Cork Coffee Weekend

10 Things I Think about Cork Coffee Weekend

1. Hipsters

Does going to Cork Coffee Weekend make you a hipster? John Meade was going so it probably does, seeing as he virtually lives in the Triskel.

2. Dress Code

Not sure I was appropriately dressed for the occasion, white Nike runners, tracksuit bottoms, a yellow Leevale jacket and a red Sevilla jersey did not exactly match the hipster dress code (or maybe it did). The camogie playing barista at Alchemy had a lovely red square peaked baseball hat which I felt might hipsterize my outfit. I asked her for one but she only had a black regular cap. Ian O'Leary was more than happy to accept the free gift. I ordered the red one off the internet later.

3. Alchemy

In Alchemy I learned that I've been making aeropress coffee all wrong. Who'd have thought that you're not actually supposed to follow the instructions. It's supposed to be inverted, 16g of fine ground coffee added then slowly filled with water. I also learned that Avonmore milk is the best.

4. Flat White/Cappuccino/Latte

Apparently in Alchemy all three are the same. This is very confusing. I ordered two just to check. It's true. It may also be true that in Italy its illegal to drink cappuccino after 11am. Cork Coffee Roasters do differentiate between Flat Whites and Cappuccinos, is this important? Perhaps. Coffee is very confusing.

5. Lovely Hurling

Baristas can play hurling on Barrack Street on their break. It helps if Ainle Ó is around.

6. Cork Coffee Roasters

Here I learned that Starbucks serve horrendous coffee. I already knew this, but much like Facebook it's nice to have your opinion reinforced. They had a lovely miniature coffee roaster setup outside the shop which reminded me too much of the machines at work.

7. Molten Toffee

Molten Toffee is the cockney slang for a coffee, it's also a ridiculously good coffee cocktail at Orso. Salted caramel, coffee and Tia Maria. What could possibly go wrong.

8. Orso

Orso put on the best show. Free cocktails, coffee and chocolate. Yuliyan should have his own TV show. He must be the only Bulgarian who can speak as gaeilge. Definitely the best Irish Coffee I've seen and tasted. Unfortunately I didn't win the free barista class.

9. Alchemy 2

Alchemy 2 (yes there are 2) had coffee tasting, I couldn't tell the difference between any of them which probably means I'm not a hipster. That or I'd had too much coffee.

10. Filter

Rather aptly the coffee journey ended at Filter just like all coffee. Filter is very small. There was no way all those people were going to fit inside. I slept very well.

Banna

10 Things I Think About Banna

1. Banna

I didn't think I'd like Banna as much as I did, I had images of a combination of Youghal and Trabolgan. It's nothing like that. I wish could do 5 miles on that beach every morning. Stunning. Even the weather co-operated.

2. Houses

I think the holiday homes were a pleasant surprise. They don't look the best on the outside but inside they are really well kitted out with good beds. The lack of mobile coverage meant we had to actually talk to each other rather than just stare at our phones. Who'd have thought you could pass an evening talking about the price of a Skoda Octavia.

3. Session

I think I'm not designed for running on sand dunes. The Saturday session was 4x10 minutes around the dunes. I'm not blessed with twinkle toes so a rabbit hole riddled trail was never going to suit. Great fun all the same, very different to running around the farm. Good for the ankles.

4. Food

I think Kate Browne's bar is a great little restaurant. As we had the misfortune of not being assigned a house with the masterchef Terry, we had dinner in Ardfert. French Onion Soup, Sea Bass and Pear and Almond Tart were all really good. It's a great spot. I still don't know what was on the menu Chez Terry.

5. The Pub

I think it's a good idea to wear sunglasses and a trump hat indoors in a pub in Ardfert.

6. The DJ

I think the DJ in Ardfert needs a new setlist, I haven't heard both versions of Maniac in a long long time, I'd be quite happy to never hear them again, at least he played John O'Connell's new favourite band the Script.

7. Dancing

I think I need to practice my dancing if I'm ever to approach Tim Crowley levels of excellence, that man can dance. My dancing technique involved jumping with my hands in the air, I'm sure it looked fantastic especially with the trump hat and sunglasses. My arms were very sore in the morning.

8. Marauders

I don't think I've been in a house that has been invaded at 2am by marauders since college. I think they just wanted my sunglasses and trump hat, they seemed to be happy and leave once they had retrieved them. Marauders are quite scary. Thankfully I got my hat and shades back in the morning.

9. The Long Run

I think the 20 miles out around Kerry Head is wonderful, stunning scenery, lots of hills and very few cars. It's a bloody hard route, which was made even harder by John insisting on getting every hill over with quickly.

10. Going Home

I don't think there is a better way to spend a weekend in January. It's pretty perfect.

Seville

10 Things I Think About Seville

1. Spained

I think "Spaining" is an inevitable part of any holiday in Spain. "Spaining" is any delay, inaccuracy or inconvenience that happens when in Spain. It is a cyclical process. The waiter or shopkeeper who is "Spaining" you is also being "Spained" by a fellow Spaniard. Their car park was probably too small to get out of or the button that opens the washing machine was missing. That is the reason why they haven't brought you your beer or have decided to close all of the checkouts in the supermarket. It's not some personal vendetta. The best way to deal with "Spaining" is to embrace it and enjoy the experience,it's not malicious and by the end of the holiday you will look forward to it each day.

2. AirBnB

I think the AirBnB was beautiful, a four bedroom apartment about a 10 minute walk from the centre. The owner liked art, particularly religious art. The walls were crowded in paintings. My bedroom was like a shrine from Knock. I felt very safe and holy. We never got around to doing our own paintings, I'm sure they would have been appreciated. The car park improved my driving skills no end, not sure it did much for the clutch of the rental car.

3. Running

I think Seville is a great city for running. It's not that big but thanks to the numerous white elephant sports facilities and expo parks there are lots of safe off road running paths. The wide promenade along by the river was perfect for sessions. The city also has a great network of two way bicycle paths which are ideal for running on. The cobbled streets aren't great for running but it's good for ankle strength.

4. Bread, Olive Oil and Iberico Ham

I think that fresh bread, olive oil and ham is the perfect fuel for running. It's perfect for breakfast lunch and dinner. It's also good as a snack. I like Iberico ham a lot.

5. Fluimucil

I don't think Fluimucil was in the jiffy bag. Inspired by the contents of Bradley Wiggins's jiffy bag I was anxious to try out this Team Sky marginal gain. It was a major disappointment. Fluimucil is everywhere in Spanish pharmacies, it's just a decongestant that Spanish people use when they get a headcold. I bought a few boxes just in case. It had nothing to do with the sub 3:00 minute km pace that the race results in Chipiona credited us with. That was Spain. I do think that it cleared my headcold.

6. "We don't have"

I think that it is a perfectly acceptable practice in Spain to offer a person an extensive menu of tapas, give them 20 minutes to choose and then when they order, reply "we don't have". This will be repeated for all of the nice sounding dishes on the menu. It's clever when you think about it.

7. Cod

I don't think I've ever seen someone order Cod with vegetables and then receive a plate containing no Cod.

Peak "Spaining".

8. Top 3 Restaurants

1. El Traga, best waiter in Spain, best steak and best Sangria.

2. Veloute, just across the road from the AirBnB. Great mini burgers, Hierbas is a nice digestif.

3. Los Palillos, Japanese beef curry was the best dish I ate (almost as good as bread ham and olive oil).

Honourable mention, Meson Guadalquivir home of the black pudding Irish breakfast tapas that fuelled Michael Herlihy to victory in Chipiona.

Worst Restaurant, Tribeca, where John got codded.

9. Meal Times

I think it is impossible to eat in Spain between 5pm and 830pm. Every restaurant closes at 5pm, just as all the foreign tourists are getting hungry. This could be deliberate I'm not sure. If you get to 5pm and are hungry it's going to be a long evening unless you've stocked up on ham bread and olive oil or failing that a box of cornettos.

10. New Years Eve

I think New Years Eve in Seville was unusual. The Sevillians only start to go out at midnight to eat their grapes. Every restaurant is closed. We left the apartment just before midnight and wandered down into the centre anticipating some sort of countdown or fireworks. A huge crowd had gathered in the square to celebrate New Years. Then the clock hit midnight...nothing, this is Spain we thought, it might just be late. The fireworks never did go off, they'll probably go off some day next week, it being Spain no one will care.

San Silvestre Seville

10 Things I Think about the San Silvestre Seville

1. Spained

Myself and John entered the race online the night before for €15 which included a nice t-shirt. The entry fee had increased from €10 earlier in the week. When we got to the entry desk to collect our numbers, our names were absent from the list. Anticipating a bout of spaining we had our confirmatory emails. We showed our emails to the nice Spanish ladies who after gesticulating and kissing each other randomly for about 15 minutes produced two numbers and two t-shirts. Problem solved. Spain is great.

2. Race Prep

We weren't really targeting this race. We did our normal session in the morning and then had a big feed of tapas. By 6 o'clock we weren't exactly in peak condition for racing.

3. Race Gear

The San Silvestre races are as much a novelty costume race as anything else, entrants included a team of roman soldiers, a set of christmas decorations and a fairy. I wore my "Shteak Spuds and Pull Like a Dog" Hairy Baby T-Shirt along with my new cheap dodgy sunglasses. I don't think this qualified as a costume.

4. Route

This is Spain, the race was advertised as "approximados 5k" I think this translates as any distance except 5k. God only knows why it couldn't have been exactly 5k as they had a traffic cone at one end of the course which could just have been moved to make the correct distance. One thing I've learned is that the Spanish aren't big on accuracy. It ended up being 5.5k. Ah sure how bad. They chip timed it for some mad reason.

5. Start Line

At the start they had the most stereotypical charismatic Spanish MC on duty to whip up the crowd, think Cork cross country races just Spanish. Knowing my territory, I wandered over to him and said something about being Irish. This made him very happy (indicated by gesticulation) so he handed me the microphone. I advised everyone to "Pull like a Dog". Sinead, Conor and John found it funny not so sure about the Spaniards.

6. Start

As with all races in Spain everyone of the 2000 entrants including the costumes looked like elite athletes who had been hot housed for many years in preparation for this race. The charismatic Spanish MC counted us down and off we took at far too fast a pace.

7. The Race

I had planned to run the race with Conor and John pacing Sinead however that plan didn't last long due to the adrenaline coursing through my body from my prerace MC duties. I was hoping that the course would be "approximados" less than 5k and I'd be able to be brag about my 14min 5k in Spain (fuelled by fluimucil) however it ended up being an 18:30 5.5k. At the end we all received a lovely goody bag which as you would expect in Seville contained an orange and a bottle of water.

8. "Elle" Campione

This week has been a good week for Irish athletes in Spain, Conor's sister Sinead who only arrived this morning was perfectly paced around the course by John and Conor to win the women's road race in a dramatic sprint finish. I did apologise for neglecting my pacing duties but I was confident in John's stamping driving any competition insane.

9. The Prize Giving

The prize giving was conducted by the charismatic Spanish MC. What a voice that man has. Approving of my pre race speech about dogs he again offered me the microphone. Full of post race adrenaline I started waffling thanking the people of Seville for their wonderful road race. I then congratulated Conor's sister who's name had been replaced in my brain by Claire Lambe the Olympic rower. The Spaniards didn't notice, this MCing crack is hard work.

10. Prizes

My favourite food so far in Spain is ham, Spanish ham is astoundingly good. For some reason second place in each category received a huge leg of ham. God that ham looked good, I wish I had finished second. Sinead got a lovely prize of a holiday in Malaga, for some reason the race organisers took my phone number, I think the charismatic Spanish MC might need an apprentice. Maybe I won't come home, I hear MCing pays well.

San Silvestre Chipiona

10 Things I Think about the San Silvestre Chipiona

1. Chipiona

Chipiona is a small seaside village about 100km south of Seville, think a hot Youghal. According to John's old book it has a tall lighthouse. We didn't see any lighthouse.

2. Race Registration

Race registration was a difficult process, welcome to Spain. Information on the race was confined to a single picture on the Sevillian equivalent of the corkrunning blog. We managed to enter on line for €7 which included a race T-shirt. Michael managed to enter a different race in a similarly named town. Thankfully I had also emailed the race organiser who entered us again so we had duplicate entries. Michael Herlihy was Donal Coakley for the night. The Spaniards saw nothing suspicious in this.

3. Juvenile Races

When we arrived, juvenile road races were taking place on the finishing straight of the road race route. Great to see kids racing before the adults. A lot more enjoyable for the kids than being forced to run through muck and potholes in a field in West Kerry.

4. T-Shirts

Our €7 entry fee included a free t-shirt. I asked for a medium, I got a large. If you asked for a small you also got a large. This is called being "spained". T-shirts came in many colours.

I'm sure the sevillerunning blog is alive with posts about the t-shirts.

5. Start Time

To avoid the likelihood of being "spained" by the race starting early (or late) we asked two local runners what time the race started. 620 we were told, it started at 615 exactly as advertised. Welcome to Spain. Thankfully we ignored the advice and got to the start well in advance.

6. Start

Over 400 runners lined up on the start, at least 390 of them looked like they were capable of running a 4 minute mile. Even the masters athletes looked fast. There was even a guy who looked more Irish than us, think Canelo Alvarez, red-red hair. The gun went at precisely 615 just as the sun was setting, off the Spaniards sprinted at about 4 minute mile pace.

7. 1st Mile

The start was stupidly fast, Michael got to the front ahead of all the Spaniards, I don't think they thought he'd last. After a minute or two they sat back in a group shouting "tranquillo, tranquillo". Michael didn't listen and continued to clip along at 5 minute miles. Conor and John ran along in the tranquillo group at about 5:20 mile pace. I hung on as best I could.

8. The Course

The race was advertised as 6.2km. It was around that, this being Spain, flat as a pancake right through the narrow walled streets of Chipiona. We had to turn around a traffic cone at one stage but other than that it was fantastic. Really atmospheric, it started in fading sunlight and finished in the dark. Take note Irish road races.

9. The Finish

Michael finished well clear of the chasing pack of spaniards to take become the champione of Chipiona in a new course record. I just pipped John in a dramatic sprint finish, John pleaded that he thought we'd to do another lap, however John didn't realise that Spain is a jungle and he'd just been spained.

10. Prize Giving

The awards ceremony was just as drawn out as back home, the juveniles were presented with their trophies first which meant a good long wait for Mike, the new hero of Chipiona. There were no tea and sandwiches, just roasted chestnuts. The only way of letting the spaniards know where we were from was to make a walking action and say Robert Heffernan, then they'd nod approvingly. Spain, what a place.

National Novice XC

10 Things I Think about the National Novice XC

1. Shakeout

Experimented with a 10 minute run this morning after getting up to try and wake the legs up before the drive. Don't know if it works. I don't know if it qualifies as post-activation potentiation (PAP) but if I was selling stuff that's what I'd call it.

2. Breakfast

Pre-race breakfast of two bananas and a few rice cakes. If I was selling a nutrition plan, I'd call this a low residue breakfast. Goes well with a few nespressos.

3. Drive

Anglesboro to Dundalk is not a long trip, ~2:40 with a coffee stop. At least we have one good road in the country.

4. The Niggle

All runners have a niggle, any runner who says they haven't a niggle is lying. It's perfectly acceptable to have one niggle, most of the time it moves around from leg to another. This weeks niggle was my lower stomach. It didn't seem to bother me at all today. I wonder where the niggle will go next, probably my foot.

5. Warm Up

Kind of miscalculated the warm up, did 3 laps with Conor. It's not a nice feeling to hear the starters whistle when you still don't have your spikes on. Got there in the end with plenty of time. Good to get the adrenaline going.

6. The Start

The start of the national novice is as close as you'll ever get to the the trenches of World War I. Most of the people there know it's a hopeless cause, would rather be anywhere else and are probably going to end on the flat of their backs.

7. First Mile.

I put my watch on auto pause so I didn't have to press start. (I'm really clever.) 5:00 minutes for the first mile, still only about 30th. This means I didn't go off too fast. It's not a road race.

8. The Course

Great course, it's like the UCC farm with a few hills and ramps thrown in. The ramp is very difficult when you've long legs like me but I got over it successfully three times. I'm sure it was very graceful. It's not real cross country though.

9. The Race

If you think for even a second in this race you'll loose 10 places. Thinking is not good. I don't think I thought during the race.

10. The Finish

Ended up 39th, lost about 5 places in the last 100m but I am incapable of sprinting. Ended up on the ground with the paramedics worried that I was going to get trampled on. I didn't care. I had my fun and that's all that matters.

Cork County Senior XC

10 Things I Think about the Cork County Senior XC

1. I love cross country.

It's pure athletics, no looking at splits or times, just hard running. Totally out of breath from the start, heart rate through the roof.

2. First Mile

I think I ran the first mile a little bit too fast. 5:03 minute mile according to Strava. Considering I can barely do 5:30s on the track, 5:00 minute miles in a farmers field was probably ambitious. I felt (and looked) like one of those GAA players at the start of every road race, only difference being I finished the race.

3. Giggling

Elite runners can giggle when running 5:00 minutes miles. As I passed the front bunch on the first lap all I heard was giggling. Sean McGrath came after me, the rest correctly assumed that I was a lunatic.

4. Blisters

Blisters can be fixed using Compeed and Leukoplast. I've a huge blister on my foot due to a new shoe but a Compeed blister plaster and a layer of Leukoplast makes any blister pain free. (Must be pink woven leukoplast).

5. The Guy With The Mic

The guy with the mic is a legend but very annoying. The last thing you want to hear in the middle of a 10k race is: "the runners should remember how many laps they've run because there's no one counting".

6. Goody Bag

I was worried about what was in the post race goody bag as the guy with the mic kept warning the juvenile parents that the bag was unsuitable for children. Turns out it was nothing more offensive than a packet of Seven Seas Active 55.

7. Job

I've never seen anyone get a job in the finishing pen of a cross country race. Michael Harrington finished just ahead of me, the guy with the mic was standing there on the mic saying "Michael Harrington coming through to finish" he then turned off the mic turns to Michael and says "Michael I hear you do a bit of glazing, I've a house down in Bantry, could you have a look at it next week?"

8. Leevale

The Leevale team is incredibly strong. I haven't a hope of being a scorer on the team. Total dominance. Junior men's race was ridiculous.

9. Marathon Recovery

I know I'm not supposed to be racing two weeks after a marathon but I feel fine. I probably should have taken three years off or whatever sports science says you should do but I like running too much.

10. 13 Races

I'm not running 13 cross country races this season. One every week is way too much. Four or five will be plenty. An rud is annamh is iontach. John Meade can translate/correct.

Berlin Marathon 2016

Ten things I think about the Berlin Marathon.

1. Long

26.2 miles is a long way, 42km almost seems less, the km markers break it up nicely.

2. More Mileage

I think I'm going to need more mileage at goal marathon pace to run much faster. The legs give up, not the breathing.

3. Japanese

Japanese runners are the most environmentally friendly runners in the world, one of the guys I was running with kept veering off course to put his water cups in the bin. Ridiculous when the course was covered in them. Probably thought the Germans would fine him for littering.

4. Water

The mouth rinsing trick works, I didn't drink a drop of water all race just rinsed with water. It tricks the brain into thinking you've drank. Works with Red Bull too.

5. Breakfast

Breakfast was 8 rice cakes with peanut butter and bananas. Perfect no stomach trouble, light and easy to digest. Much better than stodgy porridge. 3 coffees.

6. Looking Good

I caught up to a an old guy around halfway and ran alongside for a while, he said to me "you're looking good". Yeah I said, I got my haircut in Berlin yesterday.

7. Alcoholfrei

That alcohol free Erdinger at the finish is very nice. Good for rehydration. Not so good for the stomach.

8. Conor and John

Conor McCauley is a serious athlete. Getting the scalp of John O'Connell is a big achievement, John is as gritty as they come. It shows training pays off. Both of them ran 4-5 minute PBs, that's some improvement in one year. Mileage works.

9. On Empty

Doing long runs on empty the day after a Saturday workout definitely does prepare you for the last 6 miles of the marathon. It feels the exact same as the last 5 miles of a Sunday run.

10. Another One

I might just might do another marathon, perhaps...probably Berlin. It's very, very good.

Munster Intermediate XC 2016

1. Bus

Myself and Michael Creed got a nice bus from the GAA pitch where we parked, up to the course.

2. Numbers

Arrived at the offices (a tent in a farmers cow shed) to be told "there's no Leevale numbers". This wasn't true, they'd just been taken by the Leevale ladies team. 

Turns out the numbers were pointless anyway as they were blown off within about 5 minutes of the start.

3. Starting Time

All of a sudden it was decided that the junior men and intermediate women would run the same race. Time for a quick 5 minute warm up, unfortunately Tomas Kenefick had gone for a proper warm up and missed the start. 

4. How many laps do ye want to do

At the starters discretion there was a brief discussion about shortening the race because of the weather. We eventually persuaded them that we wanted to run 8k as that's what the race was supposed to be. I think everyone just wanted to go home.

5. Start

Fast start off down the hill into a tight corner. I tried to take it out hard but was passed by Darren and Alex O'Shea. I thought this was an unusual tactic for an Ultramarathoner so I just tucked in behind. Good decision. The Alex O'Shea fan club were vocal in their support throughout the race.

6. Course

The course itself was really well thought out, just a pity that the weather was apocalyptic, sheets of rain, wind and cold. A 2k lap with good hills and some nice open flat sections. One of the better courses.

7. Muck

Today's muck was different to the muck in Dundalk, while it was mucky it wasn't sticky so you could just about keep the legs turning over. Muck rating 9/10. 

8. Race

I adopted the Chris Mintern patented wheel sucking XC tactics for the race. I sat in behind Darren and tried to pass him on the downhills. In hindsight this was as pointless as a the Social Democrats election manifesto. Into the home straight Darren just kicked away. I never had hope despite finishing within 2 seconds of him.

9. Remember Your Numbers

The much sought after numbers had been blown away so had you had to remember your name and number crossing the line, otherwise you didn't count. This is challenging after 8k in the muck flat out.

10. GAA Facilities are Fantastic

Back to the GAA pitches for a hot shower after a warm down with Darren. The GAA have good showers.