2009 Report
Kelowna International Marathon
The Kelowna marathon turned out to be my last race of the 2008 season. However, it was one of the better races of the season.  I knew that I was running well, but I was more than a little worried about the race due to how cold it was supposed to be on race day. The forecast mentioned -2 degrees for race start time. Like a good boy scout I brought enough equipment for any kind of weather, which ended up being the brunt of many jokes. I ran the first half of the race at a conservative pace because I knew for me it’s normally in the second half that I’m at my best. 
With the first half over, I didn’t realise that I was so close to the front of the field because this was a new experience for me in the marathon.  I was gaining on the guys that were in front of me (except for one). I finished in second place to Brian Torrance. Brian ran a very good race and was very happy to go under 2:40. I ran a 2:43 which was near my best time; coming in second place more than made up for any disappointment that I had with not getting a new PB.
After the marathon in Kelowna I took it easy for a bit.  At first I thought I’d do a couple of cross country races for the fun of it, but it wasn’t going to happen because I was feeling very tired from Kelowna. I tried to train with Kevin Masters as he was going to run in Seattle , and I thought if I could get out running with him it would help me keep fit.  Unfortunately, it felt like I had nothing left in the tank so I just started riding my bike and doing a little easy running enough to keep a good base level of fitness.

Thanks To
I have to do a big shout out to Brian Torrance and Kevin Masters of APTS for my coaching and to Jack and Fasttrax for all the support over the entire season.

New Parent
In November, Stefanie and I became parents for the first time. Patrick arrived a week early and has been keeping us busy ever since! Since Patrick’s arrival I’ve had to change when I train, so now I’m running first thing in the morning or running as my commute home from work a couple times a week. All of those clichés that you hear about becoming a parent are true. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s a lot fun.

P.F. Chang’s Rock and Roll ½ Marathon
The 2009 Season started earlier than any other season in the past. But it also started out badly. Between Christmas and the New Year I sprained my ankle while training for P.F. Chang’s Rock and Roll ½ Marathon in Arizona, which was on January 18. The ankle sprain, while fairly painful , seriously limited the amount of running I could do in the build up to the race. In the end, I just managed to get one longish run done of 90 minutes and even that was a 'sufferfest' as my ankle started to hurt by the end (running on churned up snow with a sprained ankle is not a good idea), so I had no expectations come race day.  However, I surprised myself on race day.  It must have been the heat (26 degrees by 8am that morning), because I went out a lot faster than I’d planned.  I did pay for both a fast beginning and a lack of training at around the 17K mark, but regardless, I finished the race in 1:21 considering the limited amount training I managed to get in I was pleased with how it went.
Since the half marathon I’ve been training as much as being a new father will allow me; sometimes it’s hard to train when you’re not getting all of the sleep that you need. Those 6am runs are very hard on a sleep deprived body (forget speed work at that time) that's not used to getting up that early to run!   It’s only in the last 4 weeks or so have I been able to get back to my normal training routine, which I’ve had to negotiate a little with my better half; however, since my main race of the year is sometime away I’m not complaining.

Alberta Provincial Indoor Championship (Age class)
This was my second year running the championship at the Butter Dome, and I hadn’t run on an indoor track since the 2008 championship.  The race itself was pretty good:  the pace was very even for most of the race, but then with 3 laps remaining things started to heat up , with a couple of guys jockeying for position.  I was able to handle that and started to make a move with about a lap and a half to go; once I hit the bell lap I picked the pace up and started to put time into the field. This was a good race for me as I ended up becoming the Masters Provincal Champion.

Up Next
This season I will be doing as many races as I can in the build up to a fall marathon. This year I would like to improve my time so I’m going to run a marathon in the fall/winter. Depending on how things work out that will be the Dublin City Marathon near the end of October or the California International Marathon in December. The Dublin race also doubles as the Irish National Marathon Championships, Which I’d like to do well in. So, in order for me to do a good time there I’m going to spend this season trying to get faster and bring down a few of my PBs by concentrating on the half marathon distance.
Upcoming races (subject to change)

• St. Albert 10 mile
  
• Red Deer ½ Marathon
  
• The Big run
  
• Canada Day 15K
  
• ING ½ Marathon
  
• Dublin City Marathon
  
• Hopefully I’ll be able to schedule one or two track and cross country races in during the summer and the fall, there may also be more races in between those listed.

2008 Report

I'm a relative recent import to Edmonton, having moved here from Dublin, Ireland in 2003. However, I have been involved in sports most of my life. My parents encouraged me to try different sports, from team sports such as soccer, hurling and Gaelic football, to more individual sports such badminton and swimming. I soon discovered that I preferred the drive and intensity of participating in a sport on my own – I only had myself to blame or to commend.

While in secondary school, I ran for many years on the cross-country and track teams, for the most part because it was a legitimate way of missing classes! In the initial races, I don't think I ever finished higher than middle of the pack, due mostly to fact that we were never given the chance to train. We just showed up on race day and ran.  Despite minimal caoching, I soon discovered my own rhythm and made some respectable finishes.

In my teens and early twenties, running took a back seat when I discovered bike racing. My parents had been involved in cycling for a number of years, but they didn't encourage me to take it up, as it’s a hard life, sometimes with minimal rewards. I raced for a number of years and enjoyed it, but, to be honest, I did not win very many races.

In my mid-twenties, I decided I needed a bigger challenge and discovered triathlons, which allowed me to continue with my passion for cycling, but also reinvigorated my interest in swimming and running.  While training for triathlons, I joined a running club in Dublin and participated in cross-country races, thinking they would help my summer season of triathlons. However, I have to admit, I wasn't the fittest at the time, so I suffered in every race; this did make it hard to find any enjoyment and to stay motivated! 

Most of my triathlon finishes were respectable, but again, I decided to seek out an even greater challenge:  Ironman.  It was in 2002, training for my first Ironman, that I really stepped up my training and discovered a new found love for running.  I completed my first actual marathon in the Penticton Ironman in 2002, and I’ve been an avid runner ever since.

In 2002, I ran my first Dublin marathon in 3:08. I really only did it because I had finished Ironman Canada eight weeks beforehand and was thinking that I could do it based on my Ironman fitness. That run was one of the hardest races I had ever did; I actual found it much harder than the Ironman.

When I first moved to Edmonton I was still involved in triathlons and competed in a few races such as the ITU race in Hawrelak Park and the Elbow Valley Half Ironman in Calgary. But, due to the long winters in Alberta, I was finding that I was starting to enjoy running outdoors more and more, and riding on the indoor trainer less and less. I was still only doing three runs a week, so I wasn't improving as quickly as I could have been.  It was while training for my last Ironman race in 2004 that I began to see the improvements over the previous year.  I also competed in a couple of half marathons that year, as well as The Great White North Half Ironman and Ironman Canada. 

In 2005 I concentrated on running for the first time and I began to feel more confidant in my ability and comfortable in my stride. However, although I was placing in the top end of the field, I was still not really making any inroads on the leaders.  Despite some progress, in 2006, I took most the year off of racing to go back to college.  I did keep up with my running, not to be competitive, but to help keep my head clear for my studies.

It was in 2007 that I re-committed to running and focussed on the Vancouver Marathon that Spring.  I really wanted to complete it in less than three hours, improving on my Dublin Marathon time in 2002. I trained on my own and it went well, despite the cold winter. I got through the winter intact only to sprain my ankle about a month before the race, which, not surprisingly, really messed up the training.   I went to see a doctor, who told me that I should give up running altogether. This was not an answer I was willing to accept. After getting acupuncture on the ankle I was able to run the marathon and finished better than I was expecting to (2:55), and I qualified for Boston. Last October, I returned to Ireland to run the Dublin Marathon for the first time since 2002, and came away with the new PR of 2:43.

This year I decided that I was probably not going to keep improving without some outside help, so I got a coach for the first time, and started working with Brian Torrance in February 2008 in preparation for Boston. Thanks in no small part to Brian’s training, I believe that I got the best result possible time I could have (2:44) on Marathon Monday in Boston, considering the short time we have worked together.  I’m sincerely looking forward to my next marathon and to pushing myself even further in my training.

I'd like to thank Jack and Fast Trax and Asics for giving me this opportunity. It's humbling to be asked to be part of this and to be recognized for something that I love to do.  I’m so used to going at this alone, but now I look forward to being part of a team.