10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Pfizer 6 Mile

1. The Sacrifice

Today I felt like a GAA player. I would have loved a Green Safron Curry and a slice of pizza at the farmers market but my inner GAA player decided that this would not be a good idea. Instead I settled for a focaccia and salad. You have to make the sacrifice.

2. 5 miles

Someone saw me running 5 miles at work this morning. He met me at the race and said that I was mad. "Are you just jogging around tonight then?" Nah I'll give it a lash, "so all out then" ah no I'll just see how I feel. This confused him even more.

3. Doping Regime

I took my ventolin 20 minutes before the race. According to Twitter this means I'm a doper. I don't care. (I have a prescription)

4. Warm Up

Thanks to my doping the warm up was very easy. Perhaps Twitter is right.

5. Start

Thanks to the many miles and many beers in my favourite country (Spain not Germany) my legs were as fresh as a pint of Paulaner in an Irish bar in Malaga. It was like starting a car in 4th gear. It gets going eventually but it's not good for the clutch.

6. ACL

For some reason I spent the whole day worried that I'd torn my ACL in my right knee during the race on Sunday. This made no sense, my knee is perfect. I think it is because I listened to a podcast about Zlatan's knee while falling asleep last night and my brain was confused by the birthday can of IPA I drank before bed. I am not Zlatan.

7. Colder but Hotter

Ireland is very cold but for some reason you sweat more in Ireland than Spain. This doesn't make sense.

8. The Race

I'd a great battle with Brian Hegarty, I spent the whole last mile waiting for him to sprint by but it never happened. 4th place is good but no podium today. This makes me unhappy. I like podiums. I would have liked another bag of chickpeas too.

9. Farmers Tan

I don't know why the lads marshalling the finishing pen found my "oh jaysus, that nearly killed me" so funny. Perhaps they were laughing at my ridiculous farmers tan. I really should have worn singlets more in Spain. It looks like I'm wearing long brown gloves.

10. The Gardai

I got stopped by the Gardai on the drive home. They were checking for drink driving. I wasn't too worried. "You've been running I'd say" ah yeah, I ran a race in Cork, "Tracton" nah Ringaskiddy BHAA 6 miler "go on embarrass me what time" 33:50. "Jaysus, go on off you go". No breathalyser.The Gardai are sound. Runners must be trustworthy people.