May 19: After several attempts over several years I finally quit smoking. Today was the day that I had my last cigarette. I was determined to stop, but I knew that I needed something extra, some sort of focus, in order to help me succeed, and so I decided to start running. I thought that this would be a temporary thing, just a phase and that when I had hopefully managed to stop smoking, then I would also stop running – because no-one runs because they actually like it, right? In order to help me to run I needed a goal and so I registered for a half marathon on Achill island in the first week of July. I really didn’t overly think things through. Nowadays of course I have heard of ‘couch to 5K’ in a matter of weeks but this is what I was doing with a half marathon. Brave? Stupid? It didn’t matter – as long as it worked.
May 21: My very first run. I was glad that I decided to download and use a running app from the start, ‘Runkeeper’ in my case. I’m still using it today. I ran 3.64K in 19:10 between Swords and Malahide. Not bad in hindsight for a first run from the couch. I was pretty tired and spent and I could feel it in my lungs. But I did it. It was a start.
May 26: I ran 6.69K around Swords in 37:50. So well over 5K in less than a week! I was feeling good, proud and it was definitely helping me stay off cigarettes at my most vulnerable time.
June 29: My 4th LSR. 17K in 1:47:36. I was acutely aware that a half marathon is 21.1K and I really wanted to run the race without stopping. I wasn’t overly concerned with the time but it was important to me to not stop and start. To me, this is a failure, a cop-out, call it what you will. I showed good discipline in my short (6 to 7 weeks) preparation for that first HM in Achill but I needed to if I was going to last the distance without stopping. In all, I did 15 training runs prior to the big day.
July 7: HM no 1. Achill Island. 2:03:45. – I did it! What’s more I did it non-stop so I was delighted..! The time was decent too given that it was a fairly hilly route. I remember it so well. What a special day. The weather was fine, not too hot, and the scenery was beautiful, amazing in places. It was tough of course, but I had never experienced any support whilst running before so the people cheering, handing out sweets and fruit etc. was a real boost. I never have been (nor will be) one of these runners that takes a water bottle with me on training runs either so to be able to take on water at the water stations along the route was a real welcome boost and bonus also. I’ll never forget the pride and post run euphoria I felt at the end of the race. I still hadn’t smoked also. I was using NRT (spray form) which was great when I had a real pang but I knew that the running was the main thing helping me. I wanted to register for another race. I felt that after one more I would be pretty much a non-smoker if I could keep this up. In truth I had fallen in love with running. Everything felt positive and I was smitten. I registered for the Valentia Island HM that October.
October 12: HM no2. Valentia Island. 1:55:40 – Another island, another half marathon and another great trip away. Apart from the non smoking which started it all, it was also great to be planning and having these mini breaks. I felt that now that I had properly cracked the smoking and that felt great. I also felt after this one that I had ‘arrived’ as a runner. The original plan was to run until I felt confident enough to not smoke, but by now I couldn’t resist running and looking forward to the next race. It was a delight to run this race also. A very small field of runners, mostly local. Some great views as you might expect, including the Skelligs. My only regret was not getting out to actually get on the rocks themselves. This was all pre ‘Star Wars’. Still, a good enough excuse to perhaps re-visit one day. I remember my thrill at seeing my time when it was posted in the hotel bar later in the day – over 8 minutes faster than Achill..! It was perhaps a little less hilly, but definitely not 8 minutes less. Real, tangible, progress. It felt really good. I scooped a few Guinness and felt like they were well earned. The dark nights were now looming and the race calendar was becoming more sparse. I was in no immediate rush to enter my next race, wherever it may be, but I was still excited about it.
Blood, Sweat and Years 