Why do we run?

People often rightly find wonder in the dedication of those who take on the marathon challenge. Training day by day, week after week, in preparation for the task of running twenty six miles, three hundred and eighty five yards when the big day comes. It surely is a big undertaking but one that people only ever really get involved in if they want to. 

We run, because we can - not because we have to.

Others less fortunate, have little in terms of decision about the greatest challenge they must face in life. Sadly, cancer is something that nearly everyone of us has an unwanted connection with and our family is no different. Watching our loved one (and my father-in-law) Philip John Collins, dealing with the everyday battle of a disease that eventually took his life in July of this year has helped put a lot of things in perspective.

He, like so many of the other courageous cancer fighters, took on treatment, exercise, rest, nutrition and more because his very life depended on it. If he adhered to what the medical specialists advised then he might have a greater chance of living longer and maybe even overcoming a challenge that he probably never imagined having to deal with so soon after his fiftieth birthday. 

The mental and physical struggle that Phil and others go through to try and stay alive is not something that I can truly understand but from a distance, and only through observation, I know that fight is something that goes far beyond what I will ever face when preparing for a marathon. It is this thought that has occupied my mind a lot in the recent weeks of training for next months Amsterdam Marathon. 

Wherever the road has taken me, whatever the situation with the quality of my training or the condition of my body, I am just most grateful for the chance to run. To do something that maybe one day, sooner or later, I won’t be able to do anymore. Keeping the body and mind in tune while enjoying the beautiful world around us feels to me like the best thing I can do to make each day as fulfilled as the last. Always chasing the miles but in many ways, chasing life as well. Running everyday like it might be the last. 

Last weekends performance at the Boston Scientific Clonmel AC half-marathon (81.30) suggests that we are not too far away from top form but as Coach Emmett of perfectpacing.com rightly reminds me, we have to move up another gear if we are to find improvement on my current PB of 2.57.36 which I ran in Amsterdam back in October 2015. Regardless of your own knowledge or experience, having a good coach to point you in the right direction is key if your are focused on improving. Knowing when to hold back a little and knowing when to push on is always easier with a second set of eyes looking in on all the facts and figures.

Keeping this in mind, the last week has been mainly designed around recovery from last Sunday’s half-marathon and no better place to re-energise than in the sun-kissed Algarve region of southern Portugal. Lots of easy running around the dust trails of Parque Ambiental Vilamoura have been interspersed with longer periods of rest and recovery time spent pool-side at the wonderful Longevity Cegonha Country Club

Training and recovering in a low stress environment (yes, our two children stayed at home!) is usually reserved only for elite athletes but it certainly has benefits for all levels of sportspeople. Parenting, personal relationships, career commitments and much more are often over-looked stresses that the recreational athlete must juggle along with their training load. This is why the champions, in my eyes at least, are all around us. Taking on the challenge of life while also pushing themselves to be better in every sense. It’s also the grounds on which I will be asking my good wife for a week in The Algarve every year here after!

On returning to Ireland, the week ahead will see a slight increase in training load (as well as external stress!). Next Saturday evening presents the final suitable opportunity to toe the start line ahead of the marathon and I’m looking forward to again taking part in the John Buckley Sports 10miler organised by St. Finbarr’s Athletic Club. Following another week of post race recovery work, we then begin the final stages of preparation. The midweek sessions begin to crank up a notch in terms of intensity and volume, the weekend long runs get another few quality miles thrown on for good measure and the rubber in the training shoes starts to wear thin. We're heading for boiling point. 

You look forward to this work in anticipation and maybe sometimes a little uncertainty and then when the moment arrives, you realise….

We run, because we can - not because we have to.

I will run the 43rd edition of the Amsterdam Marathon on October 21st while raising funds for two very deserving charities. All donations will be very gratefully received by using the links below.

MERCY HOSPITAL (CORK)

www.idonate.ie/helptrevorruncanceroutoftown

NORTH LONDON HOSPICE (FINCHLEY)

http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/helptrevorruncanceroutoftown

The Long and Winding Road

Reverting to the tried and tested is often a wise option when faced with a familiar challenge. So, with that in mind, I return, for the next few months at least, to the habit of a regular blog, a practice that definitely added value to the mental preparations for my last marathon attempt in 2015.

Being somewhat a creature of habit, it's not just the blog that I'm calling upon to add a degree of familiarity. Sticking to what I know, in almost every sense, I'll return in late October to the pancake flat Amsterdam course seeking to improve on the 2.57 recorded there three years ago. 

The race weekend itinerary nearly looks after itself by now. Arrive on Friday, and do little aside from collecting my race number and resting before taking in a short, final run around the wonderful Vondelpark early on Saturday and then an afternoon catch up with some Dutch based friends ahead of the main event on Sunday morning. Oh, and a great big feast of an Indian meal to celebrate later that night, which will probably be enjoyed in Tandoor on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat, unless I feel very adventurous and try somewhere totally different! I wouldn't bet on a change of venue though, it's not in my nature!

If you can remove as much uncertainty from any situation, there is less likely to go wrong, or so my thinking goes anyway! Of course, you can never rule out the unexpected either so while I’m confident I have a solid game plan, I know it must be open to being flexible when the need arises.

Ask any sportsperson about confidence and nearly all will say that it comes from no greater source than your own preparation. If the work is done, boxes ticked, miles clocked, you know you are ready when the call goes up for showtime. 

With 16 weeks to go, I’m still very much in the build phase of training but there is a nice feeling of momentum gathering with seven of the last eight weeks seeing me exceed the 50mile mark. A mixture of good training partners for company and the feel good factor of this unforgettably hot summer combining nicely to add fuel to the training fire. 

Next Thursday’s Streets Of Youghal 5k offers another opportunity to update a personal best, which is more than a little overdue at this stage. Recent race efforts at John Buckley Sports 5k (17.18) and Dublin Athletics Graded League 3,000m (10.07) suggest that form is finally coming back to a similar level as 2015. While I could analyse forever more what held up my progress for the best part of three years, I’m just really happy and grateful to be feeling strong again.

I look forward to keeping you updated on my progress over the next few months and encourage anyone with marathon related questions to drop a comment below and I can hopefully respond to some of these in future blogs.

Nearly time for another run, until next time...