Dave Bradshaw Running

12. "Running with the Buffaloes" by Chris Lear An honest account of renowned coach Mark Wetmore and his winning cross country team.  Coaching philosophy, hard work, personal insights and tragedy all told with a delicate touch, definitely due a reread. 11. "The Art of Running Faster" by Julian Goater & Don Melvin The book is an account of Julian's own running career and almost a case of 'what if?'  He tries to impart wisdom to the reader, all the things he's learnt through experience and reflection with regards to training, technique etc. Things he wished he had applied during his time as a competitive runner. 10. "Can't hurt me" by David Goggins The language in this book is not for the sensitive. This is not your typical running book! For one thing he runs ultras. There's so much more to this former navy seal than meets the eye. I may not agree with some of what he says but his tenacity and mental toughness is to be both admired...

There are lots of reasons a runner can lose their running mojo, injury or illness, time constraints from family or work commitments, failure to hit a goal, over-training or perhaps an underlying medical issue. More recently it could be due to our schedule being out of whack due to the current restrictions that have been imposed on us as we try to tackle the covid19 virus. The loss of one's mojo has happened to most if not all runners, including myself. It can come from nowhere and be both frustrating and exhausting. I'm a lot better now at recognising the signs and taking appropriate actions to quickly sort it out but in the past I've gone a year, maybe longer without running, and so maybe by default, I'm now an expert in the subject. 1. Go for a run when you feel like it. Don't force yourself out the door but aim for at least twice a week if you can. 2. Keep your runs short, if your normal run has been 5 miles or 10k, cut it back to 2 miles or 5k and ...

I was 59, the kids were adults, the husband had taken redundancy and found himself a hobby, work was becoming more toxic and stressful by the day.  I knew I needed to do something.  But what ?  I felt too young for Bridge,  I was never any good at sport (don’t think darts after a good night at the bar counts), fermenting, whilst fun was too kitchen bound; I needed something sociable, fun, accessible, stress free and preferably easy.  And so I decided to try Running.  It seemed to tick so many boxes and would be something I could do both with people or on my own when travelling for work. And sure if I got slim and beautiful in the process that would be an added bonus.  Taking up running meant that I needed to buy my first ever pair of runners which was exciting and then find a Group or Club that would happily welcome a 59 year old woman who had never even run for a bus before.  And that proved surprisingly easy.  My husband was in ...

I wasn’t  planning on running the marathon this year, I had other plans for a spring marathon in 2020 to mark me reaching the milestone of the big 40 in March, but I got caught up in all the hype and the excitement of the Sunday long run group in their early training days and I needed in on the action. I thought I’d try for one of the late tickets released in July and leave it down to fate, if I got one I'd run, if I didn’t then so be it, I'd stick to my 2020 plan. The luck of the Irish was on my side and I was one of the lucky 2500 to get one.   I had run Dublin way back in 2006 as a tourist visiting the city, it was my 5th marathon to run in my mid-twenties and it was my last. I may as well have been running anywhere in the world as I didn’t know the city or the route. I ran the course in around 3hrs 40mins. Fast forward 13 years, and I have been living in this wonderful city for 10 of those years, threatening to join a running club since I made the move but never doing...

4th November 2019, one year exactly since I registered to do the DCM 2019.  Why did I sign up?  I signed up because all my running buddies had signed up and my FOMO meant that I upped and signed up too.  I didn’t tell anyone for ages, I think probably because I don’t think I really thought that I would do it.  Every so often it would be mentioned but it was so far away and nothing to worry about.  I kept going to my DBR runs three days a week and signed up to do the Mullingar Half Marathon on St. Patrick’s Day.  It was one of my first ‘races’ as I am not a fan of entering races so I was pretty nervous and the weather on the day was horrific.  I ran the 13 miles on my own in the rain and hailstones and I literally could not wait for it to be over.  Not an auspicious start.  By May, I had just about forgotten about Mullingar and Dave announced that the marathon training would begin in earnest.  The first month was grand, becaus...

My Marathon Experience: I always dabbled in “running” whether it was running around the hockey pitches during my school lunch breaks, running around the numerous neighbourhoods I lived in during my years in London or signing up for a number of Connemara half-marathons.  But, there was never a training plan, a long term goal or commitment and invariably my enthusiasm would wane for one reason or another and that would be it for another few months or even years at some points! When the boys arrived we always enjoyed going out as a family to support DCM but I honestly never imagined I would have the confidence or capability to ever run it myself. Then, in April 2018, a family member was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.  For me memory loss is the most terrifying prospect and as such I started to read up on the disease to determine whether there was anything I could be doing now to reduce the risk of developing it in the future.  Countless studies are being carried out and ...

Marathon 2019 Ok so here we go...shooting straight from the hip so let's get to it. Last year at DCM 2018 Jane and I stood in awe of every runner in Terenure and said "We have to do it".  As your mother would have always told you " If someone put their finger in the fire would you too?" ...well I'm not one for taking solid advice and of course once Jane signed up, sure I had to do it! Then a few more joined in and before we knew it there was a gang in the furnace. Training started in July and despite having cartilage problems with my left knee and being advised by Dave that it may not be a wise move, I embarked on a marathon training plan. The first couple of weeks were fine as I trained with some of the other club members as they were setting their sights on their half marathon in September. With my injury I had to fully tune into what my knee could handle and learned quickly it certainly did not like any speed at all or uphill incline..it was then tha...