It’s been a few months since Cork but I’m back on the marathon road again. That road leads
to Dublin at the end of October. It’s a road I’ve travelled before, back in 2012 I ran Cork and
Dublin marathons in the same year. In Cork I did 4 hours 11 minutes, and in Dublin I ran 3
hours 58 minutes, breaking 4 hours for the first time. I’d gladly take an improvement like that
this year!!
It’s less than 12 weeks to go at the time of writing, a new training plan is on the
fridge door and I’m off on another training adventure. I had a few down weeks after Cork. I
was still running but nothing like the mileage I was doing. I ran a few times watch free just for
a change and I found it quite refreshing to run without looking down and checking the
Garmin .
I have run a few races since Cork and momentum is building nicely. I ran the
Musgraves BHAA race around the marina followed by the Tracton 4m, two great races with
two brilliant spreads afterwards. I’ve run a few parkruns in Ballincollig. I PB’d at the Gas
Networks BHAA race, and broke the 20 minute barrier for a 5k for the first time. I also PB’d
at the Kinsale Regatta 5m. Both these races show that I am in decent enough shape at the
moment. Summer time (if we can call it that!) Would not be summer if there weren’t some
holidays.
I was lucky enough to head away on a cruise with Lorna and our good friends
Derek and Majella. We hit five different countries on our travels and I got to run in Slovenia,
Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. A very novel way to start training for Dublin, running around
the Adriatic Sea. That’s one of the things that I love about running, you can do it anywhere
and you don’t need much equipment (essential when on holiday!). I was in my element going
off exploring different places and seeing different things. On one run in Dubrovnik, I found a
running track and was determined to do a few laps of it. I searched high and low for the
entrance, until low and behold, after about a mile running around like a headless chicken,
there it was. There was a group training inside, doing hurdle drills and they didn’t protest to
this sweaty bald little Irish man ungracefully running around their clay track, it was magic.
Again on another run in Slovenia, Derek and I found a lovely running and cycling path. It was
Slovenia’s version of a Greenway but it hugged the coastline and the sea views were
majestic. I had similar runs in Split in Croatia, Kotor in Montenegro, and Ravenna in Italy.
Back on home soil now and on familiar roads, I am back into a regular marathon training
regime. I’ve got some decent mileage in recently and have met up with the regular gang for
some long runs around Ballincollig. Running with this group is great and the miles fly by as
we chat away. The run postmortem over coffee afterwards and the discussion about the
weeks ahead is always a highlight of the week. I’m working most weekends at the moment
as part of my shift rotation so I’m trying to fit in when to do long runs and also allow some
recovery time. Trying to balance this can be tricky but I’ll manage as best I can. The shift
cycle will move on and I’ll have weekends free again soon.
Race wise, I’ll run the Cork City 10 miler and it’ll be a good test to see where my body is at. A new pair of runners have also been purchased. I was at a Saucony Come and Try Event recently and ran a few miles in the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3. I loved them and ordered a new pair straight away. Another
pair of runners to add to the ever growing rotation! The next couple of weeks will be all about
getting the head down, getting out and enjoying some quality sessions. The road to Dublin
has well and truly begun.
