Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

OK, it’s Saturday afternoon, the weekend before the marathon, and I decide to take a walk up to town to do a little shopping and get a decent coffee. I slip on a pair of comfy shoes that I hadn’t worn for ages… it turns out that I hadn’t worn them at all since I…

Another early start. This morning was fast, I covered 4.09 miles in 36.12 minutes, that a 8:51 pace. According to the fetcheveryone predictor that’s a 4:19:14 marathon time… if only it were true!

5 more runs until the big day! After another early start we covered 6.30 miles in 1:00:41, that’s a pretty decent pace of 9:37.

Including this run I have 6 more training runs before the marathon, it’s less than a week away and I’m really looking forward to it. It was an early start, by 6.30am we were out running the first of 3 short runs this week. We ran 4.13 miles in 38 mins, that’s a decent pace…

The plan said 12 miles on Sunday, this was supposed to be my last long run before the Marathon but it proved to be a little too far for these two tired legs. After procrastinating for the entire morning and most of the afternoon I finally got my act together and got out. I got…

After evening of torrential rain this morning was surprising pleasant. I wasn’t sure if I should run this race having just recovered from a twisted ankle in Newcastle but it looked like a nice forest route and it was such a beautiful morning that I though why not. I arrived at the race headquarters in…

… but it looks like I won’t get any running in this week… although my foot is getting better I’m still limping. Let’s look forward to the 10K forest run this Saturday, I should better by then… Seven days should be enough, shouldn’t it?

Thursday evening and after a late departure from the office we were finally on the road to the airport to catch a flight bound for Newcastle and ultimately the Great North Run finish line (via the start line of course). I had a cold, the flight was delayed, the ride was rough, the food even…

The temperature plummeted over night! It was a fresh Autumn’s evening when I went to bed and I woke up to a winters morning with a wind so thin it could cut a man in two. Last night God must have fallen asleep at his desk and knocked the temperature switch to Baltic. Somebody wake…

I feel rotten today, I’ve haven’t quite got the sniffles but there’s a cold dying to break through given half a chance. I’ve stocked up on vitamins and various anti-flu remedies in the hope of keeping it at bay. I reckon my body knows that the GNR is coming up and is having its revenge…

…had to be just that and no less! I planned on running in the fantastic Phoenix Park this afternoon. I had a 5 mile circuit, I’d have to run 4 laps of that to make up 20 miles. 20 miles… it’s an awful long way and I couldn’t stop thinking about it all morning. The…

… yet again turned in to a 5 miler. There’s something about these extremely early morning runs… I guess it’s just a case of getting used to them. We actually ran 5.27 miles in 48:46, a respectable pace of 9:15. Of course I had my new toy, the heart rate monitor… My average was a…

…turned into a 5 miler! Another 6am start but having got to bed at 2am I knew 6 miles could be a trick too far. I had promised to be at the track at 6.20 (ish) but due to circumstances completely within my control I couldn’t find first gear… an apologetic text and phone call…

Up and out early this morning! I wanted to start and sustain a pace of 9.00 throughout the entire run. I started well and kept my pace at 9.00 for the first 2 miles. After that I started to lose a little pace. A little sprint gained lost ground so I wasn’t too worried. As…

The night before the ½ marathon was Culture night in Dublin city. This is a fantastic idea where museums, galleries, and an eclectic collection of anything remotely cultural stays open well into the night, or some cases opens to the public for the first time. Needless to say I was out there and spent much…

This was my last training run before the 2008 Dublin 1/2 marathon. I did pretty well to get out tonight but I can hand much of the credit to Joe. It was wet evening and the sun was beginning to slip behind the horizon, hardly ideal conditions. The plan was to run 5 miles but…

I’m getting back into these early morning runs as my 7am wakeup call testifies. After short but decisive negotiations with my warm & comfy bed I was up, dress and out by 7.30. This morning I had a 6 mile run planned. As usual I started the run with pace of a little over 7…

It’s 05.30 as the alarm clock switches on dragging me out of a place I really wanted to be. The radio muttered in the background, it was difficult to make out what was been said but I didn’t really care. I knew I had to get up but I just needed another minute, maybe two.…

Tonight I had to run 6 miles but I just couldn’t face an hour on the treadmill. Although it was getting late I decided to jump in the car head to the Curragh, getting there a little after 7.30. With the summer behind us it now starts to get dark at 8pm so I wasted…

Riding home tonight was a nightmare, the wind and rain nearly swept me off the bike a few times but after a 30 minute roller coaster ride I made it home safely. The plan was to run 8 miles on grass (yes, outside in the howling wind and horizontal rain) but that just wasn’t feasible…