Slowly turning the corner and becoming a Marathon Man
I wrote an article for this column at the beginning of August entitled 'Marathon man? Marathon boy, more like...'
For those who have forgotten or, God forbid, didn't read the article, it told of my intense fear and trepidation at starting training for the Dublin City Marathon. I feel now, with a mere five and a half weeks until "Go time", it's time for an update.
I have never been particularly sporty. Like most boys in Derry I grew up kicking a football around the street but I had the added distractions of daily piano and violin practice to curtail my footballing exploits.
Maybe it's because now in I'm in my mid-20s, and realise that I am fast approaching my physical peak, but all the hours I missed out on running around like an overenthused loon is now being made up for. And then some.
In early July my brother-in-law challenged me to run the Dublin Marathon at the end of October. I accepted (how could I not, and still look him in the eye at Christmas dinner?) and decided to begin my training in earnest after one last hurrah and a week of decadent partying at a music festival in Spain.
After the holiday I went shopping around town for a suitable pair of trainers - my first in about 10 years - and was filled with excitement at the box-fresh pair I picked up. That was the easy bit, the youthful enthusiasm soon disappeared once I began to contemplate the long road ahead...
In the first number of weeks the training came as a complete shock to the system. Despite frequent games of squash and indoor football I had never really run for an extended period of time without it being interspersed with kicking or whacking something. Even then, it was usually all over in 45minutes and I had never before undertaken any single activity that lasted longer than four hours (except at university when we watched Godfathers I and II back to back).
On my very first run, the aches and pains were almost instant. The problem was that each ache and pain came and went with such frequency it was nigh on impossible to remember afterwards and seek suitable treatment.
First it was a tweak in the groin, then a tightness in my hamstring, then my achilles flared up and, finally, a dizziness came over me as I spluttered and stammered to a finish. That was all in the space of fifteen minutes! However, I couldn't let myself get too disheartened, not this early.
As I kept telling myself - whilst chuckling like a gack at my own, childish humour - it's a marathon, not a sprint.
I kept on day after day, week after week and slowly, but surely, I began to look forward to my evening runs.
That fighting spirit
On leaving work, I jumped in the car with my spirits raised and rushed home to get into my kit. After methodical preparation and stretching - accompanied by the genius 80s music-fest that is the Rocky IV soundtrack - I was ready to go.
Laughable yet inspired lyrics such as "There's no easy way out, there's no shortcut home"; "Hearts on fire, strong desire, rages deep within"; and "In the warrior's code there's no surrender, though his body says stop, his spirit cries NEVER!' swam in my head and pushed me forward. I plundered the streets and roads of the Waterside imagining that I was Rocky Balboa sprinting up that mountain in Siberia.
While out running, my mind was completely clear and I could have a really decent think on the goings-on in my life.
Pre-training, I never took time to consider anything. I was constantly listening to the radio, watching tv, reading newspapers, chatting or sleeping.
I never had any time to gather my thoughts unless it was just as I was nodding off at night. It’s different when you’re running. I was worried about getting bored but my mind wanders at the drop of a hat, so it turned into a real incentive to keep going.
Once I felt at ease with the idea, I took the training up a notch and set off round the bridges. Lots of Derry people regularly walk, run and dander around the bridges. It was the first time I navigated them outside of a car or bus.
If you have never done it, I recommend it highly. Some of the views of the city are magnificent from the quay and the Foyle Bridge. Aspects of the city come into view that are not possible to see when you whizz past at thirty, forty or fifty miles per hour.
I still have a long way to go. The countdown is on and I am yet to conquer the 15 mile mark. I really should have by this stage but there is still time to go.
A lot can happen in the space of five weeks - if one week is a long time in politics then, hopefully, five weeks will be ample time to hit the 18/20 mile barrier.
Once that target is reached, the adrenaline, energy gells and positive mental attitude will suffice to get me across that finish line. Hopefully, in under four hours. Time will tell.
If you would like to sponsor my run, in aid of Foyle Hospice, then please call (028)71272214.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Derry
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
