Music is something that can be a major part of any run, including the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon, so we asked Today FM producer and broadcaster Ann Gleeson for the tunes that get her in the zone on those training last vital training runs and on the race day!
Here is Ann’s dance influenced running list – plenty of BPM’s in this lot to keep you focused and pushing on. We hope they can inspire you to push yourself over the coming days!
Journalist and Broadcaster Sinéad Desmond is a long time supporter and runner of the Women’s Mini Marathon, and here she gives her tips and insights into how best to enjoy the big day!
Hello to all you lovely VHI Women’s Mini Marathon ladies!
Whether you’re a veteran, a first timer or coming back for seconds you are guaranteed to have fun! It is such a great event and we should be very proud of the fact that it is the biggest event of it’s kind in the world, with over 40,000 women strutting their stuff through the streets of Dublin! This will be my 10th WMM and I can’t wait. The buzz is always fantastic and so much money is raised for good causes. To date a staggering €198 million has been raised for charity, so give yourself a pat on the back!
I’ve been asked to give a few words of advice to first timers, so here goes! First things first, congratulations you’ve committed to doing your first 10k! If you’ve never done a race before it’s a big deal and no small undertaking, so congrats for getting out there and training. You should be well into your training now, but if you’re not don’t worry – you can choose to walk it on the day, many do! Finishing is the goal, not time. But I would encourage you to push yourself past your comfort zone, if it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you!
Good gear is essential, I see a lot of boobs bouncing everywhere at women’s events, so lock ‘em down ladies! A good sports bra will make for a far more comfortable running experience! Obviously a pair of trainers that are suitable for the event are a must, most places offer free fitting services nowadays so take advantage of that! A new addition to my kit this year is my EVB capri length running leggings. They are designed to support your core and pelvic floor, which they do, and they keep my posture prefect and protect my lower back. But my favourite thing about them is they stop everything wobbling, think Spanx for jogging! I love that they’re Irish owned and designed by an Irish woman who wanted something to run in that worked for her.
I also always run in shades and a visor too. A lot of you will train for the WMM in the evening when the sun has gone down but on the day it can be very sunny, you see a lot of burnt bodies! So remember to bring sunscreen!
I’m no expert but I’ll pass on three bits of advice that have worked for me over the years.
Do what works for you! There is a lot of information out there about running and by all means soak it up, but trust yourself too!
Change nothing on race day, if you’ve been training in certain gear wear that gear. Eat what you normally eat, run as you normally run.
Enjoy every second! Even the seconds that hurt, the sense of achievement will make it all worthwhile!
So good luck all, see you at the start line!
Xxx Sinead
Sinéad Desmond present’s Tv3’s award winning Ireland AM from 7am-10am Monday to Friday.
It’s a huge night for Liverpool Football Club as they go in search of a record equaling fourth UEFA Cup/Europa League triumph against record holders Sevilla. We take a quick look back at the iconic games nights that saw Liverpool take home the Coupe UEFA.
Played over two legs, the first game at Anfield was actually abandoned due to the adverse weather and replayed the following night. In the time that was played in the abandoned game Bill Shankly saw enough to help him devise a plan for Liverpool take a 3-0 lead into the return leg in Germany, with both sides missing penalties into the Kop as well.
The second leg saw the powerful Germans take the game to Liverpool and two first half goals from future Champions League winning manager Jupp Heynckes gave them a real hope of victory only for Liverpool’s resolute defence to hold and see the Reds take the title.
One of the original classic Anfield nights as Liverpool fought back from two goals behind in the first leg of the first half to score three times in five second half minutes into the Kop end with Kevin Keegan making up for his penalty miss at the same stage three years previously. A brilliant free-kick from the future England manager would see Liverpool take the title in Belgium in the second leg. The two sides would renew rivalries in the European Cup final just two years later with Liverpool pipping their foes once more.
The most incredible European final until …. well Istanbul four years later! This remains one of the most dramatic of all Liverpool finals, and there have been a few of those! Having only become a one-off final since 1997-98, and with the previous year’s fixture a boring penalty shoot-out win for Galatasaray over Arsenal, no one expected much as Liverpool came up against surprise package Alaves from Spain.
The Spaniards had seen off Gaziantespsor, Lillestrom, Rosenburg, Inter Milan, Rayo Vallecano on their way to the last four and smashed Kaiserlauten 9-2 on aggregate in the semi-final to gain their place in the final while Liverpool had to get past Olympiacos, Roma, Porto and Barcelona among others to reach this stage.
Played in Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion Liverpool took an early two goal lead and led 3-1 at the interval. Alaves fought back to 3-3 before Robbie Fowler looked to have sealed it with a seventy-second minute strike. Unbelievably Jordi Cruyff equalized again with two minutes remaining but with two men sent off in extra time Liverpool sealed victory through a deflected Gary McAllister free-kick in golden goal extra-time. Extraordinary.
If we can get a final of even half the quality of the above we are in for a treat tonight!
Get the 2016/17 Liverpool FC home jersey in store and online at Elverys.ie now! http://bit.ly/1IqOOlT
Today FM producer and broadcaster Ann Gleeson is a familiar voice to many in the country and she, like thousands of others, will be taking to the streets of Dublin on the June Bank Holiday weekend for the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. Along with several of her Today FM colleagues, Ann has been in training for the big day for several months now, and she talked to Elverysblog.com about how her training has gone.
It’s not the first time the Tipperary native has taken part in the Women’s Mini-Marathon and she is looking forward to getting out again in a few weeks time.
“Loads of people you know are taking part in the run, it’s such a well run event. And not that the 5k is easy or anything but 10k is a good slog and it is a real sense of achievement at the end of it then. Last year I did it with Roisin, from here [Today FM], and we made a point of stopping at every marker sign and took pictures of everything – we called them the stations of the cross as we went around, so we made a real go of it. When I was asked this year I was delighted to get involved as it’s such a great thing to do.”
“I’m running for Epilepsy Ireland because two of my brothers suffer from epiliespy. Every time I have done the mini-marathon, I think I’ve done it three times now, and every time I have run for Epilepsy Ireland and obviously it is a charity close to my home and to my heart because of the two boys. It’s a much needed cause and whenever I can help them out I will.”
The popular presenter has fond memories of her first Women’s Mini-Marathon as it was a personal milestone for her.
“It would have been three years ago [that I ran my first]. I had been sick myself for a while and I did a couple of races then myself after I got better and that was the first 10k that I did. It was such a great buzz. I actually cried at the end of the first one as I was so emotional after doing it, after going through so much and being able to do a 10k… and plus I was wrecked tired!”
As an experienced mini-marathoner, Ann explains how you can get through the race even if you haven’t been able to train like a pro.
“Let’s say if you didn’t have time to get out and train, but were fairly fit, you could definitely at least walk it. I think, on the day, because there are so many people around, so many people to take part you can’t help but get into the buzz of it, the adrenaline kicks off then and there’s always something very special when there are so many out running with you. When you’re out of an evening running yourself you could kind of go ‘Will I stop now, I could just go home now..’ but when there’s so many people around you, when they are all going for it, they’ve taken their time to train and raise money and get the t-shirts made, some people wear costumes and stuff like that.. you do get swept up in the hype and it’s a great thing to be part of.”
“In general, I would be a frequent gym goer, I’d go to the gym four or five times a week anyway but in the last couple of months I’ve started to go out on a run on a Saturday and Sunday and even if it’s just 2k or 3k, it’s just to get into the swing of running. It’s very different to going into the gym and do a class for forty five minutes to going outside to consistently run – I think it’s harder to keep going, to discipline yourself to keep going, so like I said in the last couple of months I’ve only had a chance to go out at weekends to pound the pavement as they say, but it’s just to get used to it, to get used to the feeling of the consistent running.”
“I would be ok fitness wise from the gym, but there are times you’d say ‘It’s really dark outside’ or ‘it’s really cold’, but as long as you go out and do a little bit and you can come back in and say, at least I’ve done something then that’s good. There are times of course when you just don’t feel like it at all but as long as you keep it semi-regular at all, then that’s ok.”
She will have a slightly unorthodox run up to the event herself she explained but will be tucked up in bed early the night before she laughed.
“Well, the Forbidden Fruit festival is always on that weekend, so I might go to that on the Friday and Saturday but I might leave off the Sunday. You’d need a lot of adrenaline to kick a hangover and then run 10k so you’re better off taking it handy, getting a good rest. In the morning then it’s best to eat healthy, don’t do anything out of the ordinary, just have something basic – I would have a banana on a bagel and some porridge. Nothing too filling and nothing that you wouldn’t normally eat yourself.”
It’s all worth it though in the end according to the producer of The Louise Duffy Show on Today FM says.
“Once you turn that corner and see everyone cheering, and you cross the line, get your medal, it’s just something then that you can give yourself a clap on the back whether you’ve come through sickness or you’re just doing it for fun, or raising money for a loved one. It’s a nice thing to be able to look back and say ‘I’ve done this’, and you can look forward to the next year then. If you struggle in the middle of it, the uphill out the N11 and you think it’s longer than you imagined, but once you get to the end, no matter what you told yourself in the middle of it, you always go ‘I want to do that again tomorrow!!‘.”
You can donate to Ann’s fund-raising here https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/ann-s-mini-marathon-2016
The Nike Free RN Flyknit features a revolutionary new outsole pattern that expands multi-directionally so you can move more dynamically and naturally than ever before. Its single-seam upper provides the incredible sock-like fit of Flyknit for total comfort throughout your run. In other words, the Nike Free’s do not just look great, they are great.
The concept of Nike Free was born in 2001, when insights from a legendary coach inspired designers to create footwear that mimicked the feel of barefoot training but incorporated important protection and support. The first expression of this study released in 2004 via a shoe with a siped outsole (deeply cut grooves that allow the sole to flex freely and translate a barefoot-like feel to all surfaces). Twelve years later, the Nike Free RN Motion Flyknit takes that original technology even further.
Drawing upon new studies that reveal how the foot expands and contracts upon impact with, and liftoff from, the ground, Nike designers developed an auxetic, or splaying, midsole. Spreading across two planes, the geometric tri-star form mimics how the body and foot react to force and accounts for the massive changes in foot size — approximately one size in length and two sizes in width — that occur throughout a runner’s stride.
To form the new tooling, the designers employed a new dual-injection technology. Using heat, instead of glue, they fused two foams into one piece that still features an IU foam carrier and soft IP core but introduces even more cushioning than past Nike Free models.
The Nike Free Run Distance continues the Nike Free principle of providing extremely flexible and very light shoes for the ultimate in natural running.
The lightweight Lunarlon cushioning system delivers miles of soft responsiveness. It fuses soft foam and a lightweight Phylon carrier to deliver an excellent blend of plush comfort and durable support to go the distance.
Single-layer, engineered knit helps keep your feet cool, while Flywire cables integrated with the laces wrap your arch for an adaptive, supportive fit.
Check out Elverys Intersport for the best in running shoes & advice to help you put your best foot forward this summer. http://j.mp/ElverysZoomStructure
With just a few Cup finals, and the major European finals to come, the curtain fell on another scintillating season of soccer across the continent in the major leagues.
Barca were crowned champions again thanks to Luis Suarez and his hat-trick while the title had already been wrapped up by Bayern Munich, Juventus, PSG and of course, Leicester well in advance of the final weekend.
One of the most interesting asides to the final games was the roll-out of the 2016/17 jerseys by some of the clubs and there really are some crackers next season!
The Italian five in a row champions debuted their latest home jersey from adidas as they accepted the trophy on Saturday and it is as cool as you’d expect. A move away from the multiple stripes of the 2015/16 jersey, this still has the iconic black and white and incorporates the three stripes of adidas as well. Top work from the current masters of Italy.
AC MILAN
AC have a chance to end the season with silverware but must defeat Juve in the Coppa Italia final next Saturday night to do so. They’ll do so in their new jersey which is unmistakably Milan but with a twist on the design as the fade on the lower half of the jersey gives way to their famous stripes.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Second place in the Bundesliga was the fate of Dortmund this season but they re-established themselves as a major force once again with some of the most exhilarating football in Europe at times this campaign. Next year should be interesting for them and they will do so in a very cool Puma designed effort. The round neck collar and slim fit make it stand out as much as the famous yellow and black.
CHELSEA
After announcing they are ending their deal with adidas prematurely last week, Chelsea stepped out in what will now be their last adidas designed kit. The v-neck collar and side stripes make it a very classy sign off, harking back to a more vintage design.
BAYERN MUNICH
Finally for now, the champions of Germany Bayern Munich celebrated yet another triumph in their outrageously cool new home jersey. As with the other new adidas kits this features the three stripes detail underarm but also a collar which sets this one apart. It really is a beauty.
Check Elverys.ie and your local Elverys Intersport store for the new jerseys and training ranges from the top names in European club football today! http://bit.ly/1YYMQB1
