First night in the Harriers

Really enjoyed the night in the harriers…….last time I said that was a Sat night in June 1994 when Ray Houghton scored against Italy in the world Cup…arrived up at 6:25 for training at 6:30 to see the great Lynchie out warming up…jumped in with the group and was introduced to everyone including mens club captain Adrian Martin by Mary Daly as we jogged around the tarmacadam track…did an extra lap then with Michelle Mullaney and Adrian had a chat with the group...congratulating them on the previous weekends runs and introducing the clubs new Guinea-pigs…Lynchie and myself…tonight session for everyone was  on the track..except for the 2 of us…. John O'Connell was assigned to look after us for the evening….Hopper Farrell and Bernie Daly also joined us in Chareville but it was mainly John, Lynchie and myself for the session…Lynchie gives a good account of the session on his blog.. http://fatdadrun.blogspot.ie/2013/06/first-nights-training.html

John was very helpful throughout the session and he gave us loads of advice and answered any questions we threw at him..we chatted about what to eat before and after you go out to run, the best way to run with your arms, how much water to take on board before/during and after a run and other information that will be invaluable to me and Lynchie over the next 10 weeks…we finished off our 4 mile sessions with a few stretches etc and a chat with some of the club members that came over to see how we were getting on.

What I got from my fist night in the harriers is that they are a very friendly group and everyone was very hospitable to us….I was surprised as well the amount of people I knew up training and I’m sure this will increase over the next 10 weeks….I have been running by myself mainly since I started and doing the session with John and Ciaran tonight the time just flew and I did more exercise compared to if I was on my own so my first tip if you are starting to walk/jog or run…get a run buddy as it’s a lot more enjoyable and you’ll get more from it…..

Since Lynchie and myself will be together for all the sessions there is no point us both blogging the same information etc so I’ve decided I’m going to approach my blog from a different angle..I’m going to speak to people in the know about everything we need to do over the next 10 weeks to put us in the best shape possible for the run and then I’ll put up the information so that it might be beneficial to others…the guys up in the harriers are very knowledgeable about running/walking so if you have any questions either post them on the comments area on the blog, on the harriers facebook page or email them to me at raybellireland@gmail.com and I’ll get your question answered..you can follow Ciaran's blog here http://fatdadrun.blogspot.ie/

I am open to any suggestions but here are some areas I’d like to get more information on. I’d like to talk to people about…..

1. How to get the correct gear...foot ware, insoles etc..what to look out for and avoid..
2. Pauling Curley mentioned on the radio the importance of a visit to your doctor..what will I get from a visit…what will they check/test and the benefits of a visit
3. Diet & Nutrition and where Alcohol fits into this area
4. Physio & Rest and how to avoid injury
5. Hydration: Why is this important and how much water should you drink each day, before/during and after races

That’s it for tonight…chat soon