Two Pints in Dublin

My pints tally goes up to 9!
Two sweet pints of Guinness was drank last Saturday in Dorset Street in Dublin with Benny. They were lovely - good solid evening pints with no crowds to bother us. I am still well on target for my year of twenty four - though I only have 15 left so I'll have to alter the schedule!

This Flu Just Won't Go Away

Right. I thought the Benylin Day and Night did the job on me but I went out for a run last Friday and had to stop after 2 miles and run/walk the rest. I woke up Saturday morning with same old achy bones feeling. I marched into the pharmacist on Saturday with a bone to pick but he just laughed at me... 'How come I thought I was ok and then I am hit with this again?,' I asked. He explained, nicely enough, that Benylin relives the symptoms but that the bug just has to work its way out of the body. So, the minute I finished the course of Benylin and put a bit more exertion on the bod it just gave in again.
No good. Just no good.

3 miles easy...

I went for a nice and easy three miler yesterday evening - just to stretch the legs, at about 9.20min pace. The weather is still holding up beautifully - though I am half expecting a shower of ash any day now from the Icelandic volcano eruption! I am a bit anxious to get another event under my belt, especially since I had to pass on the Connemarathon two weeks ago. However, I am restricted to the Louth area over the next few weekends and there is nothing coming up except for a vicious looking mountain half marathon next weekend and I don't think I'll be ready for that. Kildare half marathon on May 9th could be my best bet...

Never Pull a Fast One on McKeown

If there are hardier bucks out there than McKeown, especially when it comes to pushing himself and others, then I'll stay clear of them! We had a nice weekend up in the Wee County - despite the down side which I won't mention here (except to say that we are all praying for the best, and believing that we'll get just that).
On Saturday, Benny, Teresa, Enda and I went for a bit of a run around Poolbrock. The route consisted of a 1.5 mile loop starting at Benny's house (which includes a stiff incline) followed by a mile stretch of clear, straight road, and finishing with the same loop again! All done - 5 miles.
The first loop was completed with good banter to boot when Benny and Teresa called it a day - not a bad start back to training for those two, while McKeown and I carried on down the long, clear stretch - with conversation of Munster and Connaught rugby, and an 8min mile pace, I reckon. Of course the man is a hundred times fitter than I am so he did me the courtesy of sticking with me until we came to the turn and then, in the blink of an eye he was gone - shot up the road like a bullet.
If truth be told, I never told the man that I was going to do the loop the second time, so he was stretched and back in Benny's house when somebody noticed me going past to do the loop for the second time! However, you never pull a fast one on McKeown...
After exerting myself to the full on the back hill that leads to Stabannon Church, I could hear the gravelly noise behind, which was my first indication that Enda was on my tail! Of course he caught up and pushed the pace to well below 8min/mile for the last mile or so... which nearly killed me, but I stuck with it and was glad to get home!
A good day's work!
A picture of Enda pushing the pace during the Tuam 8k in January.

Favela

I have just posted a review of Alex Hjiman's book, Favela, down the column on the right hand side of this blog. I know it's strange to have an English language review of an Irish language book but this is after all an English language blog from an Irish language speaker, so, you know...put up with it.

Five Miles of Pure Home Running.

A bright and beautiful summer's evening in early autumn. Will someone not tell the powers that be to change the calendar around to fit in with an obvious pattern of fine weather in April and May and rainy season from July onwards... it will happen again this year, mark my words.

Anyway, I did a home run today - which is to say that I ran straight out the front door and up the village for 2.5 miles and then turned back. Didn't find it as easy as the last trot out but that's the way it goes - up one day, down the next! Bit of a rest tomorrow and then a longish one on the weekend if I can.

It was the pharmacist wot did it!

A good four mile run today... the first time in week's that I have felt in any way ok to run. I put it down to the good pharmacist in Dunleer who put me on to Benylin Night and Day after I went in to finally declare that I was sick of feeling a bit icky. Two days later and I'm Seb Coe again. Well, Seb Slow at any rate...

Another Bad Weekend at the Betting Office

Somebody up there is having a good laugh at my soccer bets. This week's long list of 'might have beens' was probably no better than a mid-range shot anyway but the man up there didn't have to take the mickey completely by scuppering a sure-fire banker like Ross County v Celtic. If they played each other a million times Celtic would win without doubt -that is unless I put money on them! I am now down to my last €15 and in serious need of a win, just to cling on to any shread of faith!

3.5 miles - Tough Comeback.

Another Seanféistín run with Conor today - my first run in about two weeks. The day was perfect but I have to say that I felt every metre of it. The hope now is to get another three miler done this weekend and that I'll be back in the grove for next week. If I can string a few runs after each other I can start to plan another race with confidence...

Update after holiday: pints intake up, running uptake down.

Right, I am back from Rome and County Louth with some news of slippage on the pints front and a serious lack of movement on the running front. Firstly, I have increased this year's pints intake by FIVE! This will mean a rejigging of the schedule but I am not too fussed because I have been reliably informed (by the groom!) that the September wedding that was due to take up three pints is now to be postponed for a year, so I'll definitely cope with no pints that month.
Rome was beautiful and D and I took in all the sights but alas I did not run. The truth is, and I feel a little weeney saying this, that I have not really shaken off whatever cold that bothered me during that Craughwell 10mile run. I keep expecting to feel better as days pass but have the usual symptoms of tiredness and sneeziness. However small the run this week though, I will get out for something for sure.
Marko and I enjoying one of my five beverages that night - as you can see, it doesn't take much to get me merry anymore!