It started with a Hooker.

One mile easy this evening and seven miles at tempo pace.  I lashed into the tempo - again no watch but I was well under the 8minute mile mark.  I felt great throughout - the strongest I've been since starting the furman marathon programme.  Why so good today?  Perhaps the change of route - I've heard it said that bringing variation into a running programme can work wonders.  I usually do my midweek tempo around our village but decided to drive to the neighbouring village this evening.  They call this place 'the Islands', it being a series of small isles connected by bridges.  The scenery here is beautiful...I was all set to take some lovely photos for the blog but got so carried away with the run that all I managed to take was this picture of a hooker!  Around these parts of course the term 'hooker' doesn't refer to a street walker or lady of the night, but rather to the traditional sailing craft of Connemara - and this quaint little pub, which was my starting point for the run, is named after said vessel.  I ran the last bit of the run with laces open, running on a narrow bridge, with busy traffic whizzing by.  I had the choice of breaking my momentum by stopping to tie my shoelaces, or else risk tripping on my lace, being hit by a passing car and dumped into the Atlantic ocean.  Of course I risked life and limp to get back to my hooker in record time!!!

Distance:  8miles (1 easy, 7 tempo)

Route:  Back the Islands

Satisfaction:  9/10

NO HAWKERS

On arrival for my regular Tuesday interval training, I noticed this old sign on the way into the the football pitch.  'NO HAWKERS'.  'Why?', thought I, 'would a local football pitch, in a little village on the rugged far flung shores of the west of Ireland, that hosts nothing but small GAA matches between parishes from Galway, whose main language is Irish and not English - why on earth would this place be worried about anyone coming to flog merchandise and why would they refer to said floggers as 'hawkers'!'  And then of course, I remembered... that magnificent day in 1986 when a MAJOR EUROPEAN SOCCER TIE came to our village!!!  I have recounted the story here before - the city team had qualified for European soccer but no ground met the UEFA size and standard - save this newly built pitch in the middle of Connemara!  That sign must have been up on the wall since then (and it looks it too!).  I must get in touch with the park committee so that they can take it down before it totally disintegrates and store it for a local museum in years to come!

As for my running - the interval training was tough as usual, but this time it really exposed the idiocy of me not having a watch... My routine was: 2 minutes fast, followed by two easy, five times.  I figured that 2mins fast would equal 2.5 laps of the park and that two easy would be just two laps.  However, for the final leg I decided to count the seconds in my head as I ran - turns out I should have only been running a lap and a half instead of 2.5 half!  As they say, it'll stand to me...

Distance:  Intervals (about 30 laps)

Route:  The Park

Satisfaction:  5/10

Twelve, again.

These cows were resting on the six mile patch of Seanféistín Road, where I decided to park up for my twelve miler.  Whenever I run long distances on my own my mind wanders in all sorts of directions.  Today I solved Ireland's education and health issues and I also mapped out a road plan for cultural tourism!  I'm reading a very interesting book at the moment that I picked up for €1 in Charlie Byrne's called 'Human Nature in Politics' (boring you may think but wait...).  It's a very old book, written in 1908, and the edition I have is from 1919. I find it interesting to get the perspective of another age on all kinds of issues and the author of this book, a man called Graham Wallas, covers everything from political morality to human instinct (ok, still boring you say...).  Personally, I think our political system turns good men into mugs and attracts mugs to rule good men (as for women - there are none in Irish politics!).  Anyway - my mind was wandering all over old Wallas' book as I ran my twelve miles today...

And for the second time in two months I traveled without my running shoes... this time around though I was wearing some kind of runner, so instead of turning back I decided to carry on regardless.  Thankfully they didn't seem to do any damage!  Running conditions were grand - a slight swirling wind against me on the first six, but then it gave me a little backing on the way home.  I ran slowly enough (my programme calls for long runs to be 45 secs slower than target marathon time but methinks I was slower still).  Although I do think I can run faster than this particular pace, I am now of the opinion that breaking the four mile mark could be a bit harder than I thought!

My final pic here is of eleven cups in a row, with teabags at the ready.  The house is full of teenage boys at the moment, here to learn Irish in the local summer college, and after mowing the lawn this evening I returned to the house to find that they had meticulously laid out their cups for when they would return to the house after tonight's big disco!

Distance:  12

Pace:  Slow

Satisfaction Rating: 7/10 (enjoyed the run but a little disappointed with pace)

Four Kings

Just posted a new book review, of 'Four Kings' - the tale of boxing legends Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvellous Marvin Hagler, written by George Kimball.  Review on right column of blog (scroll down).

If you don't want to go out there, just make yourself regardless.

There he is, Robbie the dog, after a hard day's work building a traditional Connemara stone wall.  The fields around this area are a patchwork quilt of rocky and heathery ground, all sown together by these granite stone walls.  Most of these walls are hundreds of years old and divide the land into small sections that would have been owned by different members of the one family.  Today's pic, however, hasn't a thing to do with my run.  I did bring the camera out with me and took what I thought were decent snaps, only to find that I had no card in the camera.  So this pic of Robbie, our canine visitor from weeks ago, is simply to say that our furry friend actually found his way back to our house again yesterday... this time around, I had the owners' number and he promptly came to collect.  My scheduled run was a six miler, with two miles easy and four miles tempo sandwiched between. It was raining cats and dogs (not Robbie) before I went out, so that, coupled with a late night (not drinking, just watching a film until 1.30am) and an early morning (6.15am) meant that I was in NO mood for a run this evening.  But getting out there always works wonders.  I felt pretty good after the warm-up mile and kept my four mile tempo at a good pace.  The route was up the village and back towards Loch an Mhuillinn.  Funnily enough the torrential rain stayed away for the duration of my run, though I wouldn't have minded once I warmed up a bit.  

Distance:  6 miles (4 at tempo)

Pace:  Not bad at all

Route:  Village, and Loch an Mhuillinn

Satisfaction:  8/10

Pint 15, Interval Training and Ladies Gaelic Football...

I managed to get up to the football pitch a little earlier than usual yesterday so the lads weren't there training.  However, I wasn't alone, as the local ladies Gaelic team were being put through their paces by legendary ex Galway footballer and local publican, Aodán.  Like women's soccer in the USA, Ladies Gaelic Football is now the fastest growing sport in Ireland.  The skill level was very high amongst a young enough team so the future is bright for An Cheathrú Rua's female team for sure.  I didn't want to take a picture of the team training, (for fear of being accused of perversion!), so I waited until I could get the view of the football pitch from down our own road!

My interval run consisted of a mile of easy running followed by 1k hard five times, with a 400 mtr rest interval in between.  To finish I had to run another mile easy.  I found it tough enough and was very glad to have been able to finish the last few laps of the hard bit!

On the pints front:  I had my fifteenth up in Churchtown in County Louth on Sunday afternoon for Brian's funeral.  It was a good send off for the man - one of those rare funerals with a happy atmosphere.

Ten miles and the coral strand.

Inspired by the men on my TV set running the European Championships Marathon this morning, I lept out into the great big sunshine and took on a full ten miles.  I usually do my long runs out in Seanféistín but for the sake of saving some car driving time I opted for a run up the village.  I went as far as the coral strand and then on to Loch an Mhuillinn.  The coral strand is known locally as 'Trá an Dóilín' - 'trá' meaning beach and 'dóilín' a 'gathering of coral shell'.  The beach itself is very unusual - there are only three coral strands in all of Ireland, and not many throughout Europe either.  For those who don't know what a 'coral strand' is I will try to explain:  most beaches have sand at the end of the watery part (you know the area where all the pretty girls lie down for a tan and where all the Irish men play football topless and nearly blind everyone with their ridiculously milk white skin?), but a coral strand doesn't have sand at that part, but rather it has tiny bits of broken sea shells and little sand coloured stony-type things. I know, I know, I've still not explained that too well... just google it and stop annoying me...

Anyway, this week was meant to be a 'step back', with only a ten mile long run, however, I found it tough enough.  The furman training programme must be bang on because I really could not have done another meter, not mind another mile.  Felt good afterwards and ready for whatever the day would bring (which turned out to be a lawnmowing session).  I am heading to Louth tomorrow for D's uncle's funeral so I was glad to have gotten my long run in beforehand.

Distance:  10 miles

Route:  Village, Dóilín route

Satisfaction rating:  7/10