16 days to cease being ill

I don't look ill and in truth I don't feel all that unwell, at least not yet. Deep down, inside me, however it's coming and the signs are already showing. The croakiness in my throat, the feel of the wind outside deep in my lungs. That most inevitable winter irritation. A cold, one of the simplest of ailments. One that could do serious damage to my marathon hopes.

Now reading this you might be thinking that a cold isn't that bad. In general you're right. A person can still work while they have a cold, indeed for the most part they can still socialise and they'll still get over it reasonably quickly. Time however is the only cure. Time is a limited commodity.

In 16 days I line up for the 2008 New York City Marathon. I have 16 days to get the full onset of the cold and get over it. After the race doesn't matter a hoot to me. I can catch the worst flu or chest infection since 2001, when I missed a full month of college because of such ailments, and I'll consider it a fair trade.

Getting this now is not what I need. I've had to stop training a week earlier than planned. I'm wrapping up heavily whenever I leave the house. Every possible step is being taken to keep well, yet every one feels futile.

There's no cure for the common cold, I just have to wait it out. Powerless to act all I can do is hope the full onset happens soon and isn't too harsh. Then at least I can work on the recovery. The clock is ticking.

The Sunday Column - One personal best down, two to go.

Booya! Far from perfect but lobbing 5 minutes off my personal best will do nicely.

I went into the Frank Duffy 10-mile road race in the Phoenix Park with a headband and a lifetime best of just over 2 hours 15 minutes. So looking like a cross between Rocky while training and Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro, I lined up wearing John’s number.

I had missed registration during the week but luckily John had spotted the earlier than usual deadline and registered himself so he could lend me it if necessary. So off Emmet ‘John Craddock’ Ryan went, a man with a plan.

Like all good strategies it was simple. Run all the odd numbered miles, walk all the even ones except the last which I would also run.

I got off with ease and approaching the mile marker I considered changing tactics. I was feeling very comfortable but no, no I wouldn’t change horses mid-stream. Hannibal loves it when a plan comes together so who am I to argue.

So I walked the second mile, ran the third which was uphill. Ouch, need to plan better. Walk the fourth and I am cruising. Four and a half miles in the most wonderful thing happened. We turned onto the second lap, free from all those sodding elite athletes that keep breezing by my back as they lapped me. Pesky fast people.

At this stage I was selecting targets, using other racers as markers to watch my pace on my on and off miles. As I slowed to walk they would overtake me for a few minutes but when I started to run I soon overtook them. It worked well and as I turned onto the eighth mile I started to bear down on the sole one still ahead. I left her in my wake shortly after the last water station.

With the rain beating down I forced myself forward. The nine mile mark, I break from the plan. I need to cease running for a while. Half a mile later I kick again.

The final bend and I’m breezing past runner, I’m still fresh enough. I see the clock and cross the line with 2 hours 10 minutes on the clock. When the chip is calculated that’ll knock anything from on to six minutes off that time.

A new PB and unlike the last one I still had something in the tank. It’s far from perfect but you’ll hear no complaints from here.

Next up is the half marathon, again in the Phoenix Park, next month. My PB there is just under 3 hours 16 minutes. Then there's the you-know-what in November. One down, two to go.

3 days to go...sort of

Survivor...awwwww yeahhhhh

Yes, yes I know I was supposed to post this on Friday but I fell asleep before I got a chance to.

Having woken up at 2pm on Thursday Irish time (6am in Vegas) I packed and boarded my flight to Chicago before connecting to Dublin. Everything was going fine until that flight took to the sky.

Then some git in seat 36A, the row behind mine, with a Northern accent decided to talk loudly for the entire flight home. What sort of git (this is a family blog so I'd best watch my language) actually talks on a redeye? I have a loud voice, I realise this so I don't talk on night flights ever.

But no, some people feel that their views on President Bush and God knows what else are so important that they have to spend the entire night telling it to his buddy next to him. On a flight with no earplugs this is cruel and unusual punishment, especially when some of us have to go straight into work afterwards.

So after doing my shift in ENN I finally got to bed around 6pm yesterday, roughly 28 hours after I got up previously. Not the most ideal prep for Monday.

4 days to go

Happy St Crispin's day

The weather in Vegas has been lovely and warm. I pray it isn't the same come Monday in Dublin.

Whether you're a World class runner or a charity stroller the conditions on raceday will have an impact. Last year was perfect. Another cold dry day like that would be ideal for this year's marathon.

If it rains I'll be ok though I'll be sick as dog when I go to the Chinese embassy the next morning to sort out the visa for my trip there. For Gareth it'll be a much worse as an injured ankle tends not to blend well with slippy roads so I hope it stays dry lest he hurt himself further.

The nightmare scenario for John and I is a warm day. Both of us bake quickly in the heat and what little energy we have will go fast.

Making the most out of the circumstances

Jeff 'The Dude' Dowd and Emmet at Lebowski Fest 2007 in LA

Many of you will soon receive my latest travel email covering my recent holiday in LA, from which I returned today. The combination of that trip plus a working gig out in Las Vegas from Sunday through Thursday is not the ideal way to build up for a marathon, especially as I'll line up for the race the Monday after I return from Vegas.

Now don't get me wrong I look forward to this forthcoming trip and thoroughly enjoyed my time in LA but it would be remiss of me to not try and at least slightly counterbalance the clear impact these trips will have on my preparations.

The heat in LA and the prospect of good weather in Vegas will hopefully do some good. With the rather frightening prospect of a warm weather marathon on the cards, a nightmare scenario for a big guy like me, but potentially erratic weather between now and race day in Ireland I can at least guarantee that it'll be nothing I haven't been used to in the weeks building up to the race as I'll have been spending time in a warmer climate. I'll explain the kind of conditions that the STIG team will be praying on raceday later this week.

Don't miss: STIG for CF Ireland will be making a huge announcement on this very blog tomorrow. Stay tuned.