Learning to count/read

Oops. As reported in a recent post I managed to beat my personal best (PB) in the 10-miler recently. Well had I bothered to check the post where I posted my previous PB I'd have noticed something. I didn't beat it by 5 minutes, I beat it by 10 minutes.

My official time for this year's race was 2 hours 9 minutes and 17 seconds, over 10 minutes faster than my previous best of 2 hours 19 minutes 54 seconds. The big boost of this is that I went a minute a mile faster than in my previous best time. I need to go at least a minute a mile faster than last year's marathon effort if I am to break my existing PB over that distance so this is positive news.

Now while it's great and all that I beat my PB by more than I thought it is somewhat silly of me that I failed to notice this. You see, I had mentioned the older time in the post just before I discussed how the 10-miler went. Ah well, better that I noticed it now than not at all.

The Sunday Column - Anti Training and the bigger picture

Two days 6 films, a fair bit of TV, and countless amounts of junk food. This isn't taking it easy, this is a different kind of punishment.

Steve decided to have a DVD weekend and a good weekend it was. The triple-bill on Friday of Stranger Than Fiction, The Departed, and Escape from New York got us off to a good start but I didn't make it home until 4.30am. The doorbell woke me at 10am and I never really rested between then and 6pm when we kicked off at Steve's again. This time a quadruple bill was on the cards but not for me as it turned out.

I hadn't eaten a solid meal since lunch on Friday and chocolate and crisps do not a dinner make. I got through The Conformist fine but faded badly during Blood Simple, and it was still reasonably early. Having essentially slept for the final 15 minutes of that movie I decided to stick it out for one more, so Dirty Harry was put on.

I love that film yet still the night-night express powered forward. So I missed the final film of the night, Rebecca, and trundled home but before going to bed I saw a most unfortunate message from Keith. You see Keith is running the Great North Run for leukemia charity The Anthony Nolan Trust and was going to run it with his pal Lucy but unfortunately she's had to pull out due to health reasons. I know Keith will put in a good performance on the day and he assures me that his running buddy will be fine but it still acted as a wake-up call for yours truly.

The timing of the message wasn't lost on me. I deliberately took it easy his week to let my shins recover but went a tad far on the relaxing by going mad with junk food at the weekend. I'll have to show a bit more common sense in the weeks ahead.

Lights, camera, action

I'm still very much in the whole formative stages of this video-making malarkey but I've noticed some interesting developments with the videos that I have posted online.

The coffee spill video, which has now surpassed the 2,000 view mark, and one of my videos of The Dude, which is approaching the same mark, are far cruder than most of my more recent work. One of these has actually managed to get quite a few views quickly, namely the video below of Dell launching its new line of laptops



The developments are thanks in large part to the help of other video users. Cóilín has given me tips on how to make better use of Movie Maker while Laura Jane Rich has introduced me to some other programmes which should help improve the presentation of the videos.

These moves are in part to support my new site, the URL for which has been bought but is yet to go live, and of course to improve the videos I'm presenting here as part of the STIG for CF Ireland campaign.

To date last year's Powerade parody is the most popular campaign video to date, while the montage has done respectably so far. The next video should be up before I fly to San Francisco on the 8th of September so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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.

The Sunday Column - Raising the tempo

Saturday morning was the first 'serious' run for myself and John. We did six miles around UCD, consisting of a single mile lap and then a five mile lap. There's no easy way to do six continuous miles around Belfield so we improvised.

The performance was not too shabby but not what I was hoping for. Of the six around four were run properly with walking breaks making up the other two. My aim was to get an extra half mile of solid running in but it's far from panic inducing.

Next Saturday is the Adidas 10 miler in the Phoenix Park. The plan is to run 6 of the 10 miles, which should be enough to beat my PB of 2 hours 19 minutes and 54 seconds. In truth I'll be looking to lob a large chunk off this time so anything less than a new best should set the panic alarm.

At present our training schedule consists of 2 kilometres of circuits, where we mix sprinting with jogging, on Tuesdays and a two mile run on Thursdays. Coupled with the longer weekend runs and races this is likely to be our schedule for the foreseeable future, possibly adding half a kilometre to Tuesdays and/or a third mile to Thursdays.

Next week's edition column will look in detail at how the 10 miler went.

The Sunday Column - We have a winner

Congratulations to Bob Corr who has won tickets to the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals this Saturday in Croke Park. My apologies to Bob for mispronouncing his surname in the video, I read his name as Carr on the list of tickets sold.

If you didn't win fear not for everyone who participated in this draw will be entered into the main draw for the big prizes next month.

Tickets are still available by contacting me at emmetryan@gmail.com

Remember all the money raised goes towards the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland as part of our 2008 which climaxes this November when I run the New York City Marathon.

The Sunday Column - Stick with the day job

"Ooh a 99," I say. No, not the ice-cream. I was expressing my delight at breaking 100 on a pitch & putt course, where par is 54. My cohorts were little better. My flatmate shot 86 while my coach and training partner for the marathon covered the 18 holes in 80.

Not one of our tee shots finished on the green, the closest amusingly being one by myself that was about a foot off. Even that was a fluke taking a wicked hit off a tree.

Here's the scary part. That's our best combined performance since we started semi-regularly playing around a month ago. Needless to say none of us will be getting called up to the PGA tour anytime soon.

The real race training steps up a gear this week. I can confidently say that there is no way it will be as embarassing as our performance out in Sandyford. It might still be dire and woeful but not on the same level as my short game.

The Sunday Column - Back on the road

Around 5pm on Sunday the American Football season ended for the DCU Saints. For me this was the end of one regimen and the beginning of another. At around 7.30 this morning it was go time. The pads were put away for the summer and out came the runners, shorts and t-shirt.

As with any programme I’ve got to begin lightly but there is the added pressure that as I’m behind I’ll need to ramp it up a bit to be ready for the half-marathon in September. This morning was only a half hour jog around Ranelagh and into Rathmines. Tomorrow will likely be similar but soon, very soon it’ll be longer. It’ll be harder and it’ll be faster.

It will also likely not feature any knocks to my noggin, at least none that are deliberate. I gave a few of the lads a bit of a scare yesterday when I spoke rather butchly about the dents in my forehead following the Cork game on Sunday and how they likely explained the killer headache I had. They dents were a result of the force of impact and not due to the helmet’s tightness, I knew it was too loose to be anything other than hits. I’m sure the other guy looks worse though.

Having thought nothing of it myself (I’m well used to getting knocks to the head at this stage, it comes with the territory) I had gone about my day normally, after all I had work to do.

After a bit of coaxing I eventually agreed to go to see my GP about it to make sure I hadn’t got a concussion or anything else. My regular doc wasn’t in so I saw the other one in the clinic who isn’t used to my regular visits about my litany of injuries. As a result she was taken aback about my unconcerned attitude towards the aforementioned dents. It turned out that I was grand and hadn’t suffered any damage.

The visit did at least give me the opportunity to share war stories with Lucy, my GP’s receptionist, about various knocks we’d both received on the playing field. She used to play hockey and had taken some nasty hits from a hockey ball a few times, and trust me those things are like rocks.

Neither of us however could claim an injury as unfortunately amusing as Anna who used to be in Commerce International with me. She got hit in the face with a hockey ball shortly before our exams in second year. The result was extensive bruising that covered around both eyes and her nose. Those of us who didn’t know she played hockey immediately thought she had been beaten up and she had to repeatedly tell people that she was not the victim of an attack.

Well that was all a bit of a tangent. Anyway as I was saying the real training is underway. I’ll keep you all informed of the early progress over the coming weeks.

Getting in shape and giving away prizes

As the video shows I've a bit of catching up to do if I want to be in shape come November 2nd.

A much closer date to keep in your diaries is the 2nd of August. That's the day we announce who has won 2 tickets to the All Ireland Football Quarter Finals. The tickets are for the Premium section of the ground and are for a double-header on the 9th of August.

The big match tickets are part of the STIG for CF Ireland Prize Draw. Only 200 tickets are being sold in all at €25 each.

On top of the GAA tickets we're giving away a €250 voucher for Brown Thomas, a €200 voucher for Nue Blue Eriu, a signed Dublin Gaelic Football jersey, a signed Tipperary hurling jersey and a Motorola MOTOKRZR K1 red handset.

The main draw will take place in September but any tickets bought before the 2nd of August will also be entered into the draw for the Premium ticekts, giving you a chance to win on the double.

All the money raised will go towards our 2008 STIG for CF Ireland campaign.

The Sunday Column – The drawbacks of success

This coming Sunday I play what will be the most important game I’ve played since I took up American Football three years ago. It’s also the cause of a substantial obstacle to my marathon preparations.

While I am delighted to be on a team in the playoffs I have noticed the difference in my fitness over the past few weeks. I’m in optimum condition for football but that is not necessarily the best shape for running.

Last Saturday should have been the first preparatory race for the New York City Marathon, the Adidas 5-miler in the Phoenix Park. Due to the extension to the football season I had to give this a miss as I have with much of my running based training. I’ve bulked back up slightly, which is necessary for the upcoming game or games, but the challenge will be to drop this again after the season ends. There is an upside, strength-wise I’m doing fine and frankly don’t need to build up on the power front any more for the race. While crushing people generally isn’t an important part of marathon-running, this part of my preparations should still translate well on the stamina front when I start back running again. Still it will take my body a couple of weeks to adjust.

The knock on effect is that with a 10-miler ahead in August I’ll need to ramp up the early part of my resumption of training in order for this race to be of any real use.

Essentially the biggest drawback is that I have to shuffle matters around in order for the half marathon in the Phoenix Park in September to be at the point in preparations that I need it to be.

If I had the choice would I change any of this to be able to prepare earlier? Not a chance in hell. New York can wait; I have business in Cork to attend to first. The Admirals are my only priority for now.

The Sunday Column - A wonderful delay

Playoffs!

The scoreline says it all: Belfast Bulls 0 DCU Saints 6

On Sunday in Belfast the DCU Saints beat the Belfast Bulls by scoring the sole touchdown of the game early in the final quarter. Having played at various positions across the offensive line over the past three seasons this was what it’s all about. The victory put the Saints in the playoffs for the first time ever. After three years of toiling, struggling to prove ourselves, we have made it to the knockout stages.

It’s undoubtedly the best reason possible to delay my return to marathon training.

I haven’t done active running training since April as I was focussed solely on the American Football season. I had found earlier in the year that the difference in preparation for the two sports was substantially different to a point where my body essentially forced me to choose for the short term.

The choice was easy, Football is what got me back in some kind of shape a couple of years back (yes I used to be in much worse shape than this). I’ll write in more detail about the difference it has made to my life after the season is over but for now I’ll focus on one joyous moment.

We were underdogs going up there and truth be told I didn’t know what to think going into it. A draw would be enough to go through, but ties are rare in Football. The first quarter ended scoreless and it didn’t enter our thoughts. Then halftime approached and there were still no points on the board. With the wind forcing both sides to focus on their running game the clock was running virtually without stopping, and a fast clock was our friend. Belfast had to score, all we had to do was stop them.

The third quarter ends and it’s still scoreless. This is the time to strike. With good field position we begin to drive.

The hits go in. The line’s objective is to force the men before them out of the way. The goal for the receivers and tight ends is to get open. The running backs sole aim is to go forward not back, while the quarterback has to manage these tasks.

Eklof to Collins, touchdown. Eight minutes remain.

Belfast take to the field. The Saints D succeed in forcing the Bulls to eat up a lot of time without making significant gains. With less than three minutes remaining the offence return. We get the hits in. Now is our time. We believe.

But on this occasion we come up short. A fumble turns the ball over and with a minute to go it’s all on the D to seal the deal. A converted score from Belfast would give the hosts victory and a place in the playoffs. Not this day, no this was the day DCU stood firm and held out. This was the day the painful memories of the past were put to rest.

A wave of relief, elation, confidence and belief came over the team. The season could end as soon as a fortnight from now or it could yet have another month. Whatever the case I’ll gladly keep off the roads until that day comes. It’s well worth it.

The Sunday Column – Bring back the story

Last week’s column was tangentially connected to the race at best. This one has even less relevance but it’s so important I just can’t let it go.

Music videos need to tell stories again. I realised this at Def Leppard’s awesome co-headlining gig with Whitesnake in Belfast on Saturday night. During the gig Leppard played a video in the background for one of the song Nine Lives. I’ll let my buddy Steve describe the tale of this tape.

“There’s this girl... and she’s really hot. THE END.” The actual promotional video tells an even shorter story. There’s a band playing a song, the end. That’s right, the video Steve described actually had more thought put into it.

What the hell? I’m all for rock videos featuring raunchiness and attractive women but there used to be some attempt at context. Artists used to try and actually do stuff with their videos, to give them a point rather than just being pictures that played over music.

One man knew the power of a video more than any. Not Peter Gabriel, not Spike Jonze, no the man that truly said “I want to tell a story” was Lionel Richie.

Yes, ‘Hello’ is a cheesefest of the highest order but it’s a video in which stuff actually happens.

There’s a dude, Lionel Richie, who really fancies this girl in a university class he teaches. Dude is really nervous about hitting on girl, possibly because it’s quite dodgy to date a student, so instead he just walks around roaring HELLO. This is often done in close proximity to his victim, who happens to be blind so can’t see this nutter is in the vicinity. This doesn’t prove effective so Richie decides to ring her, showing that she isn’t even safe in her own home. Then a student tells our protagonist to check out the sculpture class where the girl this dude has been stalking has made a giant clay model of his noggin. The stalkee explains this is how she sees him, though she doesn’t reveal that the sculpture is so the cops know who to watch out for. Richie responds in the only way he knows how, by shouting HELLO. The end.

This is way more detailed than anything current artists try to convey. This is the level of effort we need to see from music videos. Music + moving pictures + stuff happening = Good.

Win vouchers for Brown Thomas and Nue Blue Eriu

We've added two more prizes to the STIG for CF Ireland Prize Draw. Ladies, you're going to like these. Strencom have donated a €250 voucher for Brown Thomas while Damovo have provided us with a €200 voucher for Nue Blue Eriu.

These are on top of the other prizes we've already told you about. We're also giving away:
A Dublin jersey signed by the entire Senior Football Championship panel
A Tipperary jersey signed by the entire Senior Hurling Championship panel
2 Premium tickets to an All Ireland Football Quarter Finals Double Header (courtesy of Cable & Wireless)
A MOTOKRZR K1 red mobile handset (courtesy of Motorola)

Just to remind you we've now add these to the draw:
€250 voucher for Brown Thomas (courtesy of Strencom)
€200 voucher for Nue Blue Eriu (courtesy of Damovo)

We're only selling 200 tickets, at a cost of €25 each, giving entrants great odds of winning one of these prizes.

Buy now
To purchase tickets for the draw please email emmetryan@gmail.com

1,000 YouTube views and counting

My recent experiment of mixing coffee and laptops has now broken the 1,000 view barrier on YouTube. It’s the first video I’ve posted on the video sharing site to reach this milestone and while it’s still a few million views behind Sophie’s dancing vid, I’m still pleased with its success to date.

I’ll be posting new vids for the campaign on at least a monthly basis between now and the race and I’d be shocked if any of them match the success of the coffee spill.

These shorts are far from a solo effort and we’re already brainstorming on the next few vids. If any of you guys have any ideas that could be interesting or funny then we’re all ears.

The Sunday column - Dual Masters

I introduce a young gentleman from Tallaght to the concept of pain

In journalism it's relatively easy to fiddle with an article from the Irish Times so that it is suitable for the Irish Independent. Editing that same article for the Sun or Star however is another matter entirely. The differences in styles mean the odds are a writer would be better off starting again from scratch rather than trying to adjust the existing piece.

The same is true with training. Preparing for orienteering, my training partner John’s sport of choice, is not a million miles removed from getting ready for a road race. American Football on the other hand is a whole different kettle of fish.

Today I played for the DCU Saints beat the Dublin Rhinos 32-6 at Castleknock College. Go us. It was a good old fashioned physical affair, as linemen like myself attempted to knock seven shades of…this is a family column…out of each other.

Like marathon running the gridiron is physically demanding but in a rather different way.

There’s the obvious differences, such as road racing general not involving men wearing helmets and pads and then getting rather violent, but then there’s other stuff that wouldn’t immediately jump out at the casual observer.

The type of physical exertion, both in training and game-play, couldn’t be less similar to marathon preparations. The gridiron demands a player can go for short, rapid-fire burst over and over again for around three hours.

You go, you stop, you go again and you keep on doing this until either you or your foe yields. That is it. Instead of the continuous steady pace a runner seeks to achieve, an American Footballer must be able to constantly shift gears and go from nought to sixty in an instant.

An offensive lineman like myself hits three ways: hard, fast and repeatedly. Despite the differences there are some benefits in playing this sport whilst getting ready for a big race.

The stamina I have developed from playing American Football over the past three years has certainly offset some of the problems associated with my general lack of fitness.

In the last two marathons that drive, that ability to grind it out, has helped me get to the finish line in one piece. This year it should hopefully keep me in enough condition to train hard once the season formally ends.

Once that comes around it’s off with the pads and on with the runners. A different kind of challenge awaits.

No sleep till Brooklyn...

...well actually not until Manhattan, that's where the finish line is.

As revealed in the video, I'll be heading to New York this year as part of team CF Ireland to represent STIG and hopefully raise a shed load of money along the way. The New York City Marathon, 37,000 punters taking to the streets and pounding out 26 miles and 385 yards.

This is the big one folks, one of the World Marathon Majors and the mugs have decided to let us take part. Better make the most of it then. STIG for CF Ireland has raised the guts of €3,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland over the past two years but in 2008 we plan on hammering that figure.

On top of the usual sort of fund raising activities we do, such as looking for donations (see the side bar to your right) we will be holding a prize draw which features prizes donated from lovely firms such as Cable & Wireless, Damovo, Motorola and Strencom. Only 200 tickets will be made available so check it out quickly to see if you fancy a chance at winning some of the fan-dabi-dozy prizes on offer while also helping to raise money for the cause.

This blog will be updated regularly with a new column each Sunday as well as with other posts on a frequent basis. The posts will include updates on the campaign, interesting things relating to the race, the cause we're doing this for, STIG, and stuff I find that's just plain interesting.

There will also be occasional guest posts from other bloggers on a variety of interesting topics. Plus at least once a month we'll have a video update, like the one above.

STIG for CF Ireland is a team effort and John Craddock, who ran/walked (a mixture of both really) in the first two campaigns will be acting as training partner and coach for this year's event.

This post marks the formal launch of the 2008 campaign so I, and the rest of the STIG team, look forward to keeping you updated on our efforts over the next few months.

Getting ready to go Big Time

First off welcome to any readers of Damien's blog who stumbled upon STIG for CF Ireland through his fluffy links.

It's nearly time for us to kick off the 2008 campaign. The coming weeks will see the formal launch take place with details of our fund-raising initiatives for this year.

In 2008 we're really taking things up a level and there's going to be more ways for you to interact with STIG for CF Ireland. All we can confirm for now is that we will not be participating in the Dublin City Marathon as in previous years. STIG for CF Ireland is going Big Time.



Our new campaign will include videos that we hope you will find to be much more entertaining than last year's offerings or indeed the Peter Gabriel one that I just slotted in there.

Please pop back in this June when details of our events for 2008 will be revealed.

Farewell to the DoddPod

I know the last entry was supposed to be end of this year's campaign blog but the news overnight that Chris Dodd has pulled out of the race to win the Democratic nomination for US President merits a special exemption.

Last year I was writing an article on how US election candidates were using the internet to promote their campaigns when I was drawn to the Doddpod, a concept Dodd had where visitors to his site could recommend songs for him to listen to on his iPod when on the campaign trail.

While I honestly can't say I know much about the man's policies, it is no secret that the DoddPod was the direct inspiration for our efforts to get you guys to recommend songs for me to listen to on my iPod whilst I was doing the marathon. So in tribute to that I've posted the video for one of the songs that was recommended for the DoddPod above.

The final total: €1,506.93

Competitive to the end, no matter the situation.

Well it's finally over. The journey that began with a 10 miler back in August, leading onto a half marathon in September, before the Dublin City Marathon itself in October, has ended with €1,506.93 raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland.

Thanks to your generosity we've beaten last year's total and we have now raised €2,797.93 in the first two years of STIG for CF Ireland. But what have we learned?

1. That slow people racing can make for a hilarious and potentially highly offensive spectator sport.

2. That a belts with big buckles can cause serious foot injuries.

3. That there is nothing as inspirational as the Rocky theme.

4. That energy drinks are basically a big pile of sugar.

5. And that Mr T made the right prediction http://stigforcfi.stigonline.com/2007/10/6-days-to-go.html

There's a few people that have to be thanked. First off a big cheers to our web guru John Healy for helping put all of this together. Secondly, thanks to Ciaran Ruane, Rachel Curran, and Carmel Ryan for providing support on the course on the day, which was much appreciated.

Last but not least we'd like to thank everyone that helped in any way with the campaign, be it through a donation, selecting a song for the iPod or just wishing us luck. It was a great boost and hopefully we can build on it for 2008. Needless to say we already have a few plans up our sleeve and they'll be revealed in good time.

Finally, I left a cheque in with CF Ireland today and they were delighted to receive the donation for all of you so give yourselves a big pat on the back. See you next year.

Nearly there

Well it's been a long road but finally we've got the cash together. We'll announce the total tomorrow so stay tuned.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this campaign over the past few months, your help has been tremendous. The plans for STIG for CF Ireland 2008 are already underway and like this year we intend to offer you guys more content and a bit more creativity in the campaign itself when we hit the road again.

We'll be dropping the funds into CF Ireland's offices tomorrow and will reveal the final amount raised shortly afterwards.

An awkward recovery

Back in Aberdeen my classmate Gavin McKay had this philosophy on pain. He said it's there to make sure you don't do things that prevent your body from healing. As a result he never took painkillers. This was quite hardcore seeing as he was British Universities' Champion in a form of Mogul Skiing, a sport with a high injury rate that tended to get higher the further up the ladder you go as participants take more risks. He even avoided taking them when he seriously dislocated his shoulder. Ouch!

I mention this because I am nowhere near as hardcore as Gavin. I have a sore leg, my lower right leg to be precise. It's been a solid 10 days since the race and my whole body had pretty much recovered by the fourth day. All except my lower right leg. The shin hurts like nobody's business, especially when I walk. I've taken the odd Nurofen here and there to alleviate it but in general it's still bloody awful.

John took longer to recover than I expected. He was still fairly wrecked when we went to see Leinster beat Connacht in a rather dull encounter at the RDS last week, in general though everything seems in full working order.

A Swedish kneeling chair is the main source of Gareth's recuperation post race. Not exactly my cup of tea.

The good hurt

Emmet and John change their allegiances

“Just one minute to go,” roared Tommy Tiernan. Well I could hardly go and let down a man that made a career out of telling dick jokes now, could I?

The gun went and we were off walking. At Merrion Square we ran into Rachel, Gareth’s girlfriend, who attempted to take some photos but the camera wouldn’t work. We met her again a few minutes later where Westland Row meets Pearse St as she tried again in vain to get a picture of our merry band.

The Phoenix Park must be the dullest four miles on any marathon course in the World. John and I got there at the four mile mark where Gareth came steaming up beside us, panting like a dog. He had fallen a little behind as he slowed to chat with a cousin he met. The park was so boring that the three of us did not fancy the next 18 miles at all. In order to alleviate his boredom John decided to start running at the eight mile mark.

It was here that disaster nearly struck...someone else. As we came barrelling out of the park with the main peleton I nearly knocked over some narky short lady, though her narkiness may have been directly caused by my nearly knocking her over. It was an accident I swear.

“Oh fuck,” I thought to myself. “I’m done.” We hadn’t even reach nine miles yet but the hill at Chapelizod had me beat. Then it was as though Jim Steinmann himself came down and carried me those last few steps because once I was over the hill I was grand again, recharged and ready for action.

On to Dolphin’s Barn with a barman acting as an impromptu steward. “Straight down on the right,” he yelled as he waved wildly. As we approached the 13 mile marker I jogged slightly ahead of Gareth, almost ceremonially, so he could run up and tag me before going ahead. He decided to risk his ankle and run the remainder. For me it was iPod time.

“YEAH!” I roared as I crossed the halfway marker which was a little further up the road. It was on these same streets last year that the wheels came off as both calves and my right quad decided to call it quits, not today, not this time.

15 miles in and something is wrong, my left leg is beginning to seize up fast. I thought of Dilios in 300 “It’s just a leg; the Gods saw fit to grace me with a spare.” Luckily all I actually needed was to stretch it quickly and I was grand. Ciaran was shocked to see me at the 18 mile mark, just 20 minutes behind John. It turned out that he’d taken a brief break and in the meantime Gareth overtook him.

Indeed Gareth was going so fast that Rachel had missed him when I ran into her in Milltown, and she would miss him again at Nutley and the finish. I have to say though she was an awesome help as she provided drinks and encouragement at many points throughout the race.

PowerGel or whatever it’s called tastes manky. Ma gave me some on Foster’s Avenue along with some Powerade and it tasted awful. Still I was making good time but had to stop briefly for some running repairs as a toenail was cutting into another toe. Ouch!

Back on the road and Jim Steinmann returned to get me through from 22 miles to the 24 mile mark. A cheesefest of the highest order began on my iPod with Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding out for a Hero’, followed by Meatloaf’s ‘I’d do anything for love’ and ‘I’d lie for you’ with a short break before the Meatloaf version of ‘It’s all coming back to me’. Somewhere in North Dublin Greg Bowler is smiling.

Nearly there and with one mile to go it’s time to unleash the heavy hitters, it’s Rocky time. ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor, followed by ‘Gonna Fly Now’ and ‘Rocky’s Reward’, this couldn’t get more butch. I’m hurting something bad but damn if that’s going to stop me.

As I reach the 26 mile mark I begin to jog and there I see Tommy Tiernan roaring me on, it seemed that he had hung around to cheer on a few punters so fair play to him. Around the final bend onto Merrion Square and I’m running as hard as my heavy legs will let me. I see the clock, you bet it’s a pleasant sight, and raise my arms aloft in triumph as I cross the line.

My official time was 7 hours 16 minutes, nearly half an hour faster than 2006 and far closer to John than last year. He crossed the line in 6 hours 29 minutes, but where on Earth was Gareth?

The man with injured ankle truly had outpaced us all. His time of 5 hours 45 minutes was so fast that Rachel, despite giving herself what all of us thought was more than ample time to get to the finish, couldn’t find him and still hadn’t by the time John finished. He did turn up eventually and was duly turfed out of Ireland the next day and sent back to France.

PS: There'll be photos up on this blog in a few days...stay tuned.

1 day to go

"It ain't about how hard you can hit; it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

There are less than 13 hours until the start of the 2007 Dublin City Marathon. Then the pain begins. Thanks for all your support in the build up to this race. It's much appreciated by the three of us. Keep an eye out for reports on how the race went sometime next week as we divulge the full gory details of the 26.2 mile course.

Gareth gives his pre-race thoughts

Gareth's interview which somehow descended into The Day Today-esque farce

In a special interview STIG for CF Ireland participant Gareth Murphy has revealed details about what going through his mind and discusses how one of the greatest threats to the future of humanity is wrapped around his waist.

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.

5 days to go

I don't know if it's actually in any way beneficial but damn that trip to the spa felt good. Being a rather fancy hotel the Mandalay Bay has a rather pleasant spa. The sauna and steam room felt most refreshing, as did the cold pool though it was nowhere near as pleasant for obvious reasons.

I spent about an hour and a half there today and feel really refreshed afterwards. With a transatlantic flight at 11.20 tomorrow, meaning I've to be in the airport for 9.20, this was realistically the last chance I had to get some chill out time before I come home but it did a damn fine job.

6 days to go

Mr T gives his prediction for the marathon

Damn those new shoes I bought were a bad idea. My new black shoes, which I wore for the first time yesterday, proved to be too tight. The end result was that I have now got a couple of nasty blisters and have resorted to wearing sandals in order to give my feet every chance to recover.

My efforts at carbo-loading this week have also hit a slight snag as my meals to date have consisted of protein, protein and more protein. I'll have to change that soon. Marathon prep aside Vegas has been fun so far. I walked down the strip yesterday as far as the Bellagio fountains, which many of you will have seen in Ocean's 13.