britton blog - An American Student in Galway, Ireland

Postgraduate study abroad in Ireland

Marathon Training: Day 3

March 02nd, 2007 | Category: Dublin Marathon, maps, marathon, music

Galway City centre to NUI Galway, via SalthillI had a good run today. I decided to start out going approximately the same route as my previous run then as I neared the end of the Promenade, I went up a little road and through the side streets of Salthill. I got a bit mixed up, as one often does in Galway since the streets are a labyrinth, but it was fun to mix things up a bit and see parts of Galway I’ve never been to before. I ran past Pearse Stadium where the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) holds Gaelic football and hurling matches. I have yet to see either of these sports in person, but hopefully that will change this summer.

Finish Line at St Louis Marathon 2006I then found my way again by spotting Cooke’s Corner Shop, a landmark for all Galwegians. I turned down a side street and up one of the canals surrounding Nun’s Island. Finally, I made my way to NUI Galway campus and landed at Crunch Fitness, the privately owned gym at school. There I used the machines to work on my upper body since my legs had enough of a workout already and now I’m feeling the burn in my shoulders and abs. No pain, no gain…right? It’s important to work on your upper body, as I have learned in past few years of marathon training. If your upper body is strong, you will be able to hold yourself up longer and will not tire as easily on long runs. After about 20-30 minutes of weight training, I headed back home by way of the Salmon Weir bridge over the River Corrib, which is next to the Cathedral. I turned down Upper Abbeygate Street and quickly munched down some cashews and water at home and hit the shower.

Here are my stats and playlist:

5.67 miles (9.12 km) 52 minutes
A few small hills, gentle breeze, some light rain, 45˚F, Blues Traveler and Red Hot Chili Peppers rocked it out…


March 2nd iMix


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Viewing 5 Comments

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    Hey James,
    Thanks for the deep link, woulda never seen your marathon page. I'll read the others later, gotta go do some work at the lab, but I wanted to say great job running.

    The interesting things I've learned in life are from running.

    The interesting people I've met in life are runners.

    The interesting thoughts I have are during my runs.

    Seems like running should be required :Grin:
    • ^
    • v
    I totally agree about the thoughts that are conjured while running. It seems like when I'm on a long run I get some amazing ideas flowing. It's like you forget about running and you're just floating along, running past the same park bench, or same tree or curve in the road, not noticing wants going by but just visualizing your thoughts. I get loads of people that question why I run for such long distances and it's impossible to convince non-runners why it is such an exhilarating experience.

    It would be great to be able to carry a journal or recorder on runs to capture the stream of thoughts that come about...
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    Hi James,

    Cool blog! What a great idea to take the family to Ireland for a couple years.

    My wife and are heading to Galway from the wilds of Oregon Galway in 2008. I will be doing a Fulbright at NUIG, and with the Burren National Park.

    In any case,my wife is an avid runner, and she loves to chart out good runs. We will be there from Feb-June of next year, so no Dublin Marathon for us, but still interested in running opportunities. That run along Galway Bay looks sweet! Please post other cool running routes as you find them.

    How about safety for a woman? Any places to avoid?
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    @Dr Curious
    Congrats on the Fulbright. I'm at NUIG as well.

    The Galway Bay run is really nice and I plan to post more as I explore new areas. I just rode out to Barna yesterday with my family and plan to do a run out there once my week from hell (this coming week is the last week of class) is over.

    Galway is pretty safe from what I know so far. It's mostly just a rowdy at night from the students spilling out of the pubs, but hopefully you won't be running that late anyway!

    Best of luck to you and I hope you continue reading my blog. :)
    • ^
    • v
    Thanks James,

    I appreciate any good tips you can provide from your running adventures. I will keep checking into the blog as time allows.

    My wife really likes your "playlist" that goes with your running routes. Keep it up!!
 

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