC strength session later in the morning.
Week 2
April 28-May 4th
Lift strong class (am), OTC S&C (evening).
Tues quite a warm evening.
10 mins easy (did 12 and a bit)
10x90 seconds at 5k pace, 2 mins walk into jog recovery. 6.29km at 5:36/km
4:27, 3:57, 4:04, 4:19, 4:08, 4:22, 4:02, 4:05, 4:12, 4:12 (a bit all over the place)
10 mins easy (did 13 and a bit)
Rest
Lift strong (am): Barbell split squats, single arm supported rows, front squats, lateral raises, kettlebell push press, medball slams, burpees, side planks.
Progression run 10.01/km at 4:58/km
4k easy, 3k steady, 2k tempo, 1k at 10 pace, 10 mins easy
5:26, 5:20, 5:11, 5:22, 4:53, 4:45, 4:58, 4:38, 4:44, 4:26
Didn't do the full 10 easy at the end, it was .4km at 6:08 and another bit, looking at it on Garmin Connect, I've no memory of it at all.
Fri evening S&C at the OTC.
Sat Donabate parkrun, 5.03 at 6:47/km
Sun 18k with 6k easy, 4k steady, 2k tempo, 6k easy. Didn't do this due to bad sleep, iirc. Sleep wasn't great in April and bits of May too. Did the OTC morning session, anyway.
Week 3
May 5th-11th
Mon S&C at 4pm, bank holiday OTC class a little earlier than the usual evening slot.
10 mins easy before
5x60 secs at 10k pace, 2 min walk
3:44, 4:11, 4:14, 4:19, 4:24
4x90 secs at 5k pace, 1 min walk
4:04, 4:09, 4:09, 4:12,
10 mins easy after
8.08km easy at 6:16.
Lift strong class
3 easy, 5 tempo, 3 easy 11.07km at 4:52. This was physically and mentally exhilarating. I found it hard to sleep after, tbh. Went with one of the faster groups, so the easy start was a quicker than what I normally do. I think runs like this are more manageable for me now due to S&C. I knew the tempo was getting to a little quicker than I should be doing and I thought I eased off, consciously.
5:29, 4:55, 4:49, 4:31, 4:34, 4:34, 4:29, 4:27, 5:23, 5:04, 5:13 (6:02)
Evening plyometrics class.
Sat rest, had to work in the morning. Got new shoes after a gait analysis.
19k as 5 easy, 2 steady, 4 easy, 2 steady, 6 easy. 19.01 at 5:55.
Speedy stuff was 5:01, 4:55 and 5:05 and 4:59. Tried a Salt Stick tablet, which I picked up with the new shoes.
OTC morning session at 10:30am.
Week 4
May 12th-18th
Mon Lift strong class in the morning. Same as week two/three.
Off script: ALSAA track session in the evening. Two easy laps warm up and some exercises. We did a few 400/walk/200/walk type stuff. I went by feel. Good session, track surface could do with being replaced, tbh. First time using the track option on the watch. If memory serves, i forgot to turn off the autolap feature as I didn't know it was on. Anyway, this was instead of 6x3 mins at 5k, 2 min walk recovery and 4x30 seconds at sprint (?) pace, 30 secs static recovery.
Tues 6.24km easy 6:08
Thurs Lift strong (am). Easy evening spin with a friend, 7:02km at 7:11.
Morning club plan: 3 easy, 4 tempo, 1k at 10pace and 3 easy. 11k at 5:21.
6:12, 5:56, 5:46, 4:44, 4:35, 4:44, 4:44, 4:23, 5:49, 6:00, 6:02. Found it tricky to hit the 10k pace.
Listened to the Any Given Runday podcast with DCM pacer in the car later. What a character.
Evening OTC S&C. 4 stations per group, 4 groups, 8 minutes on per round.
A trip to Knockbracken Reservoir parkrun with a friend. Three laps, a fine morning and enjoyable setting. 5.02km at 6:32.
19k as 5 easy, 2 steady, 1 tempo, 4 easy, 1 steady, 1 tempo, 5 easy. Actual 19.51 at 5:42/km
Key bits were 4:53, 4:54, 4:37, 4:53, 4:35. I thought there was something about this that wasn't working as I felt like I was giving it a fair effort and the watch wasn't budging, but anyway.
OTC session, Darbee spartan workout.
Week 5
May 19th-25th
A welcome step back week.
Lift strong in the morning…final week of this phase, iirc. I'm convinced split squats were invented by Satan himself.
10k with 6-7 fartlek bursts. Actual 9:48 at 6:15/km
Ardgillan hills, didn't do this as I had travel coming up. 18.01 easy at 5:47 instead of doing it on Sunday.
Travelled to Amsterdam.
Saturday
Amsterdamse Bos parkrun - very enjoyable. Watch 23:00, 4.84km at 4:45. Official 23:03. RD said they typically get about 50% as tourists.
The Dutch bike infrastructure is very impressive and works well, such a way of life for them.
Rest.
Nice pacing at Bohermeen.
Love the snot rocket rule, it's one of my bugbears in Irish races. Have had a few near misses over the years. Yuck.
I like the sound of those Lakeland races.
Spring update.
March brought two hour pacer duty at Bohermeen half marathon. Aside from the well-documented mess of the event itself, it was an enjoyable day. I said my fellow pacer we didn't want to hit 1:56 or 2:04. Took a little while to settle in, chatted to a few people during the race too.
Official 1:59:53
Watch 1:59:53 at 5:41 k/m.
March also saw marshalling at the DCHM, which was another day with fine weather a great atmosphere.
April - Lake District trip
The Hawkshead 16k
I booked this in early December and was training away via the 2016 grads plan, 10k-half version when I heard about pacing at Bohermeen, so I had a few 17-18k runs under my belt and an unplanned 20k with some club colleagues. I didn't do all the speedwork to the letter, however I wasn't fussed as it's a trail run. I signed up for the one with the longer cut off anyway, it was a holiday.
Thursday
Dublin - Holyhead - Lake Distract
Friday - some exploring
A foggy one to start off. The picture is the recreation ground where the race starts and finishes. I later paid a visit to Coniston Water and did a boat trip. The guide said a little about Donald Campbell.
Afterwards, I walked into Consiston where a fighter jet went overhead. I then drove to Ambleside for some food.
Saturday - parkrun (am), race (pm)
With my event not starting until 1pm, I headed to Fell Foot parkrun (28:04 by feel). I'd describe it as a combination of Oldbridge and Ardgillan. A fantastic parkrun. Easily 40+ people at the first time briefing. Chap getting married got a shout out at the main briefing. Bloke doing his 300 and another doing 301 because he forgot to say it last week. RD was handing out flapjacks provided by the bloke who is getting married. First time briefer had his daughter with a bell you'd see in primary school. The briefer said swimming afterwards is mandatory if you are a first timer…
I then headed back to Hawkshead to collect my number, rest and get prepared for the afternoon. Even with the website and emails, I didn't really know what to expect. Side note, one of the rules is no snot rockets. Makes you squirm reading it.
We left the recreation ground, and went out the road in the village and then reached the trail from about 1.25k onwards. If you have been to Wicklow or any forest trail, parts of it are similar. Shortly after 4k until approx the first water station at 7k (about 50 minutes) was very runnable and the course really opens up too. I did ease off at a few points because I was starting to stumble here and there. There's a nice section parallel to the lake too, cyclists and the public. Actually, you see the lake both from elevation and at ground level.
The second water station is around 11k just before the coffin trail part which is an approx 1 mile loop with plastic skeletons in high viz in the trees, etc. I originally thought this was a separate event, until someone told me the day before. After this, it's pretty runnable again to bring it home, though you do have to go single file over a wall at one point and there a few gates, a good dose of shale that I was on earlier.
Overall, I felt strong in the legs and was never out of breath. Did feel a little tired towards the end. I walked some parts because there were lots of shale, tree roots, etc and you might end up on your face otherwise. Well-marshalled and a little easier mostly because it wasn't wet due to the warm weather in the days prior.
Official 2:01:10
Watch 2:00:40 (16.07km at 7:30/km). I used the trail option for the first time and didn't realise I had autolap set to 1.61km, oops.
Nothing else on the cards for now, apart from a parkrun in the Netherlands next month.
Thank you. It is an amazing event.
My next endurance race will be Queenstown marathon, New Zealand. A parkrun during my time there will be on the cards too.
I do have something shorter on the agenda for the first quarter part of 2025. I'll keep it under wraps for now.
I always enjoy your race reports - this one especially. Congrats on an excellent outing on what sounds like a really challenging course. 💪
Well done, and another fantastic report for the Boardsies to read.
Lighthouse Marathon 2024
Backstory
In May, a few of us were on a club night out and the suggestion arose that we find a parkrun with a lighthouse attached. In the following days, I looked online and came across the Lighthouse marathon in Cornwall. Registrations weren't open at that stage, nor had I ticket for DCM. If I didn't get one for the DCM, the Lighthouse was going to be my aim for this year. I booked it in mid-July, three days before getting a ticket for DCM.
My holiday to Cornwall in August, mentioned on here, was partly a research trip to get a feel for the place, including Pendeen lighthouse, near the home of Pendeen Rovers, which is where the race starts.
Logistics
This time, due to fewer flights, or indeed, none at all with Aer Lingus in November, I took my own car. I had previously damaged a rental car in August mere hours after I collected it. Brand new, only 10 miles on it. Not extensive damage…I had the excess cover, thankfully.
Last week, I went to Pembroke via Rosslare and stayed a night in Exeter to break up the drive. Whilst not choppy, the ferry journey sparked some frustrating nausea and I couldn't sleep in the cabin because lying down made it worse, plus I was too warm. The following day, I drove to Gwithian and stayed there for 3 nights, a mere 6 minute drive from the registration point and Three Mile Beach. On the way, I stopped at the Minack theatre, which I'd recommend visiting. Sitting in the coffee shop, whilst having a bite to eat and looking out at the sea, whilst conditions were dreary, I felt relaxed and grateful.
Pre-race Nov 8
I prepped my gear for race day. Nerves isn't really the word I'd use, but I'd say uneasy and worried - food, toilets, sleep, watch, everything about the race was on my mind, with the thought I that I'd screw it up and easily get lost. I went to Three Mile Beach for a stroll, a lovely place, clearly adored by surfers. My friend felt sea air can be healing. The stroll and experience grounded me and my race concerns fell away. A helpful 'you've got this' voice note from her really helped too. That evening, I made a pasta and chicken thing. There was an old episode of Top Gear on TV where Clarkson, in a Fiat Panda, was up against a 2:20 marathon runner on the London course. Well, Clarkson lost. If man can beat machine, I thought, I can run my first trail marathon. I said to my friend this time tomorrow I'll be showered and wearing a medal.
Race day, November 9
My alarm went off at 5:30am and thankfully I had slept pretty well, partly due to feeling calmer, reading a food book by Stanley Tucci. I did also start James Patterson's books which was in the accommodation, only to give up after 20 pages because his writing, as I've said elsewhere, is such that makes you want to fling the text across the room.
I had some porridge, banana and yoghurt for breakfast and went through my gear again. I got to the café at about 6:30am where volunteers were checking kit outside. It was pretty quiet at this stage and still dark. At the end of the kit check, we were given a letter from Scrabble (R for me) which I took to the café where we got tagged and our bibs. I asked about the size of the field and they estimated it would be 200 ish. With time to spare, I went back to Tucci's book. It felt funny because I read a line where he was unhappy with some of his experience of Cornwall's cooking and here was I in the region.
We had to be at the coach pick up spot by 8:30am. The coach took us on a 45 minute journey to the start. Some soft rain had arrived shortly after 8am. I heard a bloke on the bus say Hula Hoops were part of his fuel, clearly unfamiliar with the wonders of Tayto. I didn't have much on me apart from a hat, rain jacket, longsleeve polyester shirt, club shirt, and club shorts and Columbia trail shoes. I had run in these before, but mostly only on tarmac and I never considered them as training or race shoes. Sturdy, firm…they were my go to for a river boat trip down the Grand Canyon in 2014. Whatever today's race might throw at me, they'd be up to the task.
The groundsman was painting the lines on the football pitch of Pendeen Rovers (who alas, didn't win) as we queued for the portaloos. The race briefing commenced at about 9:45, though without any audio device, a nod was given to the 2023 male record holder (3:59). We started a little ahead of schedule at 9:55am. This initial part was a tarmac stretch and the easiest aspect of getting moving 2k about 5:44, 5:47 by feel. Shortly after, we were into the real stuff where walking single file on the trail was on the order of business, along with gates, mud and rocks. I think I got to 8k ish in about 90 minutes. Later on, a woman remarked that the mud was akin to ice skating. I had my share of falls in the first half, thankfully without whacking any bones. There were also a few cattle, who every November, must meet to discuss why these two legged eejits trapes around their gaff.
At the halfway point, unmarked, so only the watch to go on, I saw was there by 4:08. Did it feel like 4 hours? No, not at all. It felt like 2. I'd say I walked about 80-85% of it. Your feet are largely here for stability, whilst your arms aided climbing and getting around. Throughout the race, a decent number of people had trekking poles. I did feel a little around 19k that my legs felt like running ability might be gone for the duration of what was to come. Hopefully a temporary physical and mental blip.
There were steps, both those found in nature and others set up by humans, but still nature-based, if that makes sense. I decided to call the annoying ones bastard steps and it's only swear word I felt applied to any aspect of the event. They weren't worthy of the f-word. Getting halfway was a confidence boost, I was reminded of my friend's message, which was still imprinted on mind from the early kms. I knew I'd finish today. Might I not make the 8.5 hour cut off - yes, that was a worry and if the second half had comparable boulders, terrain and muck, that might have been the final result.
Shortly after the halfway point, we were heading to St Ives. There was an aid station, so a bit of a regroup, water and people got to see their supporters. It was also familiar ground as I had been there in August. A volunteer around 22-23k confirmed the 'technical' bit of the event was over. Bloody great, I might make it OK. I ran a decent bit through St Ives, not that it was much pace. Later on we were parallel to a golf course (about 28k, iirc) and shortly after was another friendly aid station. The next stretch was getting to and through Hayle, another town I had seen a few months earlier. For the kms from 30 onwards, I felt I'd run/walk/run/walk. The outskirts of Hayle was the final aid station (mile 22 ish), where a volunteer said they were out of rum! His colleague said we had only had about 30 minutes of good light left at this stage. At this final station I was happy and said I've felt worse. I used it to finally take off the left shoe to remove grit from inside.
After this stop, there were two minor issues 1) going briefly off course and 2) not resuming the watch properly. For the former, I asked a local resident if he had seen any another runners - he knew the race we were doing and brought us through a laneway, we could see the beach again and other runners quickly appeared. The local asked how the marathon experience had been, I said, biblical. There were now 5 of us - would we finish as this 5? Ultimately, no. The others were struggling, one guy said the navigation on his watch gone 'tits up' and a woman up ahead seemed to disappear and was finding the last stretch 'horrible'. Part of my strategy during the harder bits was to remember some of Dara O'Briain's (non-running related!) comedy routines. A useful distraction, and whilst I was taking the event seriously, myself less so.
And so we became 3. We got to 37k and again, another helpful local gave us the right directions. I said there's only a parkrun left. Was there an opportunity to whip out the bivvy bag and slide down some of the dunes, not quite. By 39.55k we were back at the car park across from the café. Huh? Was something wrong? No, we had to do a loop of the pond and continue playing around in the dunes. Would it really stretch things to 42k, I wondered. After speaking to marshal for directions, it was time for the head torches. Dotted around the course were fistfuls of sawdust as route markers. I recalled that these were mentioned at one of the aid stations. Somewhere during the final bit I checked real time and it was 5:28pm. Earlier on at the car park, and later whilst lapping the pond, I was looking at Godrevy lighthouse, automated in this 1930s…was the fecker going to come on? It never did.
Garmin 7:37:47, 42.93km at 10:40/km.
Official 7:48:38.
A new course record of 3:57 was set by a someone else too. Looks like 176 finishers in the end.
The aftermath
Shook hands with the two lads I finished with. We ran in the last little bit.
Overall, challenging, exhilarating, mad, fun, good chats, great scenery. We were quite fortunate with the co-operative weather, including the generally non-existent wind. The early rain didn't stick around, though if I had, I'd have thought of as the same as LSRs to Loughshinny and Rush. Getting back to my car, I left my friend a brief voice note, 'what a race, wow'.
I got back to my accommodation and jumped in the shower, where I had to use my hands as Brillo pads to get the muck off of the legs. I knew my left one was also going to look like several cats had used it as a scratching post. Stairs were fine and I drove to St Ives to have a nice meal in the Sloop Inn. I was pretty high on adrenaline that evening and was still awake at 5am. I think I had amazed myself by completing it.
I was OK the following day, though I had a long, long drive to Wales. Before that, the brief drive back to revisit Three Mile Beach was the final postcard from the area. By Sunday evening and into Monday morning, there was some DOMS in the system - my legs and upper half of my body were trying to learn how to get out of bed normally and walk again. I searched online and found for a physio for a sports massage, which helped a lot.
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
How it started
How it's going
DCM 2024 run through
Didn’t sleep well the night before. Had a bad dream where I missed all the waves which turned out to be almost predictive for the real thing. One of those dreams where, in the middle of it, feels quite real and you can’t snap out of it until it has played out. I parked in Whitehall, as usual. 41 bus only took three people, so I got a taxi. Felt like the taxi driver might be related to Kippchoge, given his ability with the accelerator. I was in McDonald’s on Grafton Street by about 7:45am. All fine, listened to some podcasts and made my way over to the bag drop, which was a smooth process. I was officially in wave 2, but had decided prior to the expo to drop down to 3. After following the lines, we snaked around and found some toilets. After that, I headed to the start area where there were more loos, which were generally quieter. I had forgotten about that from the last time (2019). Whilst I made it to the start area with time to spare, there wasn't much hope of moving through all the people. I could see the 4:20 balloons maybe 10 metres ahead and I couldn't make out the others - presumably 4:10. After they departed, we waited and the 4:30 crew started to weave through the crowds as a chorus of Molly Malone emerged from the PA, which led to some crowd support. There were a few specs of rain, nothing to worry about. Wave 4 it was. The truth is, I hadn't really made any firm goals as a mental note in the days before, certainly not goals A-C. My friend picked me up on this on the bank holiday Monday afterwards.
By Chesterfield Avenue, I slipped past the 4:30 pacers and ran of my own accord. I was thinking I had could follow the physio's advice treat it as a LSR re back-to-back marathons (more on that later), or having a made up on spec, goal D. The other thought I had was to find other Lusk AC members to see how they were getting on and give some encouragement, if needed. Did see the bloke I met in wave 4 at the start, he was walking about 12k in. Pretty early on I knew I was running a race, but not racing. What happened earlier was a strategy fail on my part - getting to the start area I wanted to in good time. I didn't get to do a proper warm up. That said, I wasn't worried. I had done the long runs, and it became a case of absorbing the event.
High points - got lots of shout outs from strangers, said hello to a few parkrun faces I knew in the crowd, the home stretch, seeing the usual Lusk crew at mile 26, the energy of the event. Catching up with people in the pub that evening, lots of happy faces. The supporter with the megaphone who said we were 'looking lovely' at Castleknock. We'll take that on any Sunday morning. Remembering spots from the recce and brekkie. Knew my aunt was going to be around mile 17 and which side of the road I'd aim for, that's the first time I've stopped to hug someone during a race. The emotion of it hit me after. I did sometimes feel the 4:30s might catch up, but the odd time I looked behind me, nope. Kids looking for bottles for the return scheme, good fun too. Heartbreak hill was grand. Oh, also before the start there was a TG4 crew looking for Irish speakers to say why they're running. Alas, I don't have the lingo, so that duty would fall to @Wubble Wubble next time.
Low points - nothing, really. Very, very minor complaints - imo, training can't replicate how the quads sometimes feel (hello, mile 15) and the constant hammering of the feet.
Fuel – I’ve never taken a huge about during marathons and tend to spread it out. It goes down fine, so it's not a stomach issue. Clif bloks x1 packet, x1 Kinetica energy gel, x1 Decathlon jelly and x2 nakd (sic) fruit bars. I carry water with a dissolved electrolyte tablet and took water from most stations, apart from the first, which I tend to skip due to how busy it is. In the weeks prior to the race, I listened to some podcasts with Anita Bean who isn't the biggest fan of supplements.
Official 4:18:10
Garmin 42.46km at 6:05. HR average was 146bpm, probably would have been lower if I hadn't messed up at the start.
I ran by feel the whole way, apart from about 100m to go where I looked at the watch for the first time for time, not pace. Apart from 5:08 at the end, I never went quicker than 5:47 (13k-18 were all under 6 kp/m). Feel I think was as much instinctual as physical. Only about a minute slower than my DCM novice experience in 2016, I was happy with that. Did I feel I had done a marathon? No, not at all, tbh. It was my least scripted/planned one. My friend said I looked far too relaxed when we met, she was supporting in Milltown.
My 8th overall marathon, 5th at DCM. Met my friend afterwards on Nassau Street. I wanted a photo with the t-shirt above, so we went to TCD. This is where my late cousin had done her doctorate…I hadn't thought of this as the reason to go the campus, I wanted to get away from the crowds. Back in the day I studied there too and still have a library card. Only when I got home and looked at the photo did it register…maybe it was subconscious or maybe she sent me a message.
On Monday, a few of us availed of free physiotherapy by going for a dip in the sea. Between this and lunch, I think the runner's high was starting to kick in. My friend who is coming back from illness asked if I'd be up for an easy 5k. I left it for an hour or two to reply as I was initially going to say feck off. We trotted around Lusk for about 7k at 7:28k pace. I went to the supermarket that evening and felt a bit funny after getting out of the car as I walked to the door, but it was grand. I had used the foam roller after getting home on Sunday.
I'm sure there's much more that could be said, other memories will come back.
Up next, is marathon number 9, on November 9. It's the first one I've done, which requires a kit list, self-navigation and well…
There is nothing I can say to prepare you for this course.It will test you to the very limits.
There is nothing I can say to prepare you for this course.
It will test you to the very limits.
Good luck tomorrow hombre!
Similar to the last post, life got in the way of taking little notes. If Jean Luc Picard was logging, what would he say? Anyway. Same excuses as before, life's been busy. The last few weeks, I've reduced the weight at the S&C classes as well as mileage. A few months ago, I asked if a physio if we taper strength work and he said yes, about two weeks before the race for us mere mortals.
Week 16, Oct 7-13
Club OTC session x2, stretch class x1.
Plan 60km. Actual 35.39.
Week 1/3 of taper. I could have chanced coming back sooner with some easy stuff perhaps on Tuesday or Weds as the coughing had reduced a lot. Tested the waters on Friday with easy 4k. Saturday was Donabate parkrun 4.9k easy, first time running a parkrun since Land's End.
Sunday plan 24km: 2 easy, 16 marathon pace, 6 easy. Actual - club recce and brekkie. Starting from Merrion Square we covered a good bit of the course. Sizeable crowd doing it with a few groups and some bike and water support. Great to be in your home city when most people are probably still in bed. 26.48k at 5:35.
Week 17, Oct 14-20.
Plan 49km. Actual 49.19.
OTC x1. Formal S&C x1 and stretch class.
Tues 8.11km easy at 6:15 and some MP ks
Weds 11.82km all easy, 6:30.
Thurs 6.19 at 6:11
Saturday - rest.
Sunday, felt a slight twinge in the right glute for about the first 30 metres or so. Plan a whopping 13km, mostly easy with the last 4 at 5:32, 5:24, 5:19, 5:19.
Week 18, Oct 21-27.
Plan 23km. Actual 23.13
S&C class x2 (Mon/Thurs 6am). OTC x1 (Mon evening).
Tues - Full day work thing in person and a reminder that Irish public transport has the resilience of a house of cards. Gave a hand with the juveniles at training. Pretty attentive bunch, tbf.
Weds 11.15km at 6:10 kp/m, with some quicker bits 5:28, 5:36, 5:48, 5:37, 5:29
Thurs 7.02km mostly easy at 5:54.
Fri 2 easy and 3 at speed 4:39, 4:31, 4:32 (with 2 mins rest)
Sat finish tokens
I had experienced quite a lot of self-doubt this week - what to eat on Sunday? Have I trained well enough? Is the body up for it? Pace? Driving home on Weds evening coming off the M50 towards the M1, something clicked.
Sun - Game on.
This will be mostly a stats log as I fell behind on the details. I took two weeks off the formal S&C class – lots of many spinning plates, was asked to join a committee (again), so that needed a bio and a bit of thought. September being a heavy mileage month too. Overtraining did pop into my head once or twice and needing to be careful there. Most Saturdays have been rest as I don’t need the mileage. LSRs have been with a hydration vest (not for DCM).
Week 11, Sept 2-8.
Plan 69km. Actual 67.92.
Strength class - front squats, scap pulls, I forget the rest. OTC x1 started with Sweet Child of Mine on the soundtrack front. The usual mix of stations, we finished with some planks and Sally up/down.
Tues 10.14km easy at 6:43km after work
Thurs morning 5 easy at 6:12, followed by 4x400 at 90% effort, 4:20, 4:30, 4:26, 4:27 – probably faster than needed, by feel. Then 4:53km easy. Evening was 8:26km tempo at 5:10 at Newbridge House, with a few club folks.
Fri 6.13 easy at 6:11
Sun 32.01km at 6:28 – should have been 27 via 24 easy and 3k tempo. Tempo bits were 5:15, 5:10, 5:15.
Week 12, Sept 9-15.
Plan 61km, actual 61.13km
OTC x2, core and arms, generally.
Tues 17.01k at 6:13
Weds – saw a thing in AH about a 5k for people who are single, so pottered about Ranelagh for it, all easy. Did a little before and after too.
Thurs 5.15k easy at 6:15 followed by pyramid 4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4 with 2 mins rest and 0.70 easy.
Sun 28km at 6:09. 13 easy, 10 MP (probably a touch faster than needed), 5 easy. 2:52:26, per Garmin.
Was at an event on suicide for work, best one they’ve (HSE) done, imo.
Week 13, Sept 16-22
Busy with work’s AGM (presentation went fine) and an in person team meeting. M1 and M50 had horror film levels of fog, so it took over 2 hours to get there.
Tuesday 10k progression at 5:57
Weds 16.01k at 5:36…have no memory of the details of this
Thurs lunch time 5.25km at 6:21, evening 10k easy at 6:40.
Friday OTC
Sunday 32km at 6:17 min/k consisting of 16 easy, 13 marathon pace (5:43, 5:45, 5:43, 5:48, 5:54, 5:40, 5:36, 5:40, 5:35, 5:42, 5:35, 5:42, 5:34), 5 easy. Largely overcast over to Loughshinny and some of Rush. 3:21:06 on the watch. I wore the t-shirt I got made in R’s memory to test it out. No issues during the run. I rested after taking something to eat, shower, etc. After waking up, it hit me again that she’s gone.
Week 14, Sept 23-29
Plan 72km, actual 75.6.
Back at the strength class x2. OTC x1. Quite an autumnal feel to the mornings.
Tues 14:03km at 6:39 easy
Weds 5:39km at 6:15 easy
Thurs 8:06km at 6:12 easy post 6am S&C class
Fri 8km at 6:28 easy, plus 6x3 mins at interval pace (5:00, 4:50, 4:58, 4:48, 4:54, 4:41) with 2 mins rest. Did it largely by feel. Should have been 3x1 min too, but I knew I didn’t really need the mileage, so went by feel (5:31) back to the car park (3:25 mins). I was originally going to do this the previous evening…however, was conscious of not doing too much am and pm stuff.
Sat 35km LSR with 8 from the club shortly after 8am. Word on the group message was we were going to aim for 6 min/k which didn’t really happen. I broke off in front for a few k before the second water stop. 3-17k were in MP territory, along with 23-25. Picked it up at the end with 5:15. Quickpenny, Hedgestown, Ballyough, Wimbletown, Skidoo (!), Ballyboughal and Kilhedge. Great morning, run and camaraderie. The usual fuel bits I bring were fine. 3:25:48, per Garmin. I did this instead of 37k: 8 easy, 8 MP, 8 easy, 8 MP, 5 easy on Sunday.
Week 15, Sept 30-Oct 6
Plan 74km, actual 22.71.
Stretch class x1.
Some illness landed, lots of coughing and so on. Disappointing not to be able to do the final LSR. Hopefully back to normal in a few days.
Week 6. July 29-August 4
Plan 61km. Actual 53.41.
No formal S&C this week - bad sleep again and a sore back (upper part). I had this last year too, waking up with it.
Monday
OTC class with 80s tunes. Fine evening for it.
Tuesday. Should have been easy w/u, 6x1k at interval pace, with 500m recovery and easy c/d. I bailed. Earlier in the day, I was playing with the watch and forgot to deselect cycling, so that's what it recorded. I edited it after. 9.12k easy at 7/km.
Wednesday. Was supposed to be 10k easy, with 6 strides. I must have done something wrong as it only has 0.03km on Garmin Connect. I was suspicious of it beeping as I was driving home. I do recall it showing 9k and I'd say I didn't save it right.
Tempo Thursday with the club. Three of us were at the front. Standard route up to Baldungan - the hill will serve us well. Homeward bound is mostly downhill. A great run - leaves you on a high. More like interval pace, though. 10.10k at 4:57/km.
Friday. Should have been 10k easy, plus 3 tempo. Maybe home by 8pm or later. M50 looked OK on the phone. Another OTC class as an alternative, yep, you bet. Off the M1 before 6pm, which was great. 80s tunes again, just 6 of us. Ankle weights, bench flys, goblet squats, bench press (empty bar), high plank with shoulder taps, Russian twists, med ball slams, etc. 40/30/20 with 10 seconds rest.
Saturday 10k easy before and including Donabate parkrun at super easy 7:05/km.
Sunday 24k: 8k easy, 10 marathon pace, 6k easy. 24.01k at 6:09. Somewhat damp out there, saw a few others.
MP stuff was 5:45, 5:41, 5:35, 5;39, 5:32, 5:33, 5:43, 5:35, 5:39, 5:37.
Week 7 August 5-11
Plan 61k. Actual 64.91.
3.83k easy at 6:31.
7x60-90 second hills
4:47, 5:11, 5:09, 5:01, 5:09, 5:10, 4:51
2.17 easy at 6:38
Warm ish evening
Weds 5k easy with 6 strides. Did 6 at 6:30 as I was still a little tired from the hills.
Thursday Strength class in the morning - pause squats, goblet squats, tuck ups, bent over rows, narrow push ups (regressed), etc. This was followed by a stretch class. Evening - headed out with the Thursday tempo crew, but not with that in mind, only needed to do marathon pace 10.01k at 5:36/km, a little quick in the early ones. Quiet enough at training, given the time of year.
Friday - a visit to the OTC. Russian twists, goblet squats, med ball slams, Bulgarian split squats, wall squats, bicep curls and more I forget the name of.
Saturday 16k easy at 6:54, bumped into @Singer at Donabate parkrun.
Sunday 24k consisting of 3k easy, 5k MP and 2k easy (x3)
5:35, 5:34, 5:53, 5:30, 5:42
5:33, 5:39, 5:41, 6:06, 5:50
5:47, 5:47, 5:38, 5:42, 5:43.
The strawberries on the ground didn't interest the seagulls at Loughshinny harbour.
Week 8, August 12-18, recovery week
Plan 52km. Actual 30.23k
Strength class x1. Zercher squats, med ball rotation throws, overhead press, cardio (ski machine/bike), sit ups, kettlebell swings, pulse lunge.
OTC x1. Russian twists, med ball slams, bicep curls, bench shoulder press, mountain climbers…and more I forget the name of. Same as before 40/30/20. 12 stations overall, with wall sits (weighted) after 6.
Headed to Cornwall on Tuesday for a holiday.
Pyramid session. 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1
1 at 90% 4:25
2 at 85% 5:02
3 at 80% 5:17
4 at 75% 5:12
4 at 75% 5:21
3 at 80% 5:19
2 at 85% 5:10
1 at 90% 4:39
with 2 minutes rest. Tried to do these by feel, rather than watch.
10k easy with 6 strides at 6:46, pretty wet - reminded me of running to Loughshinny.
10k easy at 6:42.
I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere for accommodation, nice and quiet. No wifi, not always possible to get a phone signal, so asking locals for directions was helpful. Other non-running parts of the trip included coastal walks, the Eden Project, Geevor tin mine museum, Carbis Bay and St Ives.
Saturday was a drive to Land's End parkrun. Very enjoyable and a great location. A search and rescue helicopter arrived somewhat later, quite low to the water. Hopefully just training. 5.06km at 5:16 /km (plan called for 8 easy).
Got back just before 5pm on Sunday. Decided to let the 18km LSR go.
Week 9, August 19-25. Behold, the half way point.
Sadly heard that I bloke I was in the scouts with died (Owen), he gave back a lot. Good tribute online and the flag at half mast too.
Plan 63km. Actual 63:36.
Strength classes: zercher squats, shoulder press, wall throws for the main bit and two rounds of 5 stations for the last bit. Pause squats, e-centric chin up, some sort of press, narrow press ups, bent over rows, tuck ups, goblet squats. OTC - I think 14 of us as the 7pm and 8pm classes were merged. The planks at the end were a killer.
Monday - 2.45k easy to collect the car from the service place.
Tuesday - plan was a touch confusing because it was partly in miles which the km version (same PDF) isn't usually. 3k easy and 6x1 mile at 80% effort, with 2 minutes rest recovery, followed by 2k easy, so I thought maybe 10x1k instead. However, I cut it short to go from the southside to the memorial for Owen at the scout den. It was funny, thoughtful and compassionate.
3k easy at 6:38/km and 5:53, 5:31, 5:15, 5:32 for the effort bits.
Weds 10k easy with 6 strides, 6:29/km.
Thursday - The funeral went as well as these things can.
Plan 3k easy, 2x3k tempo/1k easy and 3k easy. Actual - out with the Thursday tempo crew for the usual Baldungan route. Quite a wet one. 10.01km at 4:55/km and just over half a k easy back to the Hub.
Friday 8.10km easy at 6:36/km after work.
Saturday - timekeeping
Sunday 24k, 16 easy, 8 MP
Pretty typical Sunday, overcast and a few sprinkles of rain.
Week 10 August 26-Sept 4.
Plan 67km. Actual 70.41.
Strength class: zercher squats, single arm press, ball throws from the hip and two rounds of a circuit. Stretch class.
Monday 7.01k easy evening with the 6am strength class crew at Ardgillan. Some of them are doing Hell and Back and are new to running.
Tuesday
3.72 easy at 6:52.
2.96k at 6:51 via 8x60-90 second hill reps
5:38, 5:48, 5:38, 5:44, 5:36, 5:26, 5:33, 5:16
2.28k easy at 6:44.
The early parts of the week were pretty tiring, including in the office, so I didn't push much on the hills.
Weds 8k easy fartlek, with 5x250m surges. 8.3k at 6:12.
Thurs called for 8 easy, 2 tempo via the Baldungan loop. I was briefly chased by a dog who came flying out of his yard. 10.01k at 6:27. 5:08 x2 for the final two.
Friday 6.12 easy at 6:26.
Saturday - tailwalking
Sunday 30km broken down as 2 easy 4x5km at marathon pace, 2k easy. 30k at 6:12. Pretty standard route over to Loughshinny, some of the Rush and around Lusk.
5:50, 5:45, 5:40, 5:39, 5:43
5:49, 5:44, 5:43, 6:02 (up from the harbour, effort isn't reflected here, really) 😎, 5:57
5:41, 5:54, 5:38, 5:42, 5:34
5:50, 5:38, 5:45, 5:39, 5:45.
For the MP bits.
Sunglasses for most the evening stuff this week, iirc. It felt little relentless at times. Running Up the Hill was just concluding as I headed into the local shop.
Onwards with September.
Time to put some WD40 into the log. In an attempt to get out of the rut, I started to aim for 50k a week to have some consistency. Mostly easy, with the odd club effort. Didn't always manage the mileage target.
Towards late May, I picked up an abdominal strain through a visit to the OTC of a Friday, oops. I wasn't able to foam roll afterwards and then some broad jumps at the formal S&C class I go to weren't fun. Physio said there was no distention or hernia, thankfully. A few exercises to work through. Took 9-10 days off running, though I'm sure some easy stuff would have been fine.
I decided to run DCM in memory of my cousin. I had thought of aiming for a PB, however a few people told me to leave that for another marathon and I felt they're right. I don't have a ticket yet, so we'll see what the transfer setup brings. At the moment, I'm not currently linking the emotional side of things to running. I'm trying to get used to being in marathon mode again.
I had thought Ciara Mageen's victory would knock the politicians off the front pages. Not quite. A bunch of us paused a class at the OTC to watch Rhasidat Adeleke's race on a phone. As someone said, it was like Italia 90 all over again.
June 17-23
49.47km
Pretty much all easy. A trip to Castleblayney parkrun - an enjoyable trail run. Some of them went for a swim in the lake after. Overcast.
June 24-30
Road to DCM 2024 Week 1. This is a plan from Ben Parkes, which I didn't really do a good job of before.
Target 41km. Actual 47.92km.
S&C class x2: box squats, bent over rows, med ball slams, kettlebell carry, back squats, broad jumps, military presses, deadlifts, etc.
OTC class x2. Typical set up is 7 or so stations with 3 exercises (40 seconds on, 20 off), with a buddy/partner. Can be planks, Russian twists, ankle weights, sitting a wall with a weight, steps, etc. Then a little extra to round things off and a nice stretch to cool down.
8k easy (6:20k/m). Crossed the 1k mark for the year with this.
10.66k easy (6:07k/m)
10.01k at marathon pace. A touch fast, tbh. 5:31k/m
A damp Ardgillan parkrun, 5.04k easy at 6:37k/m. Officially, a rest day.
LSR 14.20km at 6:10k/m. Should have been 13k.
Week 2: July 1-7
Plan 44km. Actual 45.66km.
S&C class x2, largely the same as week 1.
OTC x1. Planks, weighted wall sits, ankle weights, clam shells, glute bridges, etc.
10.46k easy, with 6 strides, 6:35k/m.
Intervals: 1.5k easy, 6x3 min (@ 4:48, 4:53, 4:52, 4:55, 4:53, 4:52), with 2 mins rest, 1.51km easy. Nice sunny evening for it.
10k marathon pace, a touch fast. 5:29k/m. The area around work is a little rolly poly.
LSR 18.01k at 6:20k/m, overcast. Quite fond of long runs.
Week 3: July 8-14
Plan 48km. Actual 53.88km.
Not off to a good start, some sleep paralysis.
S&C class x1: pause squats, e-centric chin ups, goblet squats, tuck ups, bent over rows.
OTC x1: clam shells, glute bridges, bicycle crunches, etc.
Hills. Plan 3k easy 6x60-90 seconds fast up/walk down, 3k easy.
3.37k easy at 6:37.
63 seconds at 4:41
64 secs and 4:57
65 secs at 5:04
66 secs at 5:01
66 secs at 4:58
65 secs at 4:51
3.86k at 6:26.
8.01km marathon pace, 5:34/km
13km easy, with 6 strides. Got the return point wrong, so went a little over. 14:06km at 6:29. There's a few options for loops after work - 6k, 8k, 12k, etc. So much work going with bus lanes, paths and so on.
Very easy at Mullingar parkrun, 5.04km at 6:41. Outward route is parallel to the canal, return next to an old railway. Good atmosphere. Unfortunately, I left the apricot Malahide shirt behind here.
Sunday was supposed to be 20k broken into 5 easy, 5 tempo, 5 marathon pace, 5 easy. Probably 3.5-4k in I copped I hadn't hit the resume button. I know the early part well enough to know roughly where I'm at 5k. Even before that, I was going to keep it all easy. I did 5 easy, 4 tempo, 5 easy, 5 MP and 1 easy. Anyway, wasn't important, my mother wasn't well. Actually recorded: 17.01km at 6:00/km. The tempo bits were 5:13, 5:08, 5:08, 5:07. MP stuff was 5:44, 5:44, 5:41, 5:40 and 5:41. Happy with those.
Week 4: Jul 15-21
Plan 41km. Actual 46.72 km, recovery week.
S&C class x 2. First was Zercher squats, single arm press up, wall throws (med ball) for the first half. Then 2x6 stations e.g. kettle bell swings, sit ups, cardio, etc. Second was similar to last week.
OTC x1.
Was at an in person event for work, part of a photo call - lovely atmosphere. Saw the Hungry Tree.
8k progression easy to tempo after work, 6:09. Quickest was 5:26 - should be quicker
10k easy, 6:26.
6.01k easy (not part of the plan) at 6:29.
Saturday - plan called for parkrun at tempo. Headed to Avondale. Ran by feel. Pretty wet, but it was nice and secluded when you get into the swing of it. 4.70k at 5:12.
Standard Sunday 18.01k easy at 6:31k. Frustrating to see the illegal dumping still going on.
July 22-28
Plan 50km. Actual 49.46k.
Strength class x1. Cancelled the Monday one due to bad sleep. Thursday one was similar to the previous week, pause squats. Later on - goblet squats, tuck ups, etc. OTC x1 - if only I could remember the details for here. Before the cool down stretch, there's usually a bit extra e.g. a 100 mountain climbers. Our leader did feck her calf during the warm up and is back running now, thankfully.
Plan called for 3k easy/6x60-90 second hills fast up/walk down/3k easy.
Actual easy 3.81k at 6:36. Hills 2.45k at 6:15. Or, 63 second at 4:41, 63 at 5:17. 63 at 5:10, 61 at 5:05, 63 at 5:13, 61 at 4:55. I can't remember if tables are still doable on this version of boards. 2.19 easy at 6:41.
Weds 11k easy and 6 strides. It was 9.95k and I was near work, so I said 10 would be fine. 6:40k pace.
Friday. 10k progression. Easy-tempo. 10.01k at 6:04 pace. (6:42, 6:51, 6:35, 6:23, 6:11, 5:28, 5:44, 5:46, 5:35, 5:29). Tempo needs to be quicker.
Bad sleep hindered Sunday morning, so I left it until later ~ 4pm. On paper 21km as 16 easy and 5 tempo. Actual 16k easy and the rest largely by feel as I knew tempo mightn't land. Some parts of the backroads can be warm, others have a breeze. Went most of the way down to Loughshinny harbour. First time with some fuelling attached to me in a while. Baldungan on the home stretch is handy for water and to rinse gel off your hands. And much later towards the end I caught the water bottle as it was falling out of the belt. Took that turn little too sharply, methinks.
Did get a ticket for DCM too.
Have been neglecting here. Meant to keep notes here and there, the hamster wheel that is modern life got in the way. I've not been looking at weekly mileage. 2023 saw 2,297.04 km.
I'm back on folic acid for the third time. I still go to the S&C class twice a week, though have thought about stopping due to the hamster wheel. Generally, I've been doing easy and club bits here and there, a good bit of parkrun tourism* and trying to get some LSRs in on Sundays, though not always. I have made a friend through the AC through chats and volunteering. Most of the time we're taking the mick out of each other, with some personal stuff in there too.
January saw a trip to Whelan's to see The Milk Carton Kids. What a treat they were. You cannot pigeon hole them at all. Nor could you find a more hush part of Dublin when Kenneth went solo with I Only See The Moon. January also involved Russburough House parkrun, their winter course. Probably the coldest my hands have been at any parkrun.
I think it was in February I bumped into @Singer at a recycling centre, as ye do.
March brought my first 5k in 5 years in Tallaght on St Patrick's day. I ran it fairly controlled at 24:35 and didn't pick up. There was R's first anniversary too. I counted 5 if not more bumble bees on her grave, many flowers too. Good company for her. Also did a trip to Marlay parkrun to chat with @ReeReeG of this parish.
*Naas, Edwin Carolan (the wettest by far, good fun), Porch Field, Vicarstown, Deerpark Carlanstown, SETU Arena, Laytown and Mountlucas. I crashed into someone about 300m at SETU, he had dropped his barcode, stopped and turned to get it. No harm done, neither of us fell.
Some good news for Lusk AC is that the track has moved a step closer to reality. Seemingly, it'll take over a year to build as it has to be done in good weather. The podcast is still going strong. Haven't listened to the latest one yet - it covers Boston and London.
I've looked at potential marathons abroad again, there are so many. Patagonia, which looks stunning. The Huffin' Puffin in Canada which I'd do for the name alone, except it's now called Newfoundland and Labrador. Valley Harvest in Canada, partly because of the humour of one of the sponsors. Motivation is still pretty all over the shop with running in general, though, some I may stick to Irish events. Frank Duffy 10 mile, how about ye?
YTD: 672.94 km
And so we begin. I have written this largely on memory. After the race, I thought about recording stuff on my phone to save for logging purposes, however a combination of the outcome and also not seeing a need to document it all meant I didn't do that.
On Weds Nov 1, I left Ireland bound for Arona, Italy. After an uneventful flight, I had my first experiences of Italy's trains, or rather, I ended up getting four when I had planned on only needing to use two. Locals were very helpful, including a woman who took me through a metro journey to get me onto the right connection, she overheard me chatting to the conductor. It was after 9pm when I arrived and things were pretty quiet in the town. Had things gone to plan, it might have been 7:30pm. I spent the next few days taking it easy, going to Lidl (no scones) and checking out the area. Weather was a little mixed - wet Thursday (Firestick viewing) and a pleasant Friday, tranquil.
The expo was a few tents parallel to the lake. After scanning the registration barcode on my phone, I was asked 'Have you signed ___?' I didn't know what they meant. Figured this might arise, so I had printed copies for everything. It seemed to be the letter from Athletics Ireland they wanted, even though I had uploaded it to the registration portal some months ago. Collected the bag, bib and t-shirt which included a sponge. I could hear a mixture of languages floating around. My number was 2021, which is the year of my nephew's birth, or as my sister said, a good luck charm. Went the DIY route for cooking as I didn't want to try a restaurant the day before the race. On Saturday I was feeling pretty confident, relaxed - by evening it was wet again and I could hear the slosh of water outside as cars passed.
The morning of was lovely, clear skies and sunny. I threw on a bit of P20, but not extensively as I figured temperatures and the time of year didn't really apply. I had the usual black sack affair ready to go too. I threw it and the sponge into back of the hydration vest for another day. There was a decent enough sized queue for the 7 or so portaloos. People started going into their sectors (waves/groups) which were not really monitored or policed as such. I wasn't sure where the pacers were going to be and in hindsight, whilst I had read the guidance about the times and min/k, I should have asked for more specifics at the expo on Friday.
We began promptly all as one, no staggered process. First up was an out and back loop of Arona. At a roundabout two police motorbikes who were initially stationary, soon hit the blues and twos - felt they were being called to another job. Somewhere along here I thought I saw a 4h:35 pacer, there's a bit of work to do. It was on the other side and looping back that I found two other pacers, a two hour for the half and a 4 hour guy in parallel. I stuck with them for a while including going out of the town. It's an upward bit to leave and there's a bit of support through the main thoroughfare (a different pacer again seemed to stopped on a central reservation and waiting for her place to slot in, I don't know) and as we say goodbye to the start point. Somewhere early on I spoke briefly to a British bloke and wished him well. Not the only British voices that popped up during the race.
The rest of what I've to say here is where the meat of this write up is lacking. In the days prior to the race, I had written down a few PMA notes on a piece of paper. I took an energy block I think around the 10 or 12k mark, which prompted a stitch, not something which happened when testing during training. The stitch eased, went away, returned and finally settled. It was somewhere in these early double digit miles where the pacing picture started to emerge. A touch confusing, I thought. I think it was around 16k where I'm fairly certain the 5:00 min/k pacer popped up. Wait, so are there some pacers with a finish time and others with a pace? Pacing info was hand written on the rear of shirts. The buck stops with me, though. Anyway, after this, I think approx every 1.5k or so, followed the 5:10, 5:20, 5:30 and 5:40 min/k folks. I knew my intentions (5:40) were well gone at this point. Credit to those who ran it well.
After the half way point, Stresa, things thinned out a bit. Two people who seemed to be wearing cycling gear with text rejecting doping and drugs finished up. I had intended to imprint the exact language on my mind to note it here. I don't remember much else. Mentally, I kept telling myself to keep going. This was useful in some respects as I could see myself getting to 30km and so on. In that sense I was a little surprised at the feel of being part of something like was going by fairly quickly, even though my pace was meh. Pretty certain a pharmacy sign at 25-26km said it was 14C wherever we were. Once 32k arrived I figured this is belly of the beast territory. It was a bit of a grind too as the loathsomeness of tarmac was starting to kick in. I did not look at the watch much through the race, but did with around 2k to go and there was some 7:50min/k pace there, which led to an internal FFS, you don't even run that easy in training moment.
Bar one or two points with signage, and occasional local, the only others attached to the event were police and medics. At the finish there was no separation between athletes and family members/others, which was nice. No need at a small event, certainly at my slowness we were a trickle over the mat. Cut off was 5h:30 for roads opening up again. The final athlete was a 70 something Swede with 5:27 odd who was given a shout out. Three others finished after him, according to the results page at 5:38, with 224 of us overall.
Garmin 42.58km, 4:26:56 at 6:16. Official 4:26:57
I had some edibles and liquids from the tent, one looked like apple juice (or might it be whiskey, I wondered) and was warm, so tea, I'd say. There was a decent enough sized queue for the physio area. Good atmosphere all around and lovely to finish lakeside in the sun.
Crank up the scenery up another notch or two and it wouldn't be far off New Zealand Lord of Rings type stuff as you're running it. You can feel the trajectory of how the course curves and it's pretty thrilling to be a part of.
The ferry was €10 at the expo. Suitably glacial in its pacing, it was a nice way to absorb the homeward journey, calm waters and sunshine for company too. Arona was bustling when we got back and a few people were in swimming that side of it. I finally went to the gelato shop later on. My recovery wasn't too bad, first day after was a little iffy and I felt a brief niggle walking to the supermarket. It didn't stick around. Stairs were grand.
The next parts of the trip were Milan (Castello Sforzesco in the pic above), Zurich and Salzburg all by rail. I really enjoyed Milan, the metro is so handy. I did a brilliant pasta and tiramisu class. Milano Nord parkrun (24:49) was a lovely crisp morning, with a briefing for a bunch of us native English speakers. Afterwards on the metro map I saw San Siro being a final stop on another line. I had a 3 day ticket for a mere €13 (also covering trams, buses) recommended by one of a guide tour. I went to have a look, I don't follow football. On the outside, it is a monster of a stadium and must be quite something on match day. There is also a copy of the Last Supper you can see in one of the banks in the centre of Milan for free.
Up next, we had Zurich, which was a bit of a wash out with near non-stop rain and a tour guide cancelling due to the flu and a potential close contact for you know what. From Zurich, we reached Salzburg sometimes with bursts of 225km/h, a speed Irish Rail can only dream of. Salzburg had a cleanliness that Dublin needs to learn from. I did an apple strudel and cookies class, the natural history museum, a walking tour (full rain gear job) and checked out the Fortress. From the tour guide, had time allowed and the weather been better, then some cable cars and mountains might have been on the list. For the weekend, Helbrunn parkrun was on the agenda. At the time I originally researched this Austria only had 3 parkruns, having only recently added Stadtpark. Anyway, there's a bus which stops at Helbrunn, it's not a long journey out of from the city. I had bought a 72 hour Salzburg card. There were just 18 of us, with a mixture of tourists, newcomers and regulars. It's three laps and measured a little long (5.16km), 24:04. It was a more overcast and nippy morning than Milan. All the ingredients which make parkrun i.e. shared stories, humour and when winding down, trying to explain to other members of the public/park users, what it is. Asked by a British ex-pat why I came to Salzburg, simple - parkrun! Btw, it's quite amusing if you try Google Translate on non-English parkruns webpages to decipher the menu structure, etc. Afterwards, I went to the zoo where at one point an air raid type siren sounded briefly within the locality. That was a strange occurrence...
Will I do another marathon, plus a parkrun or two outside of Ireland? All in one trip for a third time? It might be better to do parkrun over a long weekend by parachuting in. More European rail travel is certainly warranted. I've a friend from college who is in Vancouver too. Similar to last year, though, I was bone tired at some points as I typically don't sleep well the first night or other nights in a new location.
Back to the other stuff. I entered the DCM 2024 lottery, unsuccessfully. From the above, I've run better. I've run worse. I know we had some incredible PBs for Lusk this year e.g. someone who went from 3:53 to 3:34. Our ladies captain ran 3:16, getting a medal for her age. At the moment, I feel any DCM PB would a very, very tall order. I'd still like to get from 3:51 to 3:40 or under that in R's memory. Having only run under 4 hours twice, I'm pretty doubtful. Haven't thought too much about early 2024 yet. Equally, I have thought about stopping running entirely. Overseas again for Autumn 2024? Skagen in Denmark? Maine marathon in the US? There is a bloke in Lusk who is similar to me in that we're not particularly drawn to the majors. Time to step off the endurance train, for now.
Writing here has slipped onto the long finger. I kept meaning to make notes that were mostly distinct from the nitty gritty of running.
September 247.55 km
I don’t fully recall when I switched over to kilometres, it was somewhere in July. Can I convert min/mi back and forth in my head? Feck, no. Back around week 7 we did the post-tempo dip in the sea at Rush south beach. Week 8 – Friday’s drive home, featured the M50 being a swimming pool. This was made by better by James – Sit Down on Spotify. I headed out on Sunday with the 4 hour 15+ group from the club. The LSR was 29k, 3 hours 10 mins, but more like 4 hours of movement by the time we arrived back at the hub - factoring in water stops, chats and letting people regroup. There was another post-tempo swim at Rush too. It was lovely.
October 191.08 km (plus 6 tomorrow)
Keeping with most of what I've been doing, changing, via touch of avoidance, you might say, the mid-week grads plan stuff for club bits either for tempo or a few 14k 'steady' via a Baldungan loop and tacking on some of the ring road to finish. These have been pretty brisk in terms of pace, with a few from the 3:30-3:45 group.
Due to the days I'm in the office, I can only really get to training on a Thursday evening. The plans that get posted tend to have Tues hills, Weds steady and Thurs tempo or other speed work on a Tues. I'm not that keen on this back-to-back because recovery isn't really flagged, so I wonder about compressing that together. Some might overdo it and get injured.
Anyway, Lusk AC have been busy with podcasts, including a DCM pacer, Gary, who gave a shout out to boards. Also Catherina McKiernan, Dick Hooper, one of our coaches, two members and their Berlin exploits and a sports psychologist and a dietitian mostly re the gut. A few of us were thrown by the nutrition guidance on Lucozade and some of the other points.
Taper was a funny one because even after the last LSR, I didn't cop it was taper time until I jumped into the shower. Longest runs were 29, 32 and 33km. Some people went up to 35. This is a long way of saying I did lose track of what week number I was on, partly as I wasn't writing anything about it. This is also a way of saying I've not been glued to the watch for most of this training. The final lsr was supposed to be 2 hours easy. I opted to be social and did 16k with the club. One of the lads fell about a quarter of the way, thankfully was OK.
One of our coaches had an observation that one reason Lusk AC athletes aren't in the jocker at DCM is because, in his words, 'we do hills'. I’d say there's truth to that. We also have good variety and options to try out routes, locally.
Did go to see The Unthanks in Liberty Hall, sometimes listening to them is like being transported back in time. One evening after getting home I heard All Along the Watchtower on the radio on a Friday evening, courtesy of the John Creedon show. I still have been going to the strength class twice a week. It's pretty much the same people all the time. Can I bench press much? No. Have front squats gotten better? Yes, somewhat. I do also quite like the as many rounds as possible routine, which is generally 12-14 minutes on the clock. Quite found of the walking lunge, with 12.5kg dumbbells - solid enough weight that I feel it. Probably should try 15. I think it has made a difference at parkrun* for instance, or just holding pace by feel a bit and during the club's 'steady' efforts too. I did skip one class because I slept badly, thought I had a temperature and maybe Covid again, paracetamol was deployed at 4am.
*I have on occasion cited @Lazare's 'parkrun is the new Mass'. Cheque's in the post, sir!
Yesterday was marshal duty on Mount Street at a mostly wet DCM. Good fun again, might have lost my voice had I shouted some more. It was all there. Emotion, concentration, smiles, agony, the odd impatient/narky person at the crossover and the Scottish guy I briefly spoke who asked me where O'Connors was - you're eyeballing it! Some big PBs out there. Didn't see any club colleagues in a bad way. A few others with cramp or walking.
Today, I got to try discus, hammer and javelin - always wanted to throw one. Right, time for a holiday with a marathon built in. This is not a target race. I’m hoping to get under 4, that’s the main goal. BBC forecast for Arona has been a little mixed. Looks like sun, 10-14C and no rain, for now.
TLDR. Enjoy the journey. Come Sunday, the curtain comes down.
Thought you might be at it. Paul Brady was in the audience and I saw Mary Coughlan chatting to Gaby Moreno afterwards too.
12-14k seems to be the main hilly bit. A few other bits around 22k, 25-26. Pretty flat otherwise. If you look at World Marathons page it describes it as flat. If you Google, another places describes it as 'challenging'. Videos from previous years show good weather, winter sun, though there have also been others where it's been bucketing down. I had to get a letter from Athletics Ireland to prove I'm a member of a club and upload it. There is also a medical cert your GP is supposed to fill out. Queried that with the marathon office and they said no further documentation is required. I will double check.
55 days to go.
Lake Maggiore - you certainly pick unusual marathons! What's the course like?
I was at that Nickel Creek gig too. Incredible (as always).
July
249.96 km
A mixed start to the month. Got the physio’s exercises, then some car issues arose. After failing the NCT, someone hit my car and left no note. She was not the only car that was hit. Not big damage - more like a black eye, a nuisance. Third trip to the body shop in 7 years of owning it and none were my fault. I had renewed my insurance policy only two hours before discovering the damage. Dunno the timeframe when it was hit. Anyway.
I joined a strength class locally and started going twice a week at 6am. Deadlifts and squats and some accessory work. The coach believes in setting a good foundation. As n00b, I don’t have bad habits as such…still a good way to go to learn the techniques, though. There was a touch or two of DOMS in the initial days following. Nothing that stuck around.
I was marshal at the Fingal 10km. Not quite as hot as last year, though it picked up a bit closer to and during the race. I do think some of the communication could be better behind the scenes as we were a little stumped about the details of our role at our position, given the route change and managing the flow. We thought we’d have faster runners looping back in the opposite direction. It all worked out in the end, no big deal. I’m being a little picky. Had to head to Galway the following day for a funeral. On a lighter note, one of my young cousins confirmed the school holidays are great.
Continued the Dublin parkrun tourism to Tymon, Dodder Valley (bumped into a Malahide RD there) and Cabinteely. That’s all of Dublin done, apart from Progression.
Concluded the base plan – though I had to miss the last lsr (23/07).
Wednesday of week 2 of the grads plan and the watch suggested 4x8 threshold, whereas the plan said 3x8, hah. The Sunday morning over to Loughshinny…the tide was the furthest out I’ve ever seen, quite impressive and a nice day too.
Last day of July - put down a deposit on a car (2018) which was quite exciting.
IOC put out a thing about mental health. Not for the first time. Good to see. The more toxic side of professional sport can go in the bin.
August
280.87 km
Got word we’ve to be in the office 3 days now instead of 2, from September. Got to do a presentation for work in person which was nice and the first time doing once since I went on a public speaking course about 3 weeks before lockdown. Went very well. Back to Malahide for a run and 100th time volunteering. I was curious how the legs would feel after 5 weeks of strength class, verdict was good, comfortable.
Mid-August was less fun in some respects. Ran a 23km on a Saturday and didn’t have much to give for some of it. On the positive side, I think some of easy stuff now feels easier, hopefully from the S&C work. The harder days bring up big doubts about any running ability at all. I’ve sometimes been reluctant to go the strength class, usually due to sleep, but have pushed myself to show up and felt happier afterwards. He recommended weightlifting shoes a few weeks ago as the Pumas are too soft. I certainly notice this simply evening walking to training, so springy! Was on car park duty for the Man O War 7k, which had plenty of smiles and a few dazed faces after the hill. Late August was Ardgillan hills and simply good fun all around. I've been swapping some of the speed stuff in the grads plan for club bits. Week 6 of the plan was last week and I think the best yet, helped by seeing Nickel Creek in the National Concert Hall, of course. Tues was the back of the 3:30-3:45 group (at 5:18km), so had a good chat with someone for most of it, including talking about R. Later in the week they were doing 4x1 mile, which I didn't join, so it was tempo instead...Kilhedge and Quickpenny in reverse. I picked it up for the main hill and led this bit. Friday, I only did 6km easy after work as I could feel the tempo a touch. Did barcode scanning in Marlay after leaving my bank card and driving licence in the office the evening before. Sunday was 26km with a few heads and an unpleasant final few kms to get it done, it had gotten quite warm.
May 2023
126.31 miles
There was R’s birthday, which was tough for her family.
I booked Lake Maggiore marathon and some of the accommodation. You need a letter from your GP (some tests) for the race, plus another from Athletics Ireland, if you're in a club i.e. that you're in good standing. Did Poolbeg parkrun when we had the first burst of lovely weather, very enjoyable. Corkagh was great too. Went back to the physio on May 31, with no complaints – only to ask for an S&C plan for the next while. Two marathons and an ultra in the next 18 months was my initial line of thinking. After an assessment, he took some notes. He mentioned getting some prehab in at the outset. First medical appointment in a while without a mask. He isn't the fastest as getting back by text/email and as of this write up a month later, no plans have arrived, despite 2-3 reminders.
June
126.89 miles
I had noted June 12 to kick off the 2016 grads base plan, tried and tested. In previous weeks, I had done a few Sunday mornings of 21 kms over and back to Loughshinny harbour, nice to it get done and dusted before 10am. Final club session before base was Argillan hills in lunchtime heat. The Best Hills in the World™. Kenyans, dragonflies, butterflies...to find out more, join the club. I didn’t have much to give here. I’ve been struggling a lot with motivation, both running and personally going back quite a while now. Mentally a lot as well.
Only copped tots up your mileage overall, not just by month. Saves a lot of messing with Excel. I visited R’s grave after Bushy parkrun. I was the only one there as it was a morning for umbrellas. Spoke to her a bit. The week after, I visited Tolka Valley parkrun which was great. At Shanganagh parkrun yesterday I learned of the 'most parkruns' list which is a handy thing to look up.
I was not really someone who listened to running podcasts in the past. I now listen to Strength Running, Running Explained and Doctors of Running. Strength Running I'd describe as a mix of knowledge, guidance and common sense i.e. playing the long game, which in my view, not enough people do. Running Explained had a guy on recently who wrote "The Slow AF Run Club", effectively an evangelist for larger athletes. He talked about the lack of clothing and inflexibility of some races not accounting for slower folks, taking down signs and water stations, etc. Also some other podcasts didn't want to talk to him simply because of what his book raises. Too much gatekeeping BS. Your fitness is only is good as your recovery. #141 of Doctors of Running. After posting in the main forum marathon improvers thread off the back of one of the podcasts, I was thinking through the wisdom of 3 marathons between now and Oct 2024, so I might let the deferred Connemara ultra go next year and focus on shorter stuff to do the periodisation thing.
I was asked to write a piece about R for the Irish Psychologist magazine (her profession), so need to give it some thought. I have met the editor before, she is sound and such a passionate advocate for psychology. I too had studied psychology and was active in those circles, but didn't go the professional training route for a few reasons, so I’m neither a psychologist or clinician. It's not currently regulated here at all, btw. Anyway, I had written a few words shortly after the funeral. I’ve had my own thoughts about doing a PhD through the Irish Research Council. As you can imagine, very mixed feelings about the thought of it and the process. Part of me would enjoy it, but then also it would be quite hard going. I think my colleague's took 6 years and she has two kids.
Marathon season is starting to ramp up in the club, so the messages are flying about. My last spin over to Loughshinny in June was pretty much all rain, good fun. I haven’t been testing fuelling on these, nor carrying water, so a few handfuls from the tap at Baldungan have sufficed. Struggled a bit this week as i.e. motivation and it's only week 3 of base. Then whether where I'm at it is even enough to head into Lake Maggiore. Currently at 682.19 miles for 2023. LM is not a goal race, it's a holiday. 3:59 would suffice.
Anyway, back to listening to Sierra Ferrell cover of Seven Spanish Angels (Willie Nelson).
A few weeks before she died, I bought a Jamie Oliver book in Easons, Swords. I had to return it because it was all in Fahrenheit, etc. When I told her about it I found quickly found out she's not a Jamie fan. Then we chatted about another cookbook. That was our last conversation, a nice memory to have. Her last online status was 7:55am, she died at 8, I understand. Her birthday is coming up now in a few weeks. Sadly, a little baby girl is buried a few plots over over, she died a week after. Hard to imagine.
Before this happened, I had gone back to the physio for a third time following the injury in Feb. He had moved away from the idea of it being the rotator cuff and thought it might be a disc in the neck had hit a nerve. He concluded pain was 8/10 from working on me and at that point, said go to your GP. GP prescribed 5 days of anti-inflammatories and penicillin. That helped. Last run was Feb 26, picked it up again on March 26. Didn't do Connemara ultra - deferred it. Could have dropped down to the marathon. GP advised an MRI which hasn't come through yet, only text info, so I'll probably cancel.
Recent parkruns included Brickfields, Marlay and Clonburr Wood. Marlay was the morning of R's month's mind, family gathered at 12pm.
I'm considering Lake Maggiore marathon in November. It looks pretty spectacular, though it can be equally fluich. Milan Nord parkrun would be on the cards too.
I hope you are doing ok since, or as well as you can given the short time that has passed. There will be a lot of firsts and they are hard, It's such a cliché but time is really the only healer. Although I'm not sure if healing is the right word, it changes I suppose, over time your grief changes and becomes more bearable. It sounds like you have a lot of happy memories and her light will continue to shine in the lives she touched, like yours. Mind yourself.
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