Running with the birds or for the birds?

Dory Dory

tháinig mé, chonaic mé, bhuaigh mé

As always, a super result and a super report from a super lady. You ooze sunshine.

kit3

Dory Dory wrote: »

tháinig mé, chonaic mé, bhuaigh mé

Achill influence

Dory Dory

kit3 wrote: »

Achill influence

Totally!! I love those Achill race shirts with that on the back. What is your Achill connection? I think you were at the half marathon in 2012 when I was there. (sorry MS for the hijack )

kit3

Dory Dory wrote: »

Totally!! I love those Achill race shirts with that on the back. What is your Achill connection? I think you were at the half marathon in 2012 when I was there. (sorry MS for the hijack )

I'm lucky enough to spend the summer in
Dooagh every year. Have no family connection but lots of good friends. Great fun and banter this week with them confidently preparing to play the Dubs next Sunday. I did the half in 2009 (my first !) & 2010 and did the new one around the Atlantic drive this year. MS - one of the organisers of the new one (ultra, full & half)is your friend Caroline from
Athlone - spectacular but tough !

Sorry for the hijack too !

Murph_D

Marthastew wrote: »

Originally I had thought this would be a goal marathon and I’d be chasing a PB but after a break over the summer I decided I’d run it for fun.

And then you go and win it...

Well done.

RubyK

Brilliant stuff Marthastew, congrats on the win

racheljev

Fantastic report, as always. And fantastic race, as always! Congratulations on your win, I'm so happy for you

digger2d2

Forget about the win.... You looked amazing

Marthastew

Thanks for all the lovely well wishes:)
It's safe to say I've been in the right race at the right time in 2013:D

Athlone Flatline Postscript
Mr Stew; although he was disappointed with his performance in Athlone Mr S and I had a really lovely break and he has now thrown himself back into training with gusto with all eyes on DCM and the smashing of the family marathon PB. He even managed to turn down some of Meno's birthday cake yesterday he is so focussed:)
Cousin Stew; just missed his goal of sub 90 but ran a fantastic PB of 91, I’m still trying to convince him to join Crusaders as I reckon he has some great races in him with some structured training.
Leo; slowed a little after I left him and he didn’t get his sub 3.30 but he was close to his PB and he really enjoyed the race and finished feeling that he had a good day at the running office.
Enda; got a super PB and was naturally thrilled with his run
Mark; slowed a bit in the second half of the race but he was smiling and happy when I saw him after the finish
Auntie Mae; was over the moon for me, I phoned her very soon after I finished and within minutes I was getting texts from long-lost relatives. As cousin Stew remarked “Who needs twitter when you have Auntie Mae?”

Sunday Sept 15th
Rest day
Total miles for the week 41.49:D

Steroo

Well done

HelenAnne

Well done! Fantastic result. Saw a lovely photo of you running it on Facebook.

Marthastew

murphd77 wrote: »

And then you go and win it...

Well done.

Good luck if you are racing the Half tomorrow, Mr Stew is pacing 1.40 and I'm pacing 1.50 so come and say hi if you see us

RubyK wrote: »

Brilliant stuff Marthastew, congrats on the win

how is the training for DCM going? Looking forward to seeing you again.

HelenAnne wrote: »

Well done! Fantastic result. Saw a lovely photo of you running it on Facebook.

Are you and your hubby racing tomorrow? Tell him he'll have to find someone else to chase him on the finishing straight as I'm having fun pacing. Make sure to come say hello

RubyK

Marthastew wrote: »

how is the training for DCM going? Looking forward to seeing you again.

Training is going ok, have a 22 miler to get through tomorrow, so will know more after that

Hope you are recovering well after the win! Enjoy tomorrows pacing.

HelenAnne

Marthastew wrote: »

.
Are you and your hubby racing tomorrow? Tell him he'll have to find someone else to chase him on the finishing straight as I'm having fun pacing. Make sure to come say hello

He is, I've sprained my ankle so will be cheering instead! I'll look out for you too - enjoy the pacing!

shortstuff!

Congrats on the win & making the MarathonTalk podium, well impressed:)

Marthastew

shortstuff! wrote: »

Congrats on the win & making the MarathonTalk podium, well impressed:)

I got a chance to listen to it today on my LSR.... a big cheesy grin on my face as I crested a hill in Killiney to hear Martin's voice in my ear (or maybe Tom's?) say "Get in Olwyn!":D
I really enjoyed the discussion on the GNR and Tony Aldenshaw's piece (apart from the repetitve song) has me really wanting to go and run it someday.

I hope your training is going well? I think you are running DCM? marathontalk podcasts are great for passing the time on LSRs

Marthastew

Monday September 16th
Weight 57 kilos (finally back to normal, won’t bother monitoring it on here anymore, unless I start to pile on the pounds again)
Dip in the 40 Foot (I’ve been going all summer but since it’s starting to get cold I’m going to start adding it here, it looks good on the days I slack off:))
45 minute Body Sculpt
Legs felt a little stiff during squats and lunges but it was a great way to loosen out after Saturday.


Tuesday September 17th
Dip in the 40 Foot
45 minute strength and conditioning
45 minute Mat Pilates Class
6.21 recovery miles @ 9.11 pace


Wednesday September 18th
Postman Pat 12.36 miles @ 9.15 pace
45 minute mat Pilates
Decided to run a little further to see if my legs were as good as I thought they were, I was joined by a pal (Digger, it wasn't meno) for this run, we headed to the hills in Killiney and out to the land of the Krustys (Krusties?)and the Emer911s:) as I had offered to deliver his winnings from the Athlone Half. Ladies and gentlemen I can now reveal the secret to their running success….. You all thought it was all those high-quality 100 mile weeks he has been putting in and Emer’s sprints around the local park; drumroll please….. It’s a resident black cat:D, sitting right in their front garden was a shiny black cat! I tried desperately to lure the cat home with me but he was having none of it:( A really enjoyable run despite returning home sans black cat;)


Thursday September 19th
Rest Day

Friday September 20th
Dip in the 40 Foot
Track session, 3 X 3 X 400M w/100M and 400M rest. Total 6.11 miles
Next race up for the Stews is the Rathfarnham 5K and with thoughts of the smack down looming I headed to the track for some 400s. I was pleasantly surprised with how this went, I found it tough going but my splits remained consistent and I was delighted to finish feeling strong.
Splits; 1.35, 1.34, 1.35, 1.36, 1.36, 1.35, 1.34, 1.33, 1.34

Saturday September 21st
The tragic loss of a young runner during the race on Saturday has left the running community shocked. No matter what the post mortem reveals about how his death came about his family and friends must be heartbroken and shocked. A race report seems almost disrespectful in the wake of his death but nonetheless I’ve outlined how my day went below.


Dublin Half marathon Phoenix Park, 1.50 Pacer.
13.18 miles avg pace 8.20 min/mile
Mr Stew and I collected Meno and despite the fact he got us lost on the way we arrived just a little later than 9am and met up with the rest of the pacing A-team. Officer Digger had very kindly set up our back-packs and I’m not going to lie, the guns were out in full force:D and I’m pretty sure I saw some ladies swoon as they walked by;). We had jogged up to the start and we also decided to do a short warm-up run to check if the backpacks were ok. we all remarked that it was very, very warm even though the sun hadn’t broken through the clouds yet. A quick pit-stop to the loo for me where I have to admit to using the Pacer flag to skip the queue (naughty Marthastew! it’s a throw back to my airline days where we could skip the queue at security) I then lined up with Offcer Digger and Meno, we caught up with lots of old friends and met some new ones (Ger and Murph introduced themselves:)) A few runners told me they weren’t too confident of sub 1.50 and I told them that conditions were tough and that they should take it easy to start (my 1.5 mile warm-up with the backpack already had me sweating). The gun went off bang on time, we were half way back in the second wave and we set off with a great bunch of pacees. Our goal was to run steady 8.20 min miles and I was also wearing a stopwatch to check against the mile markers as Garmins can be unreliable. After the first 3 miles we had settled down into a nice bunch, some talking and some just tucking in and enjoying the ride on the bus. I was very warm with the pacer backpack on and was glad to see the arrival of first water station (I was also thinking the couple of glasses of wine at dinner the night before didn’t help;)). The miles were ticking by nicely and we were half way before we knew it. As always Digger, Meno and I were our usual charming selves:D and we solicited great cheers from the crowds along the way. Around this time we started to catch lots of runners who had started too fast in the first wave and usually we were greeted with “Oh f~ck” or something similar when we’d appear. I noticed one poor guy with a camelback speeding up and subsequently slowing down about 3 times in the space of a mile before finally he muttered “Sh*t” and left us to it. I wished him luck and away we went. Digger asked if we had any Mayo fans on board and told them they had to work extra hard as this was the only victory they’d have this weekend:D My least favourite part of the route was along Coyningham road outside the park, it reminded me a bit of the stretch in DCM in Crumlin, nothing but bollards and cars to see and the noisy sound of traffic. A nice shout out for our group from Slogger Jogger as we returned into the park and we told our group to dig in and stick with us for the hills.

We told them we had some seconds in the bank from the earlier easier miles in the route and not to panic. As we headed up Military Road I noticed two of my club mates who were out cheering and they were yelling at us to move to the right-hand side of the road and when I spotted more of our club but none of them cheering it soon became clear something wasn’t right but I didn’t for one minute think it would be anything too serious. I was yelling as loud as I could to try and get our group to move over to the side to allow the ambulance by and at one stage we ran up onto the crass verge as there were two ambulances side by side. Meno had to forcibly move a runner who was wearing an iPod and couldn't hear us or the ambulance siren. I remarked to one of our pacees that I hoped things were ok with whoever was unwell but again, neither of us thought that the day would unfold so tragically.

We managed to hang on to a lot of our group here and reminded them to relax and catch their breath on the downhill reprieve. With 2 miles to go everybody was struggling and we urged them to dig deep. We started to pass a number of runners on the side of the road (I think I saw a total of 4) and in all cases we could see they were being given assistance so we powered on. Lots of shouts of encouragement and support from the side-lines and the welcome sight of runners wearing the (blue, not hot pink;)) t-shirt. One of our group said “I’ll be wearing that t-shirt very soon” and I smiled and told him he should push on. Along the finishing chute and I was yelling at everyone telling them it should hurt now, they should push to the finish line and that every second counts at this stage. lots of smiley, happy runners crossing the line:D My chip time; 1.49.42, as they say on marthontalk Get in:D
Mr Stew and I tagged on a few more miles after we caught up with some pals to bring the total for the day to 18 miles

Sunday September 22nd
Recovery 6.23 miles @ 8.48 pace
Dip in the 40 Foot
A glorious sunny morning run along the west pier with Mr Stew before the Junior Stews had even woken up.



Total miles for the week 48.91
A good solid week post-marathon; my legs are feeling great and my energy levels are super, Claralara was right, spinach is good for you:D

rob w

Another great race by the pacers......was cheering you guys on as you came in, saw you giving a great shout to your pacees for the last stretch (presume it was you with the 1:50 flag anyway!). Didn't get to introduce myself on the day but next time!

Fair play to you, great pacing on a tough day!

Murph_D

Sounds like a great pacing job. Good to meet you and meno - managed to stay ahead but it was indeed a tough and unsettling day on Sat.

shortstuff!

Marthastew wrote: »

I got a chance to listen to it today on my LSR.... a big cheesy grin on my face as I crested a hill in Killiney to hear Martin's voice in my ear (or maybe Tom's?) say "Get in Olwyn!":D
I really enjoyed the discussion on the GNR and Tony Aldenshaw's piece (apart from the repetitve song) has me really wanting to go and run it someday.

I hope your training is going well? I think you are running DCM? marathontalk podcasts are great for passing the time on LSRs

It picked me up on my 20m LSR too, smiling to myself thinking I know her, well kind of! Yeah MarathonTalk is great for passing the time on the long runs, got through nearly 3 episodes yesterday:eek: was thinking the same about GNR, he makes it sound like a lot if fun... Much prefer Tonys trials to Boy on the run!

Yep a DCM novice here, Trainings not going too bad, 2 20milers done & dusted, and a great 1/2 in Athlone so feeling good for DCM!

Marthastew

Monday September 23rd
LSR 20.09 MILES @ 8.55 pace (I’m tempted to call this a 20 mile recovery run a-la Krusty;))
Dip in the 40 Foot
Fabulous sunny morning, headed out along the coast to Bray head and back home gain. Really enjoyed this run as I took it nice and handy and enjoyed the scenery. It was quite warm out so I stopped in Shankill for a yummy blue drink:D

Tuesday September 24th
Track session, 4 X 800M total 9 miles
Another glorious sunny day, I joined a pal for the run up to the track and we were early so tagged on an extra loop of the park before we started. I told Maria I wasn’t sure how I would fare after the LSR the day before but was pleasantly surprised when I almost enjoyed it. I had company this time so the fact somebody was behind meant it was easier to keep the pace up. I hared off at the start and I wasn’t surprised when Maria told me my 400M split was 1.30@, I remained somewhat in control to finish in 3.06, 2 minutes recovery between each set and the remaining splits were encouraging 3.11, 3.12, 3.10. We finished the session with some nice plyometric drills and a nice easy run home.

Wednesday September 25th
Dip in the 40 Foot
MLR 12.01 miles @ 8.40 pace
45 minute mat Pilates
Nice handy run in along the coast to Sean Moore park and back again. Almost surreal running in the mist.

Thursday September 26th
Dip in the 40 Foot
45 minute Circuit training Class
I had toyed with the idea of running a few miles after but my legs and arms were in bits because I worked hard. It was a great class and the time flew by because of the different stations. I haven’t used a skipping rope in a very long time and I had forgotten how much fun it can be:)

Friday September 27th
Dip in the 40 Foot
75 minute Hot Ashtanga Yoga

Saturday September 28th
AM: Marlay Parkrun
PM; MLR 12 miles @ 8.44 pace
No GAA match this weekend so I headed to Marlay with my partner in crime. I had asked Junior if he was ok to run on his own as I wanted to see where I am fitness-wise. We managed a very short warm up of a quarter of a mile and then junior needed to pay another trip to the loo. I asked him if he’d like me to run with him and he said no, in hindsight I should have insisted but he’s a tough cookie so I wasn’t worried. We returned just in time for the start gun and away we went. I wore my Garmin for the splits but didn’t look at it, not even when it beeped after each mile. My splits, although somewhat disappointing are probably a true reflection of my current fitness and I’ve lots of work to do over the winter. 6.45, 7.12 and 6.32 (6.01). 20.52 for me and I finished 2nd lady (Rathfarnham 5K the next day probably kept lots of people away) I turned around and ran back to see Junior who didn’t look very happy with 600M to go. I encouraged him and told him to push to the end and he overtook one runner, collected his finishing chip and then fell into my arms in tears:o 22.26 and first in his age groupbut he had a stitch the whole way round and had even stopped a few times to walk:mad: I felt so bad for him because he was very disappointed but I knew he’d be fine when he caught his breath. We caught up with the lovely AJAYC and he cheered Junior up by telling him all he needed was decent warm-up for the next run and by the time I had finished helping out with chip sorting and we paid a trip to the coffee shop he was a happy camper once again.
In the afternoon Meno was joining Mr Stew for an LSR so I decided to hook up with them for 12 miles to bring my weekly mileage up, very enjoyable run in the sunshine but I was more than happy to leave them off to finish up their run.


Sunday September 29th
Recovery 5.38 miles @ 9.02 pace
Up around the hills of Kiliney for some fabulous views, Mr Stew and I were both feeling tired to start but we perked up on our 2 downhill miles at the end of the run.


Total miles for the week 61.9
Total miles for September 198.1
Total miles YTD 1,485.33

HelenAnne

Marthastew wrote: »

I got a chance to listen to it today on my LSR.... a big cheesy grin on my face as I crested a hill in Killiney to hear Martin's voice in my ear (or maybe Tom's?) say "Get in Olwyn!":D
I really enjoyed the discussion on the GNR and Tony Aldenshaw's piece (apart from the repetitve song) has me really wanting to go and run it someday.

I hope your training is going well? I think you are running DCM? marathontalk podcasts are great for passing the time on LSRs

Just heard the podcast! Well done indeed on your shout-out!

I LIKED the song! It made me think the Raheny 5 should have one (Alan could write a funk one); Ballycotton has one, after all.

Hope your running is going well.

Marthastew

I'm delighted your comeback is going well (although rotten luck with the injury in the first place:(), you have a great base and lots of experience racing so DCM will go really well for you.

I definitely think Al should write a Raheny 5 song for next year:D

HelenAnne wrote: »

Just heard the podcast! Well done indeed on your shout-out!

I LIKED the song! It made me think the Raheny 5 should have one (Alan could write a funk one); Ballycotton has one, after all.

Hope your running is going well.

I'm having great fun taking it easy with no races on the horizon. I'm pacing the Athlone 3/4 on Sunday which gives Mr Stew a nice chance to get a good challenging LSR in ahead of the big day. Less than 4 weeks to go, woo hoo!!!!:D:D:D

HelenAnne

Marthastew wrote: »

I'm delighted your comeback is going well (although rotten luck with the injury in the first place:(), you have a great base and lots of experience racing so DCM will go really well for you.

I definitely think Al should write a Raheny 5 song for next year:D

I'm having great fun taking it easy with no races on the horizon. I'm pacing the Athlone 3/4 on Sunday which gives Mr Stew a nice chance to get a good challenging LSR in ahead of the big day. Less than 4 weeks to go, woo hoo!!!!:D:D:D

It sounds like you're running really well & I'm in awe of your weekly mileage! I'm creeping back into action. My ankle is not better, so (with the agreement of the physio) I'm sort of walking a line between letting it heal and getting some training in. I did 15-16 on Sunday and whatever about the ankle I was wrecked - I'd definitely lost fitness! If I make it to the marathon start line (which I really hope to) I think it will be a case of being happy to finish this year.

Well done to Junior Stew on Saturday - he's a fantastic little runner!

belcarra

HelenAnne - I spotted you at St Anne's parkrun on Sat morning but yet again didn't get to introduce myself...
It's beginning to feel like I'm stalking you now so any possible future intro is just gonna be too weird at this stage!

I'll probably be back again this Saturday so I'll defo have to say hello if you're there!

MS - I highly recommend St Anne's if you can manage to avoid getting lost crossing the Liffey! They even have access to the sea for a dip also!

HelenAnne

belcarra wrote: »

HelenAnne - I spotted you at St Anne's parkrun on Sat morning but yet again didn't get to introduce myself...
It's beginning to feel like I'm stalking you now so any possible future intro is just gonna be too weird at this stage!

I'll probably be back again this Saturday so I'll defo have to say hello if you're there!

MS - I highly recommend St Anne's if you can manage to avoid getting lost crossing the Liffey! They even have access to the sea for a dip also!

Please do!! I will be there, but probably not running, due to my peg leg!

I'd say I looked very cold and sad when you saw me - I'd run 4 miles to the start intending to run the 5k at an easy pace then, but when I stopped my ankle stiffened up, so I couldn't do the parkrun & had no more clothes to put on!

Were you running or volunteering? My husband was doing the timekeeping, so if you were volunteering you might have met him.

belcarra

I was running, but I'm sure I'll be volunteering at some stage through the Winter as this will be my new home parkrun given that it's closer to me and quicker than Malahide.
Ye just need an Avoca now!

Alicano

How the hell did I miss the Athlone win!!???
Wow wow wow. Nothing lucky about it Champ. Brilliant training regime and great mind set all the time. And so nice to all of us as you pass us out
Am I the Al that's supposed to write the Raheny Anthem? I'm very expensive.:)

HelenAnne

Alicano wrote: »

How the hell did I miss the Athlone win!!???
Wow wow wow. Nothing lucky about it Champ. Brilliant training regime and great mind set all the time. And so nice to all of us as you pass us out
Am I the Al that's supposed to write the Raheny Anthem? I'm very expensive.:)

Yes you are! And you'll have to record it and have it broadcast through speakers at the start. Or you could be on the back of a flatbed truck being driven along the course singing it ... we'll think of something!

Hope Tempo Tuesday went well tonight?

Marthastew

HelenAnne wrote: »

It sounds like you're running really well & I'm in awe of your weekly mileage! I'm creeping back into action. My ankle is not better, so (with the agreement of the physio) I'm sort of walking a line between letting it heal and getting some training in. I did 15-16 on Sunday and whatever about the ankle I was wrecked - I'd definitely lost fitness! If I make it to the marathon start line (which I really hope to) I think it will be a case of being happy to finish this year.

Well done to Junior Stew on Saturday - he's a fantastic little runner!

I'm still keeping fingers and toes crossed for you:) All your parkrun volunteering will definitely sway the running Gods;)

belcarra wrote: »

HelenAnne - I spotted you at St Anne's parkrun on Sat morning but yet again didn't get to introduce myself...
It's beginning to feel like I'm stalking you now so any possible future intro is just gonna be too weird at this stage!

I'll probably be back again this Saturday so I'll defo have to say hello if you're there!

MS - I highly recommend St Anne's if you can manage to avoid getting lost crossing the Liffey! They even have access to the sea for a dip also!

Junior and I hope to make it over there as soon as his GAA allows.
Hope you're enjoying your taper J:)

Alicano wrote: »

How the hell did I miss the Athlone win!!???
Wow wow wow. Nothing lucky about it Champ. Brilliant training regime and great mind set all the time. And so nice to all of us as you pass us out
Am I the Al that's supposed to write the Raheny Anthem? I'm very expensive.:)

Yes, we know you're expensive but just think of all the PBs that would be achieved if we were running towards a finish line with you strutting your stuff and singing the Raheny 5 song:) You owe it to the fans Al:D