Well its the morning after the day before, I can't really move my legs that much this morning but that's hardly a surprise. Yesterday was truly amazing. I headed down for City Hall and met Jo, Nuala and Aron. We waited with eager anticipation for starters orders and just shortly after 9am. We had to walk for the first 100m or so but soon we were off, I was overawed by the mass of people sprawling out in front of me, easily about 5,000. As we set out towards the east of Belfast, the sun was shining right overhead, there was little wind and I was concerned it was gonna be warmer than I had expected, I had support in the form of lil cols who was waiting for me, it was good to get her mad encouragement even when it was early on in the race. The first stage which took in the Holywood Rd and the Syndenham Bypass went pretty well and I got into a real good pace, I was coming up to the first checkpoint at Bridgend when I saw a poor soul, being treated at the pavement, a relay runner who was probably in his fifties, I was saddened by this and noticed other people around, me, some people were running in this race and putting their health at risk for their own indivdual causes a truly humbling experience. I was then heading through town and out the Falls Rd past Clonard Monastry and on to the Springfield Rd and onto the Shankill and up Tennant St to the second changeover point at Hillview. Things were going well, I was getting myself ready for the Antrim Road which is a gradual incline lasting over 2-3 miles, it was tough and I could feel a bit of the acid in my legs, however I still felt I was a good pace. I went past a mobile timer which was placed at the halfway point which was displaying 2hrs 22min so I was encouraged that if kept up at this pace, I'd be in under the 5 hour mark. I descended the whitewell road and through onto Gideons Green which is down by the shoreline of Belfast Lough and was now heading inwards towards town and the finish (10miles away) This is known as the bleak part of the course as it takes in the Dargan industrial estate and as expected it threw up some lovely funky smells, that I care not to get a whiff of. I don't even know what they were making that threw up that smell but I can assure you, I don't really want to know. The path along the shore was narrow but I was overtaking a few marathon runners and fresher relay runners which really encouraged me as it was demonstrating that I still had a lot of puff left. As I came through the industrial estate I really started to slow and I found myself beginning to wane in spirit, probably because of the grim surroundings, there was little water available which didn't help matters. I guess this was as close to the wall as I got but I was still wary at the time that things could get worse. I came through corporation st through the last relay point, it was here that I had done the relay last year so it was a welcome sight as I knew I was so close now. The runners at this relay stage are marked with an E before their number so I had a wee joke to myself that I was never so glad to see such a long list of "E numbers before" I guess you had to be there but any crappy joke helped me along the way. I went on though to lanyon place were i near choked on my own dextrose tablet (Top tip! Don't run fast and eat at the same time tis bad). I was now onto the towpath heading up to the ormeau bridge, I could see the finish line on the other side of the river but I knew I still had the Ormeau road and Ravenhill to contend with. The Ormeau is a bit of an uphill and so at this stage my legs were pure acid, just then at the Errigal Bar I got a big cheer and I looked and it was mummy and daddy and Val cheering me on, what a boost! I charged on and then got another cheer from Elizabeth who had already completed her leg of the relay! It was great I summoned enough energy from this to go up to the apex between the Ormeau and the Ravenhill Rds. I knew the ravenhill would be tough as I had run it last year and even though it's downhill, it's deceptively long. At this stage I was trying to focus on everything positive to keep me going. I went round the corner onto the embankment and I knew I was there, I rounded the corner and there it was, the finish line. I got such a rush of adrenaline, that I just tore at it and sailed over the finish line. It was over, i was just punching the air with my first, I had achieved something amazing and I was so chuffed. My first mission was to get a medal as I didn't get one last year as a relay runner so I wanted one! It was a great feeling to get that wee hunk of metal around me mmmmm. I spied Mum and she was cheering and I seen Val further down. I then got to meet Paula and Mark and wee James and Eva who were indifferent to the occasion around them. So that was that I still had enough energy to walk a mile up to vals via the Errigal to get a wee Guinness. Then onto Vals for a shower before getting a meal in Bourbon. It was really nice to wind down after the run and I was glad to get out for much deserved drinks later on in the evening.
Today, as expected I am sore but am still functioning, I went to the Ramada hotel to get a Swedish Massage which was bought for me by the girls. It was great and shall I just say it was "extensive and thorough" (Oo-er!) I am now sitting glad that I am not at work again tomorrow as I am getting more stiff by the hour. Time for a hot bath and then some DVD. No marathon to think about now, although it doesn't take long for something else to come along take up all your thoughts such is life. So I shall leave you for now. I shall be summarising in a future post soon but for now take care
As ever
Connor
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Monday, 3 May 2010
The Last Broadcast
Good morning!
Yep here we are, my God that flew in very quickly! Just up at around 6.15am took me ages to get off to sleep, it must have been about 1am but I expected that it would be that way, kinda like Christmas Eve all them years ago. All set just cramming loadsa carbs into me in the form of toast and pancakes and hydrating up with powerade I feel really excited and can't wait until that starters gun fires. I anticipate that there will be some rough spells but I will draw mental strength from the support of family and friends from far and wide to see me through. The Donations are spillng in and I'm easily up to 880 pounds which is more than I ever dreamed of raising, so thank you, thank you soooo much for all your donations and messages of support. Well as it is now nearly 7 and I've got some more eating and stretching etc I shall shall say goodbye and leave you with the thought that you could be doing this in 15 months time if you put your mind to it,
Over and out
Connor
Sponsor me at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Yep here we are, my God that flew in very quickly! Just up at around 6.15am took me ages to get off to sleep, it must have been about 1am but I expected that it would be that way, kinda like Christmas Eve all them years ago. All set just cramming loadsa carbs into me in the form of toast and pancakes and hydrating up with powerade I feel really excited and can't wait until that starters gun fires. I anticipate that there will be some rough spells but I will draw mental strength from the support of family and friends from far and wide to see me through. The Donations are spillng in and I'm easily up to 880 pounds which is more than I ever dreamed of raising, so thank you, thank you soooo much for all your donations and messages of support. Well as it is now nearly 7 and I've got some more eating and stretching etc I shall shall say goodbye and leave you with the thought that you could be doing this in 15 months time if you put your mind to it,
Over and out
Connor
Sponsor me at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Awful Close!
Hey Folks,
Well, well, well........ It's now Wednesday night, less than a week to go. So since I last posted I've been doing short runs during the previous week and then tackled an 8 miler on Sunday. The 8 miler didn't go well for me and I had to stop a few times. I found this event quiet worrying as I knew that I had scaled down my training as per the plan. Not to worry though, I believe it was the fast short runs that lead to this and never really gave me the chance to recover, so a quick change of plan had to be implemented i.e. don't do another run until the big day. I am quite tired these nights and have been going to bed earlier and earlier to try and get a lot of rest, my legs are still quite acidy so I'm going to make sure I rest well for the rest of the time. There's no escaping the hype now, people in work are talking about it, my mates are phoning and texting me enquiring about things and the papers have been writing about it. As for the fund raising, I am continually overwhelmed by the warm response from people, especially those who I haven't seen in a while, I'm almost at 650 quid and I have a few more donations to come. This is great and will go to a worthy cause. In the few days left I am just relaxing now and getting prepared got Josh Ritter gig tomorrow eve and a wee coffee date on Fri then a whole weekend of DVD watching and scoffing the carbs and sleep. Righto off to bed, although I can't help but watch the news as poor Gordon Brown just made one of the biggest mistakes of his career and it's so addictive. Righto over and out.
Con
Donate now at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Well, well, well........ It's now Wednesday night, less than a week to go. So since I last posted I've been doing short runs during the previous week and then tackled an 8 miler on Sunday. The 8 miler didn't go well for me and I had to stop a few times. I found this event quiet worrying as I knew that I had scaled down my training as per the plan. Not to worry though, I believe it was the fast short runs that lead to this and never really gave me the chance to recover, so a quick change of plan had to be implemented i.e. don't do another run until the big day. I am quite tired these nights and have been going to bed earlier and earlier to try and get a lot of rest, my legs are still quite acidy so I'm going to make sure I rest well for the rest of the time. There's no escaping the hype now, people in work are talking about it, my mates are phoning and texting me enquiring about things and the papers have been writing about it. As for the fund raising, I am continually overwhelmed by the warm response from people, especially those who I haven't seen in a while, I'm almost at 650 quid and I have a few more donations to come. This is great and will go to a worthy cause. In the few days left I am just relaxing now and getting prepared got Josh Ritter gig tomorrow eve and a wee coffee date on Fri then a whole weekend of DVD watching and scoffing the carbs and sleep. Righto off to bed, although I can't help but watch the news as poor Gordon Brown just made one of the biggest mistakes of his career and it's so addictive. Righto over and out.
Con
Donate now at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Latest Mile Sponsor list
1 Aud "The Prod" Breen
2 The Limvady McGee's of Terrydo!
3 Michelle Black
4 The Canadian McGartland Posse.
5 Noel "Dylan in Disguise" Grimes
6 Lucy Anderson
7 Stephen "Storrrreeeeeeeeee" Phillips
8 Liam Mallon
9 Fintan "The Cockney" McCullagh
10 Ciaran "Next year" Marron
11 Cathal Rice
12
13 Maebh Drain
14
15 Pat and Mary McGartland
16 Emma "There's no i in Team, but there is one in
Smith" Smith.
17 Orla Mallon
18 The O'Neill family of Brackalisleagh Mansion. D'Town
19 Brenda Marron
20 John "Mountaineer Supreme" McGee
21 Geraldine Douris
22 Valerie McGee
23 Boris Pinto
24 Clare Conroy
25 Jane McGrath
26 Eileen "Top ma" McGee
Donate now at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
2 The Limvady McGee's of Terrydo!
3 Michelle Black
4 The Canadian McGartland Posse.
5 Noel "Dylan in Disguise" Grimes
6 Lucy Anderson
7 Stephen "Storrrreeeeeeeeee" Phillips
8 Liam Mallon
9 Fintan "The Cockney" McCullagh
10 Ciaran "Next year" Marron
11 Cathal Rice
12
13 Maebh Drain
14
15 Pat and Mary McGartland
16 Emma "There's no i in Team, but there is one in
Smith" Smith.
17 Orla Mallon
18 The O'Neill family of Brackalisleagh Mansion. D'Town
19 Brenda Marron
20 John "Mountaineer Supreme" McGee
21 Geraldine Douris
22 Valerie McGee
23 Boris Pinto
24 Clare Conroy
25 Jane McGrath
26 Eileen "Top ma" McGee
Donate now at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Monday, 19 April 2010
Knees Up
Hi all,
Only 2 weeks to go and it's all getting very real! Yesterday, I ran the first two stages of the Marathon route with Nuala and Joanne. The route basically runs along east Belfast then bacl through town and out by the Falls Rd and the Shankill Rd 9 miles in total. There were yellow AA signs giving the Marathon route which made me realise that the big is drawing near and as I write this I am thinking that I will be finished this day two weeks, my stomach tightens at the thought of it. My knees are giving me trouble at the moment and I'm quite anxious to rest up as much as possible although it's difficult when you are walking around a hospital pharmacy all day long! Ah well you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs (or patellas) On the donation front we're nearly there! Only another 60 quid and we'll have reached the target of 500 quid, so thanks again to everyone who has donated your response has been great. Well that's me for now!
Good luck to ya
Connor
Donation site http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Only 2 weeks to go and it's all getting very real! Yesterday, I ran the first two stages of the Marathon route with Nuala and Joanne. The route basically runs along east Belfast then bacl through town and out by the Falls Rd and the Shankill Rd 9 miles in total. There were yellow AA signs giving the Marathon route which made me realise that the big is drawing near and as I write this I am thinking that I will be finished this day two weeks, my stomach tightens at the thought of it. My knees are giving me trouble at the moment and I'm quite anxious to rest up as much as possible although it's difficult when you are walking around a hospital pharmacy all day long! Ah well you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs (or patellas) On the donation front we're nearly there! Only another 60 quid and we'll have reached the target of 500 quid, so thanks again to everyone who has donated your response has been great. Well that's me for now!
Good luck to ya
Connor
Donation site http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Altitude training?
G'day Folks,
Been a while but again all's quiet on the preparation front! Just back in Belfast today after a hard trek up Errigal Mountain in Gweedore in County Donegal. You really can't miss it, it's a big pointy hallion of a mountain amongst other no so pointy hallion mountains in the Derryveagh Mountain range in North West Donegal. Really boggy at the bottom, rocky and slippy as hell halfway up and then narrow and downright scary at the peak. I had good company in the form of my dad who hadn't climbed it before and despite the fact mum had doubts over his fitness but he done it no sweat and I definetely know where I got my stubborn determination from now. To see photos click on this link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=417474&id=646585102&l=c905c46478. So what has this got to do with marathon training? Well I've gone a bit Mr Miyagi on this one, firstly the steep climb helps to strengthen my leg muscles which can help improve my time and secondly, I'm not great with heights, so there was the psychological challenge of continuing on despite every nerve in your body saying "No No Noooo" I hope there will be parallels to this and the "Wall" which is a state when your body and mind tell you that you can't go on and usually happens in the later stage of a Marathon. Oh and thirdly, the weather was fantastic and I couldn't be arsed running (Not so much Mr Miyagi's philosophy, more my own). So still got to do this 20 miler, reckon I'll do that tomorrow eve. On the fundraising front, the Money is pouring in, I am genuinely humbled by the warm response and good wishes I have received some peole have given money but still haven't put forward their name against a mile! There is still plenty of time to donate at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee. It's three weeks tomorrow arrrggghhhh!
As ever
Connor ;-)
P.S. Big CONGRATULATIONS to Geraldine Douris who completed the Paris Marathon today in 4hrs 15mins what a legend!
Been a while but again all's quiet on the preparation front! Just back in Belfast today after a hard trek up Errigal Mountain in Gweedore in County Donegal. You really can't miss it, it's a big pointy hallion of a mountain amongst other no so pointy hallion mountains in the Derryveagh Mountain range in North West Donegal. Really boggy at the bottom, rocky and slippy as hell halfway up and then narrow and downright scary at the peak. I had good company in the form of my dad who hadn't climbed it before and despite the fact mum had doubts over his fitness but he done it no sweat and I definetely know where I got my stubborn determination from now. To see photos click on this link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=417474&id=646585102&l=c905c46478. So what has this got to do with marathon training? Well I've gone a bit Mr Miyagi on this one, firstly the steep climb helps to strengthen my leg muscles which can help improve my time and secondly, I'm not great with heights, so there was the psychological challenge of continuing on despite every nerve in your body saying "No No Noooo" I hope there will be parallels to this and the "Wall" which is a state when your body and mind tell you that you can't go on and usually happens in the later stage of a Marathon. Oh and thirdly, the weather was fantastic and I couldn't be arsed running (Not so much Mr Miyagi's philosophy, more my own). So still got to do this 20 miler, reckon I'll do that tomorrow eve. On the fundraising front, the Money is pouring in, I am genuinely humbled by the warm response and good wishes I have received some peole have given money but still haven't put forward their name against a mile! There is still plenty of time to donate at http://original.justgiving.com/connormcgee. It's three weeks tomorrow arrrggghhhh!
As ever
Connor ;-)
P.S. Big CONGRATULATIONS to Geraldine Douris who completed the Paris Marathon today in 4hrs 15mins what a legend!
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Tick-tock, tick tock!
Hey all!
Not really that much to report, I guess I'd be happier typing than watching Man U destroy B.Munich. Went on a run on Easter Sunday morning in my shiny new trainers and they didn't disappoint! They were lovely and I was running with a great feeling because loads of people had been donating over the weekend which has really lifted me and also a bit of a reality check in that this is really happening and it's coming up fast!!! The donations have been great and I'm just so chuffed that people took the time and donated their hard earned cash for this cause. Anyways, I plan to get another 20miler in, then start the tapering down. The oul focus failed the Mot so might even plan to run home to Omagh at the weekend again lol! Special mention to Geraldine Douris who is taking on the Paris marathon this weekend, we're all behind her!
Bayern have just got one back! Yes!
I welcome donations from all football fans including Mancs
As ever
Connor
Not really that much to report, I guess I'd be happier typing than watching Man U destroy B.Munich. Went on a run on Easter Sunday morning in my shiny new trainers and they didn't disappoint! They were lovely and I was running with a great feeling because loads of people had been donating over the weekend which has really lifted me and also a bit of a reality check in that this is really happening and it's coming up fast!!! The donations have been great and I'm just so chuffed that people took the time and donated their hard earned cash for this cause. Anyways, I plan to get another 20miler in, then start the tapering down. The oul focus failed the Mot so might even plan to run home to Omagh at the weekend again lol! Special mention to Geraldine Douris who is taking on the Paris marathon this weekend, we're all behind her!
Bayern have just got one back! Yes!
I welcome donations from all football fans including Mancs
As ever
Connor
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