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It looks like it could be a cold one … In Chicago that is. Im flying from Dublin to Chicago on the 09th to run the Chicago Marathon which takes place on the 11th October at 7.30am on what I Imagine will be a crisp cold Chicago Sunday morning. Today I feel nervous, excited and like theres a mountain ahead of me but its one I know I can climb. After my recent Dublin half-marathon and subsequent Physio visits it looks like I’m in good shape for Chicago. My hamstring and calf problems look to be resolved and on the day it looks like I need to be stretched, warmed-up, hydrated and mentally focused to get close to my 4 hour completion time.

For this marathon I hit my long distance training possibly a little early and I’ve been following a program to taper it down to race day. Moving home didnt help and impacted my training but Im happy that Im physically and mentally prepared for the race. Theres something I love about running in a crowd, finding my rhythm and just focusing on crossing that line. My memories of my last marathon here in Dublin are still fresh in my head so I want to improve year on year as I plan to make the international marathon a fixed date in my diary.

Next stop … The Windy City.

2 bundles of Asparagus trimmed and grilled, Toasted Ciabatta divided into 4, 1 slice of Prosciutto, Salt and cracked black pepper, two free range eggs. This all amounts to: Cal’s 309 / Carbs 25.6g / Protein 19.6 / Fat 14.5. thats 2/3 your RDA of folate, 20% of your days VitC and hey it taste great after a long run too. Prep time 20 Min.

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I cant believe that the Chicago Marthon is only 2 weeks away. I’ve been looking forward to this for the past 8 months and now that its on my doorstep Im feeling more than a little nervous. Yesterday I ran the 13.3 Mile Dublin Half Marathon, Miles 1-6 I ran in prefect form and using RunKeeper on my iPhone 3GS I could see that I was spot on the hour. At mile 6 I took a Gel sachet to boost my Glycogen stores and get a much needed boost to level myself and pace for the next 6 miles.

Miles 6-10 had some hill work, I heard people complaining that the hills were too steep for a half marathon but to be honest it wasn’t that bad. I think, although they didn’t realize it that they were just dehydrating on what was quite a warm day in Dublin and there was still a few miles to a water station. Mile 9 was good but I had slowed down a little as I was beginning dehydrate myself but I kept my chin up and sweated it out. Around the 9-10 Mile there was a water station so I stopped momentarily for a breather, some water to beat the heat and a stretch.

After the mile 9-10 Water station I ran into a little trouble. We had climbed several feet to get to this section and the course was turning downhill for 1.1 miles and the remainder was on the flat. I’d been running a good time and I felt I would be looking at a 1.40 finish. I continued running and at this point changed from listening to Chet Baker to Metallica to really “Get going” when I felt a excruciation pain in my right calf. I looked down to see the muscle completely distorted and locked in a tightened position. Quite frankly I didn’t know what to do and instinctively I straightened my leg out in agony, a passing girl asked “Are you Ok?” and mentioned that looks sore. I sat on the grass for about 10 minutes disappointed seeing people were passing me by. I stretched, calmed down and made a decision to walk the next section and see could I jog. I made it to mile 12 where I saw a familiar face an we jogged to the finish together.

After the race, rehydrating and winding down I managed to get into one of the Massage tents (I wasn’t supposed to be there, club members and St. Johns Ambulance patients only apparently) and get my calfs looked at by a professional. He recommended I take Dioralyte Oral Rehydration Sachets and that my diet is lacking in Magnesium, he also mentioned that a trip to the Physio obviously was on the cards before Chicago. I’ve picked them up and Im going to start a course today as I look into the reasons behind it.

If I was to take any lessons away from the Half-Marathon they would be this. 1.) New socks, the socks I have resulted in blistered feet. Not nice. 2.) Hydration – Do what Ive been told time and time again and get my 8 glasses of water a day, hydrate properly before and after a run and be disciplined before and after a race. 3.) Make sure I have a full charge on my iPhone, the GPS killed it 2 miles from the end of the race. 4.) Ensure my Glycogen stores are at their maximum, Mile 9 was tough and Chicago is twice the distance so I should be tired at mile 18 not 9. 5.) Sleep – The previous night I’d a restless night. I retrospect I wont be repeating this in Chicago, bed early for me and up early for the race.

A painful experience in all but a experience. The Race Series is a superb opportunity to prepare for the main event. Its better that I made these mistakes now rather than on the big day. Im not quite as anxious either and Im really looking forward to Chicago on the 11th.

6amrunner.com – Becoming a runner from Brian H Fitzsimons on Vimeo.

Organic week for 6amrunner.com from Brian H Fitzsimons on Vimeo.

In the lead up to he Chicago Marathon I am examining tools and techniques to help me improve my marathon time in Chicago this coming October. One core element is to move away from training in isolation and get out into a competitive space. This will be a big help psychologically where my real challenge will be to run at a pace I am accustomed to and have trained for so I last the distance while not getting caught up with the gang.

So I have signed up to two of the races in the Dublin Race Series. The race series I believe is unique to Dublin, its a series of three races to help runners prepare for the Dublin Marathon on October 26th. I wont be competing in the Dublin Marathon myself but its perfect timing for me to get vital training in. I have skipped the first race but the series starts with a 8 mile run on the Saturday July 28th. This first run is followed by a 10 mile run in which I will compete and the series concludes with a half marathon on Saturday 26th September.

I’ll be posting more information about how I plan to train for the marathon in the coming weeks but I’d like to mention the Race Series Training Club. I’ve signed up to a tailored service to train for the Race series. As you may already know I’m a machine when it comes to taking information in so Im very much looking forward to receiving training tips over the coming weeks. I hope to use tips from the training club to build a definitive training plan that supplements my existing training but more about that later.

At the moment I am completely focused on training up to the 42km required for the Chicago Marathon this coming October. Running frequently definitely helps you go the distance but here is cross training required in other disciplines that help with flexibility, endurance and focus. I currently study Yoga at the Dublin Yoga Studios but I’ve had a growing interest in Capoeira after seeing a demonstration in Galway a few weeks back. I was lucky enough to snap some incredible photos where the participants demonstrated some incredible form, flexibility, speed and strength. I was so impressed I decided it needs to be shared on 6amrunner.com. I plan to start Capoeira classes shortly to coincide with my running and Yoga. I’ll certainly write about its benifits when I get to try for myself. More information about Capoeira can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira and classes here: http://www.capoeiraireland.com/classes.html

Hi, my name is Brian (or the 6am runner) and I run early in the morning, yes at 6am and I usually cover a distance of about 10km. I wanted to explain why I started this website. Running is the most accessible sport to everybody from streets of New York City to the dirt tracks of Gambia. I love running and I’d like to encourage others to become as passionate as I am about this great sport. Im a average guy who in a short period of a few months started running 5km’s and has now added to an additional 30km with ease. I’m not an expert in the sport’s science, nutrition or psychology arena as I said Im just an average Irish guy. Im passionate about communications so I want to share my experiences with people who are looking to learn too. Theres no framework, methadology, magic diet or pill its all hard work, education and belief that getting the basics right will help me live a healthier and more fulfilled life.

How did this come about? For a decade I’ve worked with Internet related technologies. I’ve looked out of the office window every day like a kid longing for the alarm bell before their summer holidays. I found it hard to fit the life I wanted in around the job’s that I loved and worked hard at, thats where running at 6am every morning came in. It helped my sleeping patterns, my mood was lifted, I was always ready for the day and ready to go from my 8am start, I was fitter and happier than before. I took my first steps to becoming a runner. However, I still didn’t have balance. My diet was a mess, beers with the boys on Friday and Saturday nights just seem”d to undo all the good that had been done. I was unfortunate enough to be made redundant from a job I enjoyed in March 2009 and at that point I made some important decisions. I was going to enjoy my life, educate myself, become fitter, healthier than before and I was going to start my own business in the communications space.

These decisions have afforded me more time to run, learn about other sports and techniques such as Capoeira and Yoga. Im learning about nutrition for the first time, running with ex-olympians and attending training day workshops. This is a exciting time for me and I hope I can share this enthusiasm with you as I learn. I hope this will be come the average guys practical guide to becoming fit, staying fit and enjoying life.