Galway Bay was the venue for my 25^th half marathon!

To say I was nervous was an understatement.  A couple of aches and pains had limited my training to a couple of short runs.

Having missed a couple of races due to a head cold I was determined to get one big race done before the end of the year.

The Galway weather being up and down the week of the race wasn’t helping preparations for the race.  On the day before the race I literally threw every bit of running gear I had into a bag in case I needed.

In the end the weather was ideal for running.  Dry with the slightest of breezes.  We set off at 10.45 and had nearly completed the 13.1 mile course before it started to get warm.

The 850 people who were running the 10km and half marathon in aid of the Manuela Riedo Foundation all set off at 10.45.

The start line was fairly packed.  I decided to take it easy enough as we ran a lap of south Park before heading up the prom. There was still a good group of runners and walkers as we reached Gentian Hill. As I turned the corner on the first lap all the 10km runners in front of me turned left to cross the finish line as I carried on to complete the second loop of the prom.

I found myself running up the road on my own. It felt like a bit of a zombie apocalypse.  I was in Salthill before I started meeting other runners.  I was still running at a consistent pace. Sub 2 hours was looking manageable.  I passed Blackrock for the second time.  Did I have enough in me?  I decided to focus on the business school that was half way down the prom.  Now to just get back into south Park.  One quick lap of the famine memorial park and I was within the final mile.  1:50  was on the clock.  Not much room for error. I started to push myself more.  I had a nice stride in  place.  About 500m out I just went.  I  took the last corner and then into the finish  straight I just emptied the tank  crossing the line in a time of 1:59:46

I was pretty tired afterwards and the soup and snacks that were being handed out were well needed.  I got a  quick rub down from the team at Galway City Chiropractic.

That should be my last long run for the year.  There is a great selection of races on between now and December 31^st.  I’m  sure I won’t finish the year on 159 races.

My next running workshop is on Saturday November 11^th in the Sportsdome behind Salerno school.  All the details are on my facebook page.

The evenings are starting to get dark that bit earlier.  If you are interested in personal training or small group training sessions please get in touch.

Yesterday I was back in to Galway City Chiropractic for an assessment to find out what was causing my hip and ankle pain.  On top of my calf muscles and quads being fairly tight my right achilles has tightened up and needs to be stripped.  The AFL on my left side also needs some work.

I will be attending an all mens yoga class on Monday evening before treatment on my ankle on Tuesday.

I’m not going to rush things but I’m feeling a lot more confident after yesterday’s assessment.