The first 3.5 miles went by quickly, as you'd expect. Lots of cheering in the city center. You then enter Phoenix Park and run there for 6 miles. I really find this kind of course boring. It's pretty, but too remote for many crowds and very little to look at. Then you're back in the city, although in nondescript neighborhoods for a long time.

I had set myself up for a run 8 min, walk 2 min, interval. Like in Paris, I did jog through the first walk interval and then I stuck with it other than walking when faced with a hill. I hit the half marathon mark around 2:40, which was also right on pace with Paris. This is fine with me, no expectation of a PR.

I had meant to bring my earbuds but forgot, and things were getting VERY boring. I caught Bob before he left the hotel and he was going to bring them, provided we actually met up somewhere. It seemed like the intervals were going by really quickly, but each time the watch peeped I thought "Again, ugh." Not in the sense of having to run again, because I felt fine, but in the sense of "Are we seriously still doing this??"

Somewhere around 18 I passed a guy who asked me how many marathons I was on, and he said this was his first. We chatted together a little; he was from South America (of course, I cannot remember where now...) but had lived in Dublin for 10 years. He said he was going to run with me and when I told him about the walk intervals he was happy to play along. He had blown up after a fast start (hah, as they always do) and until he latched on to me he had planned to walk the rest. He was still struggling, so I just started to chatter just like I do when running with anyone who is struggling. We were occupied trying to find Bob, who seemed to be confused by his location in relation to the map. I ran with this guy for about 3 miles until I dropped him (LOL) on a hill. I did slow my pace considerably for these miles, but I wasn't going to walk when I didn't need to. It was a really nice distraction. I got a picture with him, but since he bought the bib from someone else (tsk tsk) I don't have his name.

I finally found Bob around mile 23.5 Poor guy walked a LOT for this very brief appearance. He gave me my earbuds, and I started a 30-minute Peloton Outdoor run. OMG that made all the difference. That ended up taking up the remaining time to the finish. Towards the end I was passing people like crazy. I skipped my last 1 or 2 walk intervals, so I was going by everyone who had long ago given up. I just said "Great Job" and "We did it" as I went by. Despite my rank, there were plenty of others crossing and milling about when I finished. I eventually made the walk to my hotel on my own, Bob never really figured out the map.

I decided to separate from my coach after the first 2 months and use the Runna app. This worked great for me. I found the best balance I could with training, life, and my abilities. I wouldn't really change anything.

In a way, I did train with this in mind all year. I started the Runna plan 16 weeks out, which is a good timeframe. This was 3rd fastest marathon and fastest of marathons where I didn't use a coach. Overall I am pleased.

I enjoyed the excuse to visit Ireland and the event organizers did a great job. It was fine. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to go to Ireland for a marathon. It wasn't my favorite marathon.