Dave Bradshaw Running

Dublin Marathon Report   October 29th 2017   Niall Doyle   BIB : 437   After a good night's sleep (aided by the hour going back) I rose at 7am. Body weight was 80.1kg before breakfast. Everything was prepared the day before so after a small bowl of pasta I left the house at 7.30. Roads were clear and I got into town and parked on Fitzwilliam Lane before 8.00. I had been sipping away at my water bottle since waking but was anxious not to over hydrate. It felt good to mingle amongst the other runners and after I did my bag drop I wandered up to the junction of Fitzwilliam Street and Merrion Square. I felt good. Very focused. I spotted familiar faces from other races earlier in the year. The weather was overcast with occasional spots of rain with temperatures of about 12. No appreciable wind. I stretched a little without overdoing it. My right calf which had been concerning me since the day before seemed to be more settled. It was about 8.15 by now and after...

It's that time of year again when I start to reflect on the year that's been. Taking stock of what I have achieved and noting areas that were lacking. What then quickly follows are thoughts of the year to come, and how I can do better.  This is where goals are important, they sound simple enough, just targets to be completed in the future and that contribute to a more improved version of oneself, but it's never that easy. A number of years ago I attended a motivational talk by double European indoor gold medallist and Olympian David Gillick. He was tasked with inspiring the younger athletes in my local athletics club where I was coaching at the time. It was a really uplifting talk but what stuck with me was something he said at the very start "a goal without a plan is just a wish".  Planning or having a system is key to achieving goals. Writing down what steps are going to get you there, setting smaller and more achievable goals along the way. Creating an environ...

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...