If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.

Baby75

Kellygirl wrote: »

Clon is known for the hills but at least I know they are there and where they are and will account for them. One is at about 9km and 3-4km long and super steep. I walked it last year. Hoping to run it but really slowly this year.

Having run it before it will be much easier this time for you. It's always good knowing the course

Kellygirl

Another week done and ended with the full marathon in Clonakilty today as I just couldn’t help myself!

Monday: 8km @ 6:26min/km
Wednesday: 8.3km @ 6:05 min/km in wind and rain
Saturday: 42.6km @ 6:40 min/km

Total: 58.9km
Left to cover in 2017 - 30km (19 miles)

So my Clonakilty race report ...

I had planned to do the half but the full marathon was niggling at me the last two weeks. A friend doing it mentioned she was doing an early start at 8am and I decided to ring and see if it was possible to make my mind up about changing to the full this morning and could I do the 8am start. Both yes so I tapered and carb loaded for the full and got up at 5am, forced 80g porridge down me and got on the road in zero degrees. I had created a 4:30 paceband in case I did the full.

A group of about 20 of us I think started in the dark at 8am. A friend and I started together. We pretty much stuck to the pace on my paceband which I felt was a bit too fast. Not sure why it felt fast as was still slower than most of my runs lately. It got bright over the next while and it was lovely running along by the water and out to Inchadonny. One majorly steep but short enough hill there and then a steep downhill. We started passing out walkers who had started at 7am. We were ticking off the miles though I knew I was a bit too fast and would be walking in the second half. I kept saying to my friend to head off as hate holding people back but she’s injured so needed to go slow. I was struggling a bit though and thought maybe the heat so took off my jacket. Next few miles were uneventful and lovely country roads. Then around 10 miles I started feeling twinges in my left knee. This was a new one. Walked it out for a bit and went back to running and took it handy on the uphills walking if I needed to.

At 11 miles or so there was an energy station. We picked Jaffa cakes and jelly babies and walked eating those. I have a new found love for jelly babies. Yum!!

13 miles and we came to a big hill. I sent my friend off at that stage and started walking. It was 2hrs 11mins at that stage so just one minute behind my paceband anyway. The scenery was fab - saw Owenhincha beach and then went over the cliffs to Long Strand. There were a few cars there with supporters. There were two guys in front of me running and walking too and I could see more up ahead. I was on my own but it was just so peaceful and I trotted along at my own pace and just enjoyed it. The knee was giving out every time I did any decent stint of running so I was looking forward to hills so I could walk up them. Ended up having to start walking on the flat around then too though. It was around this stage that the leaders of the 9am start came through. It was fairly cool seeing them pass. All said hello and well done.

Another energy table at Red Strand so I helped myself to a Nature Valley Bar, Jaffa cakes and jelly babies and strolled along having a little picnic for myself. I finally passed out the two guys who’d been ahead of me for a while. They were very funny. A lady and her son about 2 years old were outside their house and had a table of oranges and a jug of drinks. He came forward holding a little drink for me in a cup. I had a little chat and on I went.

At about 18 miles I got to the biggest hill - about a 400 ft ascent. The lead female passed me here. The hill went on forever but my knee meant I had to walk so I didn’t mind. When I eventually got to the top I realized I was on the Half course which I had done last year. It was raining but it was grand. Really high up and just lovely fresh, cold air looking over the sea. I knew i’d only 8km or so to go but it was a little annoying that I now had to walk down the hills or my knee would really hurt. I had the energy to run but the knee kept stopping me.

The last 5km I tried to run as much as I could and just short stops. I made a nice burst for the finish line and the lady putting my medal on had to steady me as I did a bit of a speed wobble. I finished in 4:45 exactly. My friends were waiting and we went straight for the Clonakilty Black Pudding stand and grabbed a coffee.

Then we went to the gym in the hotel and hopped into the jacuzzi for a while. Bliss! After a shower and fresh clothes I headed for the physio room. The treatment was great and hopefully will really help tomorrow. Hopefully the knee is nothing major and just a treatment by my own physio needed. Planning a weeks rest anyway for a start and will see where I am after a short run then. I’m not expecting any major issues.

I’m really glad I did the full today. I think if I did the half I would have tried for a pb and not achieved it whereas I just enjoyed doing my third marathon this year with no pressure and in my own time and just loved the peace and quiet. I was still 5 mins faster than Cork somehow.

Baby75

Well done Kellygirl hope that knee is ok sounds like a great day and I am so glad you enjoyed it

quickbeam

You're some woman - three marathons in a year! Well done, KG!!!!

Baby75

How are you this morning still on a high I hope and how's the knee

Kellygirl

Baby75 wrote: »

How are you this morning still on a high I hope and how's the knee

Not bad considering. A bit stiff and knee is a bit sore but no where near as bad as I was after the half this time last year. Just about to head into a warm pool for 4 hours now to teach so that will be nice.

Wubble Wubble

Kellygirl wrote: »

Another week done and ended with the full marathon in Clonakilty today as I just couldn’t help myself!






The last 5km I tried to run as much as I could and just short stops. I made a nice burst for the finish line and the lady putting my medal on had to steady me as I did a bit of a speed wobble. I finished in 4:45 exactly. My friends were waiting and we went straight for the Clonakilty Black Pudding stand and grabbed a coffee.

Then we went to the gym in the hotel and hopped into the jacuzzi for a while. Bliss! After a shower and fresh clothes I headed for the physio room. The treatment was great and hopefully will really help tomorrow. Hopefully the knee is nothing major and just a treatment by my own physio needed. Planning a weeks rest anyway for a start and will see where I am after a short run then. I’m not expecting any major issues.

I’m really glad I did the full today. I think if I did the half I would have tried for a pb and not achieved it whereas I just enjoyed doing my third marathon this year with no pressure and in my own time and just loved the peace and quiet. I was still 5 mins faster than Cork somehow.

Brilliant

ariana`

Well done Kellygirl, really amazing stuff from you, I'd love to get to your level of endurance.

Kellygirl

ariana` wrote: »

Well done Kellygirl, really amazing stuff from you, I'd love to get to your level of endurance.

You’ll get there when you are injury free!

Kellygirl

Quiet week this week resting after last Saturday’s marathon. To be honest I’d no choice with my husband away for the whole week and I was dying to get out for a run ... and a break from the kids.

Finally got back out last night and went slowly to see how the body was. Knee started acting up round 4 or 5km but kept going. Out again tonight just to tick off some more miles. Intended going slow but I was on my own and a decent pace felt good so I just went with it and not one twinge.

Friday: 6.6km @ 6:51 min/km or 11:02 min/mile
Saturday: 5.4km @ 5:42 min/ km or 9:11 min /mile

I changed my watch to miles too as thought it might be easier for mile markers in half marathons or full - if I do anymore of them. Very confusing initially but I suppose i’ll get used to it.

I now have only 10.9 miles to go to my 1000 miles.

Baby75

So close KellyGirl that's:) brilliant

Kellygirl

Happy Christmas to anybody reading this :-) Thrown on the couch in front of the tv!

Just two runs in the last week.

Tuesday - a 4.6 mile christmassy run with my WhatsApp running group. We ran around estates looking at houses done up for Xmas and went for hot chocolate after. I hopped off a footpath and went over on my ankle so it was very sore for a few days.

Christmas Eve - first chance to get back out again as foot felt ok. 4 miles at a decent enough pace. Not too bad. Knee started giving out towards the end so looking forward to a physio session.

Now only have 2.3 miles to go to my 1000 miles. Plan on taking it easy this week and will do that and maybe a couple of other runs. There are a few races on but going to leave them and just rest really.

Kellygirl

Hit the 1000 mile mark today! Physio tomorrow morning for my knee. Looking forward to it as getting sore at about 5km so will be good to get it sorted and up the distances again. Had enough rest since Clonakilty now.

All over the place deciding on next year’s goals. I’d love to do Cork and Dublin full marathons again and i’d love to try get closer to the 4hour mark. Don’t think it would be appreciated at home though so need to try and settle for another goal or train away for a while and sign up later if all going well. My original was a sub 2 hour half in Cork anyway but these marathons seem to be addictive.

Kellygirl

Just finished physio and as I predicted it was my pelvis again. My left side just becomes jammed for some reason and starts to cause trouble further down my leg. I could have done with a treatment a month or so after Dublin and would have saved myself some bother.

Anyway, free to start building up mileage again - just wish I could decide what exactly my goals are - well I suppose I know what I want them to be but whether I can get the time to train for marathons is the question!! Roll on 2018!

El Caballo

Kellygirl wrote: »

Just finished physio and as I predicted it was my pelvis again. My left side just becomes jammed for some reason and starts to cause trouble further down my leg. I could have done with a treatment a month or so after Dublin and would have saved myself some bother.

Anyway, free to start building up mileage again - just wish I could decide what exactly my goals are - well I suppose I know what I want them to be but whether I can get the time to train for marathons is the question!! Roll on 2018!

Did the physio give you any exercises/name the injury to do or just a massage? Alignment issues usually stem from tight/weak muscles and while deep tissue treatments can be great for releasing tension, if the problem persists, it usually indicates something needs to be strengthened and stretched to correct the imbalance.

Kellygirl

El Caballo wrote: »

Did the physio give you any exercises/name the injury to do or just a massage? Alignment issues usually stem from tight/weak muscles and while deep tissue treatments can be great for releasing tension, if the problem persists, it usually indicates something needs to be strengthened and stretched to correct the imbalance.

Yes - 3 different kind of lunges and squats mainly on my left rather than my right. Totally forgot to do all of these since DCM of course! Need to make myself remember this time!!!

Kellygirl

Haven’t had the chance to update my log as was away the last few days.

Did Parkrun on Saturday - my last run of 2017. Found it fairly tough and I think the fact that i’m still carb loading since DCM hasn’t helped :-) Anyway, did it in 28:41 which wasn’t too bad really.

I ended 2017 on 1005.2 miles which I’m very pleased with.

I signed up to Cork City Marathon last New Year’s Eve on a whim and intended on that being my one and only marathon. I caught the bug fairly fast and signed up for DCM and beat my Cork time by 30 mins. Cork was tough enough and I had to walk a bit after 20 miles but I learned so much from it. Dublin then was the most amazing day ever. 6 weeks after DCM I did Clonakilty for the laugh really but also because I knew I could. Knee trouble slowed me down in the second half but I was still 5 mins faster than Cork.

I also did Park Run whenever I could, The John Buckley 10 mile race in September which was my first experience of a negative split and I loved that feeling. I got a HM pb 4 weeks after Dublin in a random MCI race that took place locally.

So all in all I had a fantastic year running. I’m never going to win a race but I’ve Got a bit faster and built up endurance that I never thought I could be capable of. I’ve enjoyed it all.

ariana`

Super year Karen! Well done. You've a brilliant base for whatever you decide (or negotiate ) to do in 2018.

Kellygirl

ariana` wrote: »

Super year Karen! Well done. You've a brilliant base for whatever you decide (or negotiate ) to do in 2018.

That’s exactly how it is

Baby75

I hope you can win the OH round

you have had an amazing year and looking forward to seeing what you tackle this year

Kellygirl

Week 1 of 2018 done and I covered 25.5 miles.

Monday: 5 miles at 10:14 min/mile - was just a nice run and nice to be out after New Year.

Wednesday morn: 7 miles at 10:32 min / mile with Storm Eleanor for company! A friend met me half way and continued the rest of the run with me. We had some battle into the wind. On the other hand I thought the storm was gone as I flew along initially not realizing the wind was behind me :-)

Thursday night: 5 miles at 10:55 min/mile with a friend. Very slow but felt good and was an enjoyable run.

Saturday: 8.5 miles at 10.01 min/mile with a friend who is training for a 10 mile. We included Park Run in our route and tried not to speed up during that 5km. It was a tough run. The extra weight I have put on since DCM is not helping though I’m back on plan there so hopefully that is all that is wrong. Just feeling sluggish and legs are like lead. It has also turned out to be me fastest pace run this week so no wonder I was shattered - and I got up too late for breakfast so just grabbed a banana.

I joined the 1000 mile thread. Not sure if that is a good idea or bad idea for me as already I’m conscious of my distances for that! Had a look at plans during the week and paces etc. I’m going to aim to train for Cork full so an 18 week program would start at the beginning of February. My husband is away for a lot of February with work so might be difficult but I think it shouldn’t cause any major problems. I can use a threadmill for some runs and I’ll still squeeze in long runs. Definitely planning on dropping my pace and doing long runs slower than I have been doing.

TFBubendorfer

Kellygirl wrote: »

I joined the 1000 mile thread. Not sure if that is a good idea or bad idea for me as already I’m conscious of my distances for that!

The 1000 mile thread is a just bit of fun and can be an extra source of motivation if you really need it (I don't think you do). If you follow a training plan, keep following the training plan and ignore the urge to log extra miles just for the sake of logging a bigger number. You should easily reach the 1000 mile mark anyway.

Kellygirl

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

The 1000 mile thread is a just bit of fun and can be an extra source of motivation if you really need it (I don't think you do). If you follow a training plan, keep following the training plan and ignore the urge to log extra miles just for the sake of logging a bigger number. You should easily reach the 1000 mile mark anyway.

Thanks TfBubendorfer. I get competitive - with myself mainly as I’m never going to win a race but you are right and I don’t need it as motivation right now but you never know during the year :-)

Kellygirl

Week 2 2018 - 25.5 miles covered

I had a good running week with some very enjoyable runs. Delighted that I got out 4 times again - the most I’ll ever get out really.

Monday night - 5 miles @ 10:22 min/mile.
This was a lovely run with a friend in the rain and paid no attention to pace. Funnily enough did the route 3 minutes faster than the previous Thursday. I was delighted as it was without pushing pace and nice to see my pace naturally picking up again.

Wednesday - 1hr 45 min run at easy pace (9.5 miles @ 11:14 min / mile)
Decided to jump into the middle of Base Training Plan for my weekly long run and try and stick to easy pace. According to the calculator (at the start of the Grad thread) I prob still went too fast - I went with the easy/moderate pace which is 11:18-11:40 and was still slightly faster. However it felt soooo slow. It was 3 degrees out so took more time than usual to warm up. I was delighted to see daffodils beginning to appear in a few gardens so Spring is on the way - yippee! The last 15-30 mins was a real drag and a struggle - possibly just the amount of time I was out I suppose and I deliberately didn’t take a gel going that slow but normally if out for over 1:30 I would have.

Thursday night - 5 miles at 10:42 min / mile
Nothing major to report. Ran with a friend. Nice run and good catch up.

Saturday - 60 min Progression run (11:57; 11:20; 10:32; 9:50) (6 miles)
My first attempt at a Progression run and my first time programming my watch too - now that’s a cool feature :-)

Really enjoyed this run today. The first 15 mins were supposed to be 12:04-12:30 so I went a bit fast - I was actually going so slow I was embarrassed and hoping nobody I knew would pass me - mad I know! When the watch would tell me to up me speed I found it hard to settle into the right pace. I’d up the pace but it seemed by too much and I’d be going too fast. This caused a bit of trouble for the third 15 mins as when the watch went as I was in the park and I think the tree cover was messing with my pace too. Got to the last 15 mins and suddenly my pace seemed more of a challenge and I was breathing heavily. Not sure if I had worked out the pacing correctly but it was fine. The watch confused me a bit as it didn’t stop when the hour was up and I wasn’t sure if i’d misread something so I just kept going until I got back to my car so did an extra 5 mins at the fast pace.



So, looking forward to hopefully doing more runs like this. Will aim for a 2 hour LSR on Wednesday.

skyblue46

Great job, getting used to slower paces takes some time but it will get rid of that tired/ under pressure feeling at the end of runs. It is hard to get adapted to but I have no doubts the benefits will come in the medium term. I'm not expecting much in the way of race times yet but by summer and autumn I'd say we'll really see improvement

Kellygirl

I’ll keep going anyway until I adjust. Just need to make sure I keep up the progression runs and intervals to keep up the speed.

skyblue46

Kellygirl wrote: »

I’ll keep going anyway until I adjust. Just need to make sure I keep up the progression runs and intervals to keep up the speed.

Yeah that's crucial. I've been reading up on it and training at a range of paces is very important at the stage we're all at. I don't think all the graduates will embrace it but I think it's totally sensible.

Kellygirl

Finished this week off by registering for Cork City Marathon and DCM 2018! Yay!

Kellygirl

My week

Monday: 5 miles @ 10:22 min / mile
Ran with a friend, comfortable pace chatting all the way. Weather wasn’t the best and running in the rain and dark as usual. Most notable part of this run was this was run 1 of my training for Cork City Marathon and finally felt there was a purpose to my running again - I need a goal!

Wednesday: LSR 10 miles @ 10:55 min / mile
Set out to do this at 11min/mile so quite happy with my pace. I only had Wednesday morning to do this and Storm Fionn kindly obliged by dropping the winds very slightly and just giving me two to three rain showers while running. A friend joined me after 4 miles and finished the run with me.

Thursday: Pace run 4.1 miles @ 9:33 min / mile
2 degrees out so I wrapped up warmly and headed off. I intended picking up the pace a bit and just started out at a comfortable pace and kept going without looking at my watch which was hidden under layers anyway. I was amused at my 9:33 pace as this is the exact pace I want to do Cork at - well exact average pace as I hope to do a negative split again or variable pace depending on the hills etc.

Saturday: WU 1.65 miles @ 10:29 min/ mile; Parkrun 3.12 miles @ 8:28 min / mile; CD 2.4 miles @ 10:27 min / mile

Very pleased with this. Fastest run in a little while. Official time was 26:35 so still still 45 seconds or so off my pb - not that I was looking for one this morning. It was very muddy and I was leaping over puddles and round piles of mud. Thank God for trail runners. My pace was even enough considering and the 2nd and 4th kilometers being the slowest but also the muddiest parts. (5:13; 5:23; 5:16; 5:20; 5:08). I was breathing heavily but I was still able to sprint at the end and my heart rate was reasonable considering.

Total mileage for the week - 26.22 ; Total year to date - 77.26

All in all I’m happy with the week. I’m delighted to have registered for Cork and Dublin and be back training for a reason. After weeks of dithering over plans I’ve chosen the Hal Higdon Marathon 3 plan. This is because it’s for somebody who can run just 3-4 times a week which is all I can ever do. It’s a 24 week program but I’ve jumped into week 5 as I had the distances covered from the early weeks anyway and that brings me perfectly to Cork on June 3rd. As usual I have to adjust the plan to suit when I can get out so my long runs will usually be Wednesday’s and the other runs whenever I can get out so I will have to play with it. My midweek distances are higher than required at the moment but I didn’t want to drop my distances yet especially as my LSR was only increasing my half a mile this week. I plan on behaving myself with paces this time round and not tearing off at whatever pace I feel like in every run. Two very slow LSRs have shown me how much energy I still have the next day.

Next week is a step back week in the plan and I am going to adhere to it. Home alone with the kids for the week so going to be squeezing runs into days I wouldn’t normally run but will try to do some strength work at home the other days. I’m lacking in that currently.

Baby75

You are doing great, I am looking forward to seeing how you do! I agree with needing a goal as well I am looking forward to having my 5km out of the way and committing to a plan