Running with the birds or for the birds?

Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement and well wishes, I am SO HAPPY to be making it to the Start line. I would pass on your well wishes to Mr Stew except we are like ships passing in the night; he’s been away for work and instead of the rest day he promised me he would take today he is currently playing golf before heading to watch the Ryder Cup:) I think he figures I do enough worrying for both of us so why should he worry?:D

September 26th
60 min Hot Pilates Class
Deep tissue massage
Hip is feeling much better after the massage however my psoas (or should that be soh ass;)) is still very tight:(

September 27th
4.26 easy miles avg pace 8.56
Lovely run along the coast and the west pier where I bumped into Forrest Gump Micillin Muc. Still tight until I’ve run at least two miles, luckily I’ll be running 26.2 on Sunday;)


September 28th
Dip in 40 Foot (just for good luck:))
75 minute Hot Ashtanga Yoga Class


On the way home from yoga I was cycling by our local church, now it’s not somewhere I’m very familiar with but we are a Plastic Catholic Family and go to mass for communions, Christmas etc… I know I said I wasn’t suffering from Taper madness but I am clearly suffering from some sort of madness…. I popped in to light a candle as I’m currently of the opinion that my leg will fall off during Berlin (at other times I think I’ll give Geoffrey Mutai a run for his money;)).... Lit my candle and said my prayer (I prayed for everyone running Berlin:)) and as I was leaving the church I foolishly made eye contact with someone and smiled… As soon as I was outside two (very nice) people approached me and asked would I like to volunteer to help out with the Legion of something or other… I should have replied “No thanks I’m actually just a really desperate marathon runner getting over an injury” but I said something to the effect that I was busy with my family and maybe some other time. I really hope the Lord doesn’t smite me now… Dory get the rosary beads out again.....

September 30th
39th BMW Berlin Marathon; 3.47.33; 42.67K
Before I start waffling on and on about my run around this wonderful city I would like to thank you all SO MUCH for your words of sympathy during my injury and support in the run up to this race. Your well wishes and encouragement really helped to get me to the Start line and more importantly the Finish Line, thank you, thank you, thank you:)

Pre-race
As most of you know my training didn’t go to plan due to a niggle I picked up in July which turned into a full-blown injury in August and knocked me out of training for over six weeks. Originally mis-diagnosed as a calf strain and then subsequently confirmed as a pinched nerve due to Piriformis syndrome and an extremely tight psoas, it looked like I wouldn’t be able to run Berlin. When the osteo told me to forget about Berlin I did listen to his advice, I followed his exercise programme diligently and all the time I kept alive the hope that I would prove him wrong and run Berlin. There were a number of reasons for this, Mr Stew was also running so we had the trip booked and paid for, I knew I could decide at the eleventh hour if I could run it. I also wanted to run it as I’m really looking forward to pacing Dublin and I knew it would be a great confidence booster in the run up to this. Most importantly of all I LOVE running marathons.
I used to be offended by the term “Fun-runner” but I actually think that’s what I am. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy training hard and reaping the benefits of that hard work and I love the competition and knowing that the harder I push myself during the race, the higher up the field I will be. I’m looking forward to getting back into all the hard work again next year. However my injury meant that I’ve had to write off the end of this year in terms of times, PBs etc but I was not willing to write off these last few months in terms of enjoying myself and doing what I love; running for the sheer joy of it:)
Mr Stew and I travelled over to Berlin on the early flight on Saturday, auntie Stew was moving in with the boys so we were both really looking forward to a break together. Claralara and officer Digger were also on the same flight and when we landed we all shared a taxi to the Expo. The weather was perfect and we were all in really good form, although we were also all chatting fairly nervously on the way. I really love the final few days before a marathon, it’s like the run up to Christmas when you were a kid; the happy excitement but also the fact that although you know it will be a great day, you’re just not sure exactly what the day will bring. In the same way you just want the day to arrive as soon as possible.
Huge crowds at the expo and we had our cases with us so we didn’t plan on spending too much time there. The crowds, the queuing etc, none of this bothered me as I was just so happy to be there collecting my number. When I was handed my number and chip and the lady wished me luck I nearly started to cry I was so happy:o Mr Stew was keen to do some shopping (I’ve created a running monster) so I joined CL and Digdig for some pasta and we noticed the crowds getting busier and busier. They headed off to their apartment and I met Meno and Vagga while I waited for Mr S to finish up. I was very sorry to see Meno limping and he was understandably very concerned. While I’m a great believer in the power of positive thinking, I also know that no amount of positive thinking will get you around a marathon in one piece if you’re limping badly the day before. He made the sensible decision to pull out at 6K, a very brave decision and although this meant no PB for him I’m pretty sure he got a PB in after race beers in the Oscar Wilde:D Vagga seemed optimistic about his race, rightly so, he got a super result.

Mr Stew and I left and as we exited we saw the queues getting longer and longer out the door into the street and we were very glad to be heading to the calm of our hotel. One of the advantages of having to travel for work means hotel loyalty points, Mr Stew was cashing in his for the Intercontinental. They had upgraded our room and we felt like we were on honeymoon we were so happy. We relaxed for a while and changed and headed out the door for a gentle jog to the Start/Finish area. When we first left the hotel I ran ahead of him and asked him to check if my gait was ok or if I was limping and I was very relieved when he said I looked fine. (Love is blind:)) The inline skating race had just started and the buzz was super around the city. It became too busy to jog so we wandered around, got some more food and did a bit of shopping. We arrived back to the hotel and headed straight for the Jacuzzi and pool. The weather had changed a little so we decided not to go out for dinner and to order room service and chill out in the room. Number pinning, gel strategy, chip securing…. and again I was struck by the fact that I was so happy to be running this race. Christmas Eve was finally coming to an end and Santa was on his way…….

Race Morning
I woke every hour during the night and finally at 4.30 I couldn’t get back to sleep. Mr S was snoring beside me and I stayed resting in bed. The hotel pool and spa opened at 6am so I tiptoed out the door and had a nice dip in the pool and spent some time in the Jacuzzi, showered and back up to the room for 7am for breakfast. Mr S’s alarm had gone off and he was already back asleep again, I so envy his ability to sleep. We had yogurt, rolls with cheese and ham, coffee and bananas for breakfast and at about 8am we walked up to the start which was about two kilometres away.
We passed the pacers getting ready, passed the elite women’s pen (CLlara must have been in the loo at the time) and headed into our corral. Top tip from last year was to line up on the left hand side of the corrals and E corral was actually really empty with people warming up running up and down. I wanted to line up at the back because I’d be going slow, Mr S wanted to go into the middle so I told him we could part ways before the start, he decided he loved me too much and we stayed together till we crossed the line. The countdown was super, they released thousands of balloons and the music was pumping, we were all clapping…. Mr S and I were jumping up and down with excitement. And then slowly and steadily we made our way to the Start, wished each other good luck and away we went.
I’m strictly a miles gal but for this race I had changed the distance to KMs, my pace still was min/mile and I had turned off autolap.

0 -10K
I was really concerned I’d be holding people up and I was shocked to be overtaking lots of runners at the start, I looked at my pace; too fast 8.15 and I slowed a little but found I was still overtaking runners. I had decided to run this race by what felt easy and just enjoy myself. I really love the first few miles of the race as everyone settles in, the fact that so many of us are all running the same distance and route no matter what our speed is so comforting. We’re surrounded by so many people with so many different lives and yet we’re all in this one place doing the same thing; I love that feeling.
Before I knew it I had run through the first water station grabbing the water and after I had done so I reminded myself to walk at the stations from then on since I wasn’t in a hurry. I reached the 5K mark with 26.05 on my Garmin and 10K rolled around at 52.34. I chatted with a Bumblebee from the USA, an English runner who had broken his toe and an American guy. The scenery was stunning, I love autumn marathons (Phoenix Park is my favourite part of all the marathons I have done) with the multi-coloured trees and the perfect weather. Music and supporters all along the route and I was high-fiving all the way.

10 -20K
At 10K I took the only gel I had brought, I had also brought chocolate in my spibelt if I needed it. I was still feeling good but I noticed I was favouring my right leg and I had to keep concentrating on my form so I decided to stop after each water station and stretch to keep my hips inline. There was a giant big boom box playing music at the 12k mark with “I’m on my way” written on it and I practically danced up that stretch, it was just like being in a disco, I loved it! Just before about 15K (1.19.16) a nice Greek man asked if I had a cramp so I must have been limping a little, I wasn’t sure if he wanted to help massage it;) I said no thanks for the offer of help and Yassas and off he went and I made a conscious effort to make sure I wasn’t making my right leg work too much. 20K rolled round at 1.45 and I had chatted to a lady from Texas and a guy form Denmark (one of 6 thousand Danes who ran the marathon). I passed a few Irish flags on the side and I always made sure to yell at those supporters. My hands were getting tired of high-fiving at this stage so I switched to waving and clapping for a while. Berlin is known for its supporters and I was enjoying every one of them, shouting “Dankeschon” every time I caught someone’s eye.

20 -30K
I ate one of my mini Toblerones just after 20K and I had taken a half banana at one of the stations so I was feeling fine. The weather was absolutely perfect, sunny with a light breeze at times. I had been following the Blue line since the start; tough at times with the crowd but since I wasn’t in a hurry it was no problem to do so. Occasionally the sun would be too bright and I wouldn’t see it and at times the crowds would have spilled onto the course on the line but I more or less stuck to it all the time. Just before reaching 30k ( 2.40) I noticed my pace had been gradually dropping but since I was running on effort I didn’t allow myself to try and pick it up. For the first time in the race I started to realise that this wasn’t exactly going to be a walk in the park. Because of my injury I had run a very slow 19 miles one week before this race and the last LSR I had done was way back in July, lack of endurance was always going to be a problem but then again marathons aren’t supposed to be easy, are they? I decided from 30K on I would dedicate each kilometre to special people in my life, alive and dead, people I know who are struggling or are facing a challenge. I won’t go into any details cos it’s way too soppy to share on here but suffice to say it really helped take the focus away from me and my tired legs and who knows, maybe my thoughts will have helped somebody? I got to 35K (3.07) and I noticed the sign where good wishes were being passed on to runners. My first thought was “Sh*T” I forgot to do one for Mr Stew, me or anyone for that matter…. Luckily Claralara is a way nicer person than me and I saw a sign that said something about Officer Digger and the Finish Line. I nearly started to cry I was so happy and when I looked at my Garmin I realised she was probably crossing the line round about that time. (In the movie version of her rise to fame that scene will definitely be in it:D)

30K-Finish
40K rolled around (3.16) , definitely harder than the previous 10Ks but I was still enjoying myself. At this stage I was passing a good few runners (and some were passing me) and each time I was near a runner who was walking I would pat them on the back and say “Not long now, dig deep”, occasionally somebody would start to run again and say “Thanks”. Finally I was on “Unter den Linden”, I had been visualising running along this stretch since I had first gotten injured and I was fighting back the tears of joy at this stage. I enjoyed every minute of this part of the marathon, waving, cheering, and clapping…as far as I was concerned everyone was there for me shouting “Well done Marthstew, you made it to Berlin”. On the last stretch after the Brandenburg Gate I posed for every camera I could see, I then picked up the pace a little. About 100M from the line I noticed a guy screaming “yes, yes, yes”, always one for public displays of joy I screamed “Yes, yes, yes” back to him and then I stopped in case we were starting to sound like the sound track of a porno movie;)

Crossed the line with my hands held the highest I think I ever held them and then it hit me… I had run Berlin marathon against the odds:) I walked over to lean on a barrier and suddenly found myself sobbing:o sheer relief and joy, all those missed runs, trips to the physio, one legged squats, tree poses in yoga… they had all been worth it after all. I quickly pulled myself together before security came to take away the old lady who was acting as if she had in fact won the race:) Collected my medal, kissed it and wiped away yet another tear. My porno movie friend came and found me and shook hands.

I love the Finish of the marathon where we’re now all walking, again in the same direction, mostly silently and the sense of relief is almost palpable. We’ve all done it:D


I found Mr Stew in our designated meeting point and I knew straight away by the smile on his face that he had broken 3.30, 3.27.10 for him and he was naturally over the moon, it’s no small feat to be able to make your wife swoon after 17 years of marriage:) we were overjoyed and it was so, so nice to have each other to share that joy.

Post-race
We made our way back slowly to the hotel (even stopping to collect conkers for the boys in the park on the way) and chilled out at the pool and rehydrated before heading to the Oscar Wilde to celebrate. A super, super gang there and it was really nice to meet some more boardsies as well as lots of other runners, happy faces all round, even Meno who was quite rightly philosophical about his day. I’m very much of the belief that what goes on tour stays on tour so I won’t recount our night in the pub but I have to share one bit of it with you; Mr Stew had just met Pronator and asked him how he got on and he very, very modestly replied “Oh I got a PB, sub 3 hours”, he had run 2.38! I also have to report back the fact that Digdig's guns were in super shape:DThe Ryder Cup was the perfect end to a perfect day and we rolled into a taxi happy, tired and more than a little bit tipsy.


We were on the early flight the next morning; shower, breakfast, taxi to airport, flight home and I was shattered when we landed. I forced myself to have a dip in the 40 Foot and also do a yoga class and after a great night’s I was almost back to normal yesterday.


I’m really looking forward to pacing Dublin now and the future is finally bright again:)


“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
Marilyn Monroe

October 8th
Dip in 40 Foot
45 minute Body Pump Class


October 9th
Dip in 40 Foot
75 minute Hot Vinyasa Yoga Class
6.04 miles avg pace 9.32


October 10th
Dip in 40 Foot
12.39 miles; 6 warm up at 9.34 pace followed by 5 miles @ what was once my PMP 7.52 pace, followed by cool down at 8.34 pace.
60 minute Hot Ashtanga Yoga Class

Another glorious autumn morning for a run and rather than head out the door for some easy miles I decided to put some structure into my running. I wanted to try and gauge how much fitness I’ve lost over the past two months sitting in a hot room saying OHM (I’ve decided that ohm actually stands for O’s healed muscles:)). Up around Killiney for a hilly warm-up then in and out of Blackrock for the speedy stuff. Turns out I’ve lost a fair amount of fitness, instead of feeling like marathon pace it felt more like Half marathon pace, the good news is that after some initial tightness my calf behaved itself (or maybe I just didn’t notice it anymore?) Once again I felt great after the run and the morning after, fingers crossed, knock on wood…. and all that jazz. I actually really enjoyed running a little fast (yes I know that’s slow for lots of people) I remembered that the last time I ran close to that pace was very uncomfortably in the Bay 10K August 5th. Fast forward to over two months later and Florence and the Machine were serenading me and all was well once again in my running world:)
Say my name!
As every colour illuminates!
We are shining!
And we'll never be afraid again!


October 11th
Dip in Sea
75 minute Hot Vinyasa Yoga Class

Arrived down for my usual dip to find the 40 Foot was closed off as a crime scene as a body had been recovered the night before, very, very sad news and a very stark reminder that if all I have to worry about is loss of fitness I have absolutely nothing to worry about.


We swam around at Sandycove beach and managed a sprint swimming exit; one of the giant big seals had arrived to say hello:eek: Water temperature is a balmy 13 degrees at the moment:)

Dory Dory wrote: »

Are giant big seals bad?? They're alwfully cute.....

(Nice work you've been doing post Berlin!! I sent you a text or two over the weekend, but it seems our texting is spotty at best. I think it's a problem on my end with how I have your number programmed in my phone. I'll work on that!!)

The giant seals are awfully cute:) and he looked so forlorn when we got out but a couple of years ago they started getting a little too friendly with the swimmers and we aren't taking any chances:eek:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sexstarved-seals-prey-on-bathers-1861388.html

Textland is a strange place;) it would appear that I have to be in Berlin for our texts to work....

Dory Dory wrote: »

Aren't you supposed to do NY in a few weeks?? And pacing DCM?? Are you still a go for all that? Or have things changed....or perhaps my memory is fooling me...?

This time 3 weeks from now I'll be in New York (WOO HOO:D:D:D)
Mr S is staying home to mind the boys (or as he very kindly reminded me, he didn't qualify:)) so I'm heading over with a Canadian friend and some pals are coming up from Chicago also, I am getting VERY EXCITED:):):)
Before that I have the honour of pacing 4.15 in DCM and i'm really, really looking forward to that also.

(Those photos of your trail run the other day almost had me changing my flight home from New York so I could come and run with you but I'll have to save that trip for another time:)
Oh, and congrats on your PB DD:D)

October 12th
Dip in Sea
14.06 miles @ 9.14 pace
45 minute Body Pump Class
Another glorious day so I took full advantage of it by heading along the coast from Dun Laoire to Shanganagh Park and back again. I took it nice and easy on the way there as I had been for a really tough dry needling session on Thursday and my calf was still a little tight and picked to pace up on the way back, gradually increasing and finishing with some strides. Popped into Body Pump as a cool down and I felt very strong throughout.

October 13th DLR 5K fun run Kilbogget Park
Easy run up to the park 2.16 miles avg pace 9.23
Race 3.29 miles 23.59 avg pace 7.18
My 9 year old’s rugby team were using this as a fundraiser for Barretstown so I was sort of on duty for this one in case any of them fell into a ditch;) so I hadn’t planned to race this (also the fact that I’m not in race shape and it was a fun run:):):)) A beautiful sunny Autumn day meant a great turnout of all ages and abilities. Junior Stew had asked Mr Stew to pace him to a course record (he knew the course was long by 300M so he wasn’t looking for a PB;)) and I was keeping an eye on our 11 year old and our Spanish student. Had a quick chat with Belcarra at the start and told him to push up to the front ahead of the rugby team and after a few speeches from local politicians we were off. My 11 year old started fast and after a while he slowed a little and asked me to run ahead (I’m sure it’s not cool to run with your mum:D) so I then found myself on my own so I had no choice but to try and race it;) I actually really enjoyed it, picking off the odd runner and overtaking them and although it was a little frustrating to see how much fitness I’ve lost it was also humbling to see how much work I’ll have to do next year to get the sub 20:eek:

Great encouragement from a lot of the participants as we lapped them and I could see junior and Mr S up ahead all the time. Junior was the first child across the line and was thrilled with his course record 23.03:D:D I caught up with Spanishstew in the last 400 metres and we finished together 23.59. I turned around and went straight back to find our 11 year old and was delighted to see him arriving a couple of minutes later with a big smile on his face, I think I was most proud of him as he doesn't really like running and he ran the whole thing on his own. Bumped into Sideswipe and his adorable toddler at the Finish Line and caught up with some more friends.


A great day had by the Stew Family and over €1,800 raised for Barretstown by the rugby club:)


October 14th
Rest Day
I had toyed with the idea of a recovery run but over an hour in the rain on the side of a rugby pitch this morning convinced me to head to the sofa for the afternoon.

Total miles for the week
38.28:)

October 15th
LSR 23.04 miles avg pace 9.31 min/miles
High tide Dip in Sea

Another glorious day and I was meeting up with my friend who is running New York and a new friend who is running DCM for this long run. We started along the coast from Dun Laoire up around Killiney to get the hills over with (yes, I know, we should have done them at the end of the run but I'm saving that for my LSR on October 29th:)). We took it nice and easy and kept the pace slow to start, and then we headed in and out of town along the coast. I really, really enjoyed this run, my hip was as usual very tight to start but after about three miles I was fine. We chatted non-stop the whole way and the miles just flew by. I had hoped to run this on empty as I need all the help I can get for New York but at 12 miles they stopped to buy chocolate and it would have been rude not to take a piece:D, Yum. I bought a small carton of juice and then at 16 miles I had some water and another small piece of chocolate. As if things couldn’t get any better, a black cat crossed our path along the way:D:D At about 19 miles we were all starting to flag a little but the great thing about running in a group is that there’s always somebody to take the lead and spur us on. Mile 21 was our fastest mile (although that could be because we were all getting hungry;)) and we finished strong.. Super high tide at the 40 Foot so we couldn’t resist, a perfect morning that left me on a high.
I love, love that smug, tired feeling you get after doing a long run:)

October 16th
Dip in Sea
60 minute lower body class
45 minute Pilates class
Feeling good after the long run but I decided to cross-train for recovery.

October 17th
45 minute aqua aerobics class
Wet, wild, windy wonderful 6.02 recovery miles avg pace 9.24 min/mile
Super dooper high tide dip in the sea:D

I popped into the pool in the gym to join the aqua class as a warm up and then braved the elements for a short recovery run. Legs felt quite stiff to start, I should have just done the recovery run on Tuesday;) but I really enjoyed this run. The sea was wild and I was getting splashed as I ran along the coast. Again up to the hills in Killiney and I was thinking of Emer911 as I picked my way through the piles of squishy, wet leaves on the footpaths:)

I headed down to the 40 Foot for a high tide but it was so rough and the waves were huge, got in for a dip at the beach and it was glorious, a bit like being in a washing machine being thrown around the place, I couldn't stop myslef saying "Woo hoo" every time a wave picked me up:)

October 18th
75 hot ashtanga yoga class
Easy 5.82 hilly miles in Killiney @ 9.23 pace
High tide dip in Sea

October 19th
5.02 miles @ 7.41 pace
45 minute Body Pump class
Another fabulous high tide dip in Sea
I’m still all over the place with a non-existent training plan and I’ve been happy enough to get easy miles in with no pressure on but I headed out on Friday with the P&D 3X1600 @ 5K pace run in mind…. Started slow and firstly thought I’d just take it easy and then I copped myself on and after a mile @ 9 min/mile pace I upped the pace to 5K effort, splits were 7.29, 7.17 and 7.12 and I opted not to take a recovery in between so it became a tempo session. I started the last mile slowly but then I wasn’t in the mood to keep it slow so I had an enjoyable last mile @ 7.30 pace. I popped into the gym and cooled down in Body Pump.

October 20th
12.19 miles @9.22 pace
First early morning run in a long, long time and it nearly killed me at the start. I was up at 7am (early for a Saturday) and was meeting my friend who’s running New York. We ran the West Pier to allow ourselves to wake up and by the time we finished the sun was well and truly up and it was turning into a glorious morning. With our legs warmed up we headed to the hills in Killiney and finished this run with two fast miles (downhill:)) as I needed to get back to bring junior to a GAA match.

October 21st
Rest Day
I had hoped to get out for a recovery run but Saturday turned into a very late night so I caught up on sleep instead.


I’m delighted to finally feel like I’ve logged a good week’s training, unfortunately it's a little too late for New York but it’s good to be slowly getting back to my-running-self again again. I’m going to take it easy running wise from now on in the run up to Dublin, next week is turning out to be one of the busiest weeks I’ve had in ages, with four nights out planned (all will be teetotal:)), in fact I’ve had no alcohol at all since Berlin (except for a half glass of DELICIOUS red wine at a party on Saturday) and I’ve finally lost two of the extra kilos I was carrying due to lack of miles:)

Total miles for the week 52.11:)
7 days to DCM and 13 days to New York:D:D:D