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