Diary of a Rubbish Marathon Runner

At the start of last 2011, I weighed about 150 pounds (10 st 10, 68 kg). After years of figuring things out, I finally managed to gradually ...

I'm not sure if I ever left as much between updates of this blog - apologies! The main reason for the lack of updates is a distinct lack...

for me, that is, courtesy of Niamh. For you, more photos from Donadea, courtesy of Paul Daly. I felt surprisingly sprightly on Sunday, so I ...

My biggest problem with the Irish 50K championship race in Donadea was not the fact that I would have to run 50 kilometres. It wasn't ev...

Right now my main problem is that Connemara is still over 6 weeks away, and the most recent runs have clearly shown that I am nearing peak s...

The ideal training scenario is to improve a little bit from week by week. In reality it's never a linear progression, some bad days are ...

I simply cannot believe how I am feeling right now. This is incredible. I took it easy on Monday and Tuesday, recovering from the weekend. I...

Despite the not entirely universal approval of taking it easy during the week, I did manage to reap some benefits this weekend - which is th...

Despite feeling very good, I have been taking it easy this week. Let me rephrase that. Because I was feeling very good, I have been taking...

I have another guest article today. Liz Davies wrote about a topic that means a lot to her. If you have any questions regarding anything me...

I received an unexpected, and very much appreciated, bonus from the organisers of the Dublin marathon who hosted an evening to give a big Th...

My legs felt quite sore all day after Sunday’s long run, something I haven’t really experienced in a while. Of course, I haven’t run 20 mile...

The training, that is, not the temperatures per se. Having said that, this is the mildest winter we’ve had in years. Nobody can use the weat...

Oh my, doesn’t time fly! Mentally, I still haven’t quite made the transition from base training, yet I'm more than halfway through the h...

All through winter I have noticed an elevated heart rate. Most of my runs produced a HR that was several beats higher than what I would have...

That’s what I am, according to Maia, now that the family has returned. Of course, there are times when, amidst all the fighting and screamin...

At some stage soon I need to decide how to proceed with my training. So far I have mostly been following Mystery Coach's blueprint from ...

I'm unashamedly copying Mystery Coach's training plan that brought me a sub-3 marathon last year, even though I am training for an U...

Following Sunday's race, Monday was of course an easy day. I ran towards UCD/Belfield because I had read somewhere that they have create...

There is no doubt about it, 2011 has been a terrific year for me, running-wise. I put all my eggs into one basket at the start, deciding tha...