The Trim 10

Two weeks to go. So nearly there! So with a fortnight to go lets just think of the positives – 1.  If you have already registered, well done. The race is sold out, meaning not only are you amongst the lucky ones (even if you don't feel it at mile 6) but you will be surrounded by some 1,499 others who will help you along the way. 2.  Next is that the majority of your training is done. The last two weeks of running prior to a 10 mile are not going to make or break you. The quality has already been achieved in the last two months, particularly during last month. 3.  With the above point in mind, if you find yourself with a little niggle, now is the time to congratulate yourself for nursing it through the last few weeks of punishment but to give it plenty of TLC (tender loving care) for the next fortnight making sure you get to that start line. 4.  If you have had a dose over the last few weeks (like half the rest of the country it would seem) then don't fret either.

Boy, am I late with this entry! Wednesday already and only putting it up. Lateness, my Achilles Heel. Sometimes I just about get away with it. Sometimes, I don't, like the time I got to the start of the Sevilla marathon as the gun went off. so much for a warm-up I thought and later cursed as I stretched out my calf around mile 3 as hundreds ran by. Anyway, apologies for the delay. This week to help get you through what are some very cold days of running ahead, I thought I’d give you a sense of what to expect and run through the  Trim 10 Mile  course. (By the way, if you haven't registered, be quick, it's nearly sold out). So, the course: The start of the ten-mile is nestled into the Athboy Road side of Oakstown Business Park just outside Gerry Ellis’ friendly shop. Having warmed up jogging down from wherever in town you might have parked and finished with strides from AB Hire (good for coal) to SmartParts (good for car parts) you will be ready to go.

With it being the New Year and everyone keen to start some new positive habits, I thought it's always nice to return to the A - Z of eating specific for the everyday runner.  As they say a car is only as good as the fuel that’s put into it. So goes the old adage that is oft repeated in running. And it is true,  something that any one who has ever filled up their Volkswagen Golf TDi with petrol will tell you . Eating is important. It is the fuel that drives you forward. So with that a mind, here are a few tips that you don't have to take too seriously: A :  Avocado A superfood that contains protein, carbohydrates, dietary fibre and fat. You could live off avocados and some people do. Unfortunately, those people don’t tend to marry. B: Banana Potassium, carbohydrates, the energy fruit of kings.   C: Crosse & Blackwell Perhaps not. Beetroot has in the last few years become a Superfood and one that is both very accessible and supposedly very good for you. P

Standing in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts with the sun somewhere behind the racing clouds, a fair breeze though not biting and it still dry (well kind of) it could have been any day in Ireland. Instead it was New Year's Day and myself, my brother and the brother's Aussie friend (who was still recovering from the night before) were about to head out on a New Year's run. If you have already done the same as part of your Trim 10 Mile training, well done! You're half way there. If you've managed to safely negotiate the Christmas festive season with not too much food and drink consumed and the runs still intact then fair play. You're flying. However, sometimes successful training can hinge on a few factors outside your control. You may come down with a bug that knocks the stuffing out of you or you might have a wedding that sandwiches Christmas Day turkey with New Year’s Eve drinks meaning going out training is next near impossible. Encouraging training bu

While I can't stand over everything below, from my knowledge... There are things that you never feel better after: A session. A puncture. A car accident. A break-in. Losing by a last minute goal.  T here are things that you rarely feel better after An operation (at least not immediately). Opening you work email at home. A Big Mac meal. Watching 2 hours of cat videos on YouTube. Taking a phone call from you ex. And there are things that you nearly always feel better after A lie-in Taking an extra day off work A hot shower. A cold shower. Taking the time to ring an old friend. A massage. And finally there is one thing that you always feel better after A run. While it is smack-bang in the middle of Christmas with daylight fading and wintry weather it is a rare, rare thing to come back from a run and to regret it. If you can always remember this, then you will always have just enough energy to get yourself out that door, away from the box of Cel

So training might be getting tough around about now. Part of this is because we’ve entered the staff night and ‘Christmas Season’ season! A place where intervals and long runs do battle with office parties and burgeoning lunches. It will be hard for everyone, but persevere! With the miles building week on week it isn’t a bad idea to reflect on the surfaces you are spending more and more hours running on. I’ve heard it said that during a marathon you will lose a few centimetres as the pounding of the road takes its toll. The good news of course is that you grow back. With that in mind however it is worth considering just how much time training on hard surfaces you are doing and whether there are alternatives. As a help here is a quick guide to the surfaces we roll on and in from good to bad – Grass:  Perhaps the nicest surface to run on. Even in the warmest and driest of periods, grass retains its bounce. This is important and noticeably so especially for longer runs. Th