Long Run

I told you earlier in the week that I planed to run 26 miles this weekend. Well after thinking about it I decide to run only 24 miles. My reasoning is I wanted to wait until race day to see if I can finish the 26.2 miles. If I ran the distance before race day it seem like it would take away some of the suspense and excitement. It is a good thing that I only ran 24 miles. Even with great weather, it was the hardest run I've done so far. I'm not sure I could have finished 26.2 miles today - unless I crawled the last mile. It was 50 degrees when we started at 5:00am on Sunday, and only about 60 degrees when we finished at about 10:00am. My muscles ached, I got some blisters on my toes, and chaffing in places I don't want to talk about. It is getting closer - only 6 more weeks. I can't wait to see everyone.

Last weeks run and plans for new week

I will post this email to the blog, but in the spirit of spontaneous e-mail chatter I will tell you about my previous week of running and the upcoming week. Last week I ran a total of 32 miles that included my log run of 16 miles on Sunday with a pace of about 11.5 minutes/mile. I know I ran 20 miles the week before, but my schedule gives me a week to recover after an especially long run. My partner and I used the pink mile markers from the week before to measure our pace. I plan on taking a before and after picture of our run to post on the blog. This week I'm supposed to run 37 miles that includes a long run of 22 miles. However, my partner and I will attempt to run 26 miles. Danny wants to know if he comes to Hickory to watch me run 26 miles if that counts as watching me run the marathon and exempts him from Dublin. I told him no because we are only running 26 miles not 26.1 miles. Psychologically I feel the need to run 26 miles before the real thing. It like Yogi Berra said about baseball - "it is 90% mental, the other half is physical". My goal is to finish so be prepared - it will take about 5 hours. That is one of the hardest parts of running the marathon, just staying on your feet and moving for 5 hours. I'll let you know how it goes next week.

FOOD

FYI, The Queen of Tarts is apparently THE place to go for cakes and pastries! It comes up in every review I read about Dublin. It certainly fits with our DIM nicknames derived from royalty, queens, princesses, and viziers!! And it seems to be about a block from the Parliament Street apartment! Sounds like a GREAT meeting/eating place!! Delicious Home-made baked cakes and pastries in comfortable surroundings. The Queen of Tarts is one of Dublin's best known pastry cafes. Centrally located on Dame Street, just minutes away from Dublin Castle, Queen of Tarts is popular with tourists and locals alike. Originally founded by two pastry chefs, it comes as no surprise that The Queen of Tarts serves freshly made pastries. Desserts and cakes are in abundance at the Queen of Tarts. Victorian Sponge cake, Raspberry Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue will suit anyone who is partial to sweet desserts. There's also delicious carrot cake, apple and blackberry crumble, plum tart and chocolate and pecan tart and many other delights on offer. The Queen of Tarts is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week. If you don't have the time to sit in this cosy café, you can avail of the take-away cakes (€19-25) or the individual tarts (€3.10).

Transportation/Auto

I have rented a car for pick up at the airport on Thursday morning through my departure on Tuesday morning. The car is listed as a 5 passenger. However, with luggage it probably can only get 3 people from the airport. There are now 6 DIMs on the same flight on Wednesday night. I can probably take 2 passengers (plus me as driver) and luggage to an apartment. Kevin and Betty: I can probably pick you up at the airport on Friday morning since I think you are the only DIMs on that flight. Since I am flying home on Tuesday, I will not be able to drive anyone to the airport for a Wednesday or later departure. If I have read the lodging description correctly, the second apartment includes parking. LQE - how would I confirm how many parking spots are available? Go Kevin!

give me a gun!!

I am really trying but the e mail was so simple I will get on board with the BLOG it does seem more efficient but when has THAT ever matterd to this family I will keep in touch GO KEVIN!

Homeland Security Has Entered the Building. . .

Megan is posting this for Kathy

more than a lodging queen

Well, you're all in trouble now. At least those of you who actually read this. With a DIM splinter group headed for Turkey, we were in danger of being left without a a blog empress--so I staged a coup. (please refer to earlier e-mails for definition of coup.) Well, maybe it wasn't exactly a coup--more like when Bush was having a colonoscopy and Cheney was president for a couple of hours. Like that. in other words, before Susan left the country, she conferred administrative priveliges on me and Maureen!!!! That means we can add stuff to the side column, invite new members , and create all kinds of other trouble! So, if you find a cool site that should be added to the links in the side column that you'd like other dim/mecca members to be able to access, send it along--we'll put it in the side column. For example, I found a calendar of events in October (guess what, there's a marathon on the 29th--maybe we should all go?) Nancy will be thrilled to hear that there are cooking classes the week we are there (because the Irish are so known for their fine cuisine) Anyway, check it out--and please share if you find good info sites.

FRUSTRATION

I am very frustrated !Todd got me on the BLOG but I can NOT read any of your postings if this gets thru to anybody I aaam trying .I will continue this torture in the morning .Susan I did get that you are on your way to Turkey. Safe trip to all of you ! You are the "MAN "when it comes to technolgy! I think tough that somebody decided to fix something that was not in fact broken .Leave us morons alone !!!

Patrick

Inspired by Uncle Kevin's recent 20 mile run, Patrick attempts his own marathon training. Here he is after his first workout.

Second accommodation almost(no deposit yet)

Well, this has been a lucky day! Mom has announced that she is going to Ireland!! Great craic (just learned this means Great Fun!) Secondly, we finally heard back from our second apartment. We are in the process of sending the deposit for this 7th floor apartment (bldg has an elevator) with a roof garden! This is perfect for Mom to relax. Our plan is that while bedrooms are private areas, the common living areas, kitchen, and balconies are open to everyone whether you are actually sleeping in that apartment or not. So, sometimes we might congregate or rest in one apartment and sometimes in another. We still have one more to go, but we are close! I am adding the description of this accommodation from the website: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, Balconies ***Excellent Location*** Fabulous Luxury 2 Bedroom Apartment beside Dublin Castle,Temple Bar,Dame St & Capel St. Accommodation is comprised of a bright Living Room with Wooden floors leading onto a Private Balcony overlooking a courtyard, Kitchen, 2 Bedrooms also lead onto a balcony. Amazing Roof Garden with great city views. This property is Alarmed and comes fully furnished with washing machine,tumble dryer,microwave, full size fridge freezer. Cable TV & high speed Broadband Parking Central Heating House Alarm Cable Television Washing Machine Dryer Microwave

view our first accommodations!

OK I think i can make it work nowTry clicking here Then, if you want to see more about the place. . . Click here for a site that has same pix, but links that tell more about the area. Choose "links" for some interesting stuff--including, danny, a sports site that includes hurling and football But keep reading folks, this is great news, but it is not the big news! and stay tuned--the lodging queen of the west (who keeps trying to call herself the lodging princess. . . ) will be posting another exciting update tonight! which brings us to the topic of deposits that have been placed if you could each send me 150 dollars, I would appreciate it This amount will be deducted from your total lodging costs Tommy, remember, you don't have a sponsor Boy today turned out to be a doozy--after a wild roller coaster ride we are seeing some GRAND progress on all fronts Kevin, the way things are going, i wouldn't be surprised to hear you ran 25 miles today! GO KEVIN!

keep reading

immediately after I posted the BIG NEWS I posted kevin's running blog to date kevin's running blog is not the big news--although it is cool if you want the big news, scroll past the running blog (sorry kev--they'll go back and read it later) kevin--i think i might be missing a recent blog--you'll have to put it in if i've missed anything this past week

running blog pre-september

August 1, 2007 Hello Everyone, At Scott and Maggie's wedding there was some talk about family members coming to Ireland when we go to run the Dublin Marathon. I don't know how many were serious, but just in case here are our plans. Betty and I are leaving from Charlotte on Thursday Oct 25 and returning on Wednesday Oct 31. The Marathon is on Monday Oct 29. We are looking at renting an apartment for the week. In Ireland they have something called "self-catering". It is a small apartment with a kitchen that you can rent by the day or week. It can be cheaper than a hotel and you have the advantage of the kitchen. Most of the places are between Trinity College and the Temple bar south of the River Liffey. The last time I talked to Danny he was still planning on going to Ireland, but he did ask if I was still training for the marathon. For you information I'm up to 16 miles. I don't know his exact plans, but it is rumored that he is going to hitchhike around Ireland before reaching Dublin for the marathon. I know Scott is considering running the marathon. It would be "lovely" to have as many of you who can make it to join us. Let me know what you are thinking. Cheers, Kevin & Betty AUGUST 3, 2007 Maureen, I think your logic makes perfect sense. All these emails are getting me excited about the trip and keeping me motivated to run. Did you know at the Dublin Marathon instead of having water or Gatorade stations for the runners they have beer stations. They say the carbohydrates are good for you. I guess that's why they call it the "Friendly Marathon". When we get a final count we can work on the apartments. I emailed Susan and told her she rocks! The spreadsheet is great. I didn't have any of the places she found. Scott & Maggie, and Kristen & John send thier regrets about going, but am sure they will enjoy following all the emails. Someone may want to go by Mom & Dad's to see if they are checking thier emails. Talk to you soon. Love, Kevin AUGUST 8, 2007 Hello everyone, We will need to start finalizing plans for the apartment(s). I've heard of at least 8 people that may be committed. I'll let them remain anonymous for now so they don't feel any pressure to commit too early. Once we get a count we can start deciding on size, type, number, location... for the aprtment(s). You are really committed when you buy the non-refundable airline tickets. Our schedule is leaving on 25 Oct from Charlotte arriving Dublin the morning of 26 Oct. We are leaving Dublin on 31 Oct arriving Charlotte the same day. Love, Kevin August 8, 2007 Tommy, I don't plan on dying, but if I do Ireland would be a good place. For the record, my weekly miles are 36 miles and my longest run is 17 miles. I'm planning 18 for this weekend. Betty is out of town this week so I haven't been able to run in the morning so I have to run in the afternoon. It was 99 degrees in Hickory yesterday with a heat index over 105. I decide to run my 6 miles on a treadmill in an air conditioned gym. I don't think that is cheating. Tommy if you came out of retirement I am sure you could get some sponsorship. You would be a real bargain for advertiser. The winner of the race is only on the course for about 2 hours. At your pace you may be out on the course for 5 hours or more. The advertisers would get 3 more hours of visibility. Maybe you could charge by the hour instead of the mile. Love, Kevin AUGUST 14, 2007 Hi everyone, My running blog: I just got back from a 6 mile run. My running partner and I tried an 18 mile ruin on Saturday. We started at 4:30am when the temperature was only 70 degrees, bu the humidity was about 80%! 3 hours later we were only able to finish 17 miles we had to walk the last one. Ireland should be a little cooler in October. As for the accommodations. I have been looking for the "perfect" place. Attached are some of the ones I am considering. My goal is to be in what they call the "City Centre". It will be within walking distance of many sites. I have sent emails asking for price and availability. Someone has to make the final decisions on accommodations. If no one objections, I would like to make the final decisions. Please send me you input on the attached list. Open the spreadsheet and click on the apartment name to go to the web page for these places. Please send me your input. Megan - it sound like you are in charge of Mon and Dad - I like you plan. Nancy - It sounds like you are in charge of drugs - don't forget the pain killers for after the race. Tommy - have you gotten a sponsor yet? Danny - Are you still planning on hitchhiking? Maureen - I know you were in Mexico, but where is the logic going? Kathy - If Scott runs will you go to Ireland? Love to all, Kevin & Betty AUGUST 15, 2007 I'd like to rethink my decision on making the "final" choice for the accommodations. The downside is much greater than the upside on this decision. That being said I would love your input on the accommodations - that way I can spread the blame if we end up in a bad place. Danny has already said he has no comment on the accommodations and has given me his proxy vote. love, Kevin AUGUST 16, 2007 Hi everyone, Running BLOG 8/16/07: Getting ready to run 9 miles on Thursday at about 6:30pm. It is still 97 degrees out so I will be running inside on a treadmill. For those of you reading the book, have you reached the section on G.T.D.S.B.S. This not only applies to my running the marathon, but may apply to our trip. Only time will tell. Still looking at places. Trying to find the closest place near Centre City. Please let me know you plans and preferences. Thanks. Love, Kevin AUGUST 16, 2007 I don't need a fridge, I will have the weight of the Mahoney name on my shoulders to finish the marathon. Love, Kevin AUGUST 22, 2007 The silence is deafening! Running Blog: You haven’t had a running update since Saturday so here goes - When I started my 15 mile run on Sunday at 5:30am it was 60 degrees outside. When I finished about 2 hours and 40 minutes later it was 70 degrees with 90% humidity! I read another marathon quote that has double meaning on hot days like these. “The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals”. I drank a gallon of gatorade during and after the run. Normally I have a running partner on my long runs, but ran solo this Sunday. My partner was taking his daughter to college. Having a partner on a long runs helps because your partner can encourage you when you want to quit. Fortunately we haven’t wanted to quit at the same time. My plan is to run about 36 miles this week. On Saturday I am running in a 5K (my shortest run of the week). It is a fund raiser for a Christian school loosely affiliated with our church. Look forward to hearing from everyone. Love, Kevin AUGUST 23, 2007 Maybe I can run in clown shoes! Love, Kevin AUGUST 23, 2007 I saw a quote about running the marathon . . . "It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse." AUGUST 24, 2007 I'm sure the old shoes would bring some luck, but I'm worried that the old shoes would bring blisters! Does everyone know what "Chucks" are? 8/24 I'm not sure about a costume. I don't need anything that will slow me down. Maybe I can just work on color coordinating my running outfit so it doesn't clash with my exhausted red face at the end of the race. Love, Kevin AUGUST 26, 2007 RUNNING BLOG 8/26/ 2007 For anyone who is interested here is an update on my running progress. I ran a 5K, 3.1 mile, race on Saturday – my first. My time was 27:41 for a pace of 8:55 minutes/mile. Normally I would do my“long run” on Saturday, but this was a Charity event for a local Christian school. Betty’s business “Bisque n Beads” was a sponsor of the race by donating the materials and labor for the medals and awards for the race. I never thought I would say this, but 3.1 miles is too short a run. That distance, unfortunately, doesn't’t fit into my training schedule. That meant we had to do a long run on Sunday. We ran 12 miles today at about an 11 minute pace. It was 72 degrees and 87% humidity. Ughhh... Another friend ran with us today. He is a much stronger runner at 60 years old! He set the pace for the first 6 miles at 10 minutes per mile. He could see I was struggling so he let me set the pace for the second 6 miles at 12 minutes per mile – maybe it was the clown shoes. I hope to run the marathon in about an 11 minute mile pace. Any news on the accommodations? Love, Kevin SEPTEMBER 3, 2007 Hi everyone, MECCA has been quietly lately. I'll break the ice with my running for the week. The big news is I ran 20 miles today! We started at 5:00am - my time was 3 hours and 49 minutes. The time was about a 11 1/2 minute mile pace. I'm hoping to run about an 11 minute mile pace for the marathon. I was excited to finish. That's how I feel about running the marathon - I'll be excited just to finish. When you run that many miles you can't carry enough water or Gatorade to keep hydrated. I learned that most runners go out the day before and hide water bottles along their route. My running partner, Eric, and I drove the route and hid water bottles about every 3 miles. A another running buddy had one of his water bottles "stolen" by a bum just as he was coming to the hiding place. We didn't see anyone take our bottles, but we did forget where we hid a few. We also marked the road with pink spray paint every mile so we could monitor our progress. When we were hiding the water we were also marking the road. Every mile Eric would slow the car down and I would open the door and spray paint the road with the mile marker. Does everyone have their plane tickets? Look forward to hearing from you. Love, Kevin SEPTEMBER 7, 2007 Kristin, Thanks for the idea. I've heard of that contraption - I think one company calls it a "Camel". I'll have to give it a try. However, your description of the device, "a colostomy bag with a cute cover", doesn't inspire me to drink from it. Love, Kevin

SHE'S IN!!!

7:25 ET, SEPT 7, 2007 Susan O'Connell Mahoney commits. SHE IS GOING TO DUBLIN!!!!!!

I must be dimmer than dirt

one more try--it is not looking promising, the darn link won't turn blue for me try this

lodging 9.6.07

OK i think i've figured out the problem--i was using safari--which doesn't have the same icons--and may not support the shortcut for links so. . .. let's see if this works keeping my fingers crossed This is our first actual booking--after quite a few exciting ups and downs we are very excited--hope you all think it looks good kevin has approved the location we are SO CLOSE to having the others booked we'll keep you "posted" (oooh blogging puns)

How to include a link in your posting......

Go to the upper right hand corner of your screen & select New Post. Type whatever narrative text you like & when you're ready to put your link in place, click on the little icon iwth the globe & chain link. It's right between the Text color icon & the left justification icon. You will need to copy the link from your browser address field (CTRL + C), click the link button & paste your web address in (CTRL + V). When you click OK, the link should appear in blue font & be underlined. BTW - I believe a direct copy/paste may do the same thing. Separate note - if you look on the bottom right hand corner of the new post screen, there's a field for "Labels for this post:". If you type a label for your post - the label will appear on the right hand side of the blog (that's how I made the one for your Loding Update - which I will now delete so you can do it yourself!!). Let me know if it doesn't work! No excuses now................................

Testing photo feature and e-mail notice

Hi, since Susan's suggested we test the e-mail notification feature, I decided to send a new post. But I really don't have anything to contribute right now, so I decided to also test my ability to figure out this photo feature. I took this photo in PhotoBooth for you Apple users. It takes a picture of you in front of your screen with special effects!! Anyway, hope this works.

Lodging countdown--4 down, 6 to go.

Today i logged 10 e-mails and 2 international phone calls. That may not be 20 miles, but it's hard to keep my fingers hydrated with all this activity. I actually do have a lodging update-but i can't post it til susan tells me how to include a link. Yes, i tried to follow the directions from the blogger dashboard. I am not getting the dialogue box i'm supposed to get after selecting text i want to link to. so, live on in suspense. I'll say this, though, the blog title for today is a hint.

Technology Updates

I've added some new areas to our blog - one specifically for Kevin to add his running information & one for Megan to post her lodging updates.

Kevin's Running Blog

This is Kevin's area for his running information.

Digital Intimidee joins blog

Megan, that is a great first post to our DIM blog. I have to admit that I liked the idea but was intimidated at first, hence, did nothing. So, does that make me a "digital intimidee"? Then, I was downloading a Hootavanny interview with Dan and Kris last night and was inspired by his comment: if you have an idea, do it. Paraphrasing, of course. But it struck home with this blog. It is a great idea (by Susan, I think) and I should take the leap and figure out how to sign up, instead of just talking about it. Megan, your threat to be left out of the information loop was an incentive, too. Susan, beautiful and informative blog design. I like all the Dublin Links. Well, for all you savvy bloggers, the above is actually a copy of my "comment" to Megan's post. I thought I would use it as a post also, just to point out that you can click on Megan's "comments" at the bottom of her post and read comments. Or we can post a new post. Probably obvious to everyone else, but not to me, initially. This is all so sophisticated, Susan! BTW, can anyone with a GOOGLE blogger account read our blog? I noticed that only team members can post to it, but can others read it?

DIM and dumb

ok so i noticed that the DIM chatter was not as chatty as it had been--i opened my squeegie account tonight planning to give a lodging up date to get things going again, and was reminded that a DIM blog had been started--how cool! i saw it last week, but in the excitement of sorting my old newspapers this weekend--kind of forgot to go back and see what it was about i suspected susan of starting it, but when i go to it, i see scott--hmmmm--scott did you do this? so whoever did it will need to send basic directions--i'll confess so that the rest of you don't have to--i see two posts but i can't get to them ok then when the mocking laughter dies down--will you please tell me how to get to the posts? i've subscribed--so i'm hoping it just shows up on my home page from now on well, here's what we've learned today fellow dimmies if you want to bring mahoney chatter to a screeching halt--introduce even the most rudimentary technology I know what this is of course--this is bad karma coming around to me for making fun of nancy for not understanding ringback tones! ah, pride. I certainly does go before a fall the expression, as some of you may have heard--is that i am a digital immigrant--whoever started the blog is clearly a native. HELP ME FIND THE POSTS OR YOU WILL NEVER GET YOUR LODGIN UPDATE (of course, if scott OR susan started this blog, that threat doesn't carry much weight--but don't you worry--i'll think of somethign evil) or better yet, will begging help?