Celebrating Victory

Two things happened the last few days that cheered me up no end.

I have been a City fan ever since watching my first football game in England, all the way back in 1987, and it just happened to be at Maine Road where the boys in blue emerged victoriously against the might of Plymouth Argyle, coming back from behind in the last 10 minutes and Imre Varadi scoring the winner with the last kick of the game. I can still remember it like yesterday. I still can't believe that I used to watch them play the likes of Gillingham, Colchester and Oxford and now they are one of the best team in Europe (funny what a billion quid can do). Of course, winning the Premier League didn't come as much of a surprise, it has basically been on the cards since November.

I have been a fan of Yuki Kawauchi ever since his incredibly gutsy performance in the 2011 Tokyo marathon, where he had come third after an amazing finish,where he really had left it all behind in the last 10k. He has been a regular feature in running circles ever since, partly because of his highly unusual setup as an elite runner with a full-time desk job, and partly because of his incredible racing schedule. However, never in my life would I have expected him to actually win a major marathon but of course that is exactly what happened on Monday, and again it was an incredibly gutsy performance, first by keeping the pace high in the early miles and then by coming from behind once more to completely smash it. How could you possibly not be a massive fan?

As for myself, I started the same recovery protocol as ever, running 30-40 minutes at a very easy effort for a few days and then gradually increasing the mileage after a few days when I feel ready. The day immediately after the marathon pretty much sucked, as it always does, but the next day was already a lot better. There seems to be a pattern evolving in that I gradually improve but day 4 or 5 after the race is often another tough one, but once I push through that things start to improve rapidly.

I ran home from work on Tuesday evening, and the legs really didn't like it. The fierce headwind didn't help and indeed may have been somewhat responsible for that, but even as I started out I knew this wasn't going to be all fun and games. However, after a few miles the legs suddenly started to loosen up completely, so much so that I did an extra celebratory loop around Kilbogget Park.

My time in Cherrywood is quickly coming to an end. Shea's leaving cert exams are already starting, and once that is done they will finally move up here. Since our two bedroom apartment won't hold them all, we are on the move again, a bit further out once more because until I win the lottery I can't afford a house around here. I won't miss the long journey to and from Kerry almost every weekend, I can assure you. I will, however, miss running along Caragh Lake. It is a stunningly beautiful area and every single step I could take there was a privilege. However, circumstance dictate to move on, and so I did.

16 Apr

4.6 miles, 37:08, 8:04 pace, HR 135

17 Apr

4.5 miles, 38:06, 8:24 pace, HR 138

18 Apr

7.75 miles, 1:01:04, 7:57 pace, HR 143