Running not Crohns-ing

aloooof

So I'm taking the well-trodden path of starting up a log here, after joining the DCM Novices thread.

(Couldn't decide between "Running, not Crohns-ing" and "Stand Up and Fight Run" for the log name, but went with the former. I was a bit reluctant, but if any fellow Crohn's sufferers out there happen to see this and get something from it, then it's worth it).

Background:
Limerick by birth, Dublin by grace of living here the past 12 years or so. Had a 9 month hiatus in New Zealand as well, which was..... a mixed bag.

I started running occasionally with my housemate in 2010. I initially found it tough going, but soon loved it and I remember completing a 5m race, finishing it in 37:30. Alone it stands as the only PB I have from this period, but I was getting hooked.

I then moved to NZ in 2011. I was absolutely loving my time over there, a small part of which included joining friends for longer distance runs. One friend in particular had run a few marathons and I was toying with the idea of doing one myself.

And then one morning, I woke up in absolute agony, ended up in hospital for weeks and was (eventually) diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

Crohn's-ing:
If anyone's never heard of it Crohn's disease is an auto-immune disease that can, at best, be very fatiguing but at worst, completely debilitating. I found myself largely in the latter category for almost 2 years.

I had to return to Ireland for treatment and, among other symptoms, couldn't so much as walk for 10 minutes without being out of breath, let alone consider a run.

I still remember trying to run on one occasion during this time, more out of pure bloody-minded frustration than anything. It inevitably ended badly; I had to stop after 2 minutes of very slow jogging, feeling exhausted. I wondered if I would ever get back to anything resembling healthy again. It was tough, but I tried to stay positive. (My friends and family are kinda legends as well, they were amazing to me during this period).

Back to Running:
It took the best part of 2 years, and the right combination of medication and diet to get the Crohn's under control. I still have to be vigilant with my diet (straddling that particular line on occasion) but for the most part, it behaves itself. Occasionally it flares up and gives me a bit of grief but even then, it is nowhere near as severe as it was. I'm very lucky, to be honest.

And eventually, I was able to start running again. Naturally, it took some time to build up my distances. I remember having trouble getting over 6k for about 3 months. But I also remember my first 10k, and the elation I felt after it. (Hint: I was finally able to do it by slowing down. ).

DCM:
I decided early in the year that 2018 was gonna be the year I finally tackle a marathon. I've put in a decent 6-8 months of training, have PB'd 10k and HM distances already and intend to give the training (and hopefully the day itself) a right good rattle. Y'know what they say, "To the brave and faithful..."

Current PB's:
5k: 24:56 (Sept '17)
10k: 52:30 (Jul '18)
HM: 2:00:58 (June '18)

Goals:
For 2018, the only goal is to finish DCM but others, would be:
HM: Sub 2 hours
5k: Sub 24 mins
10k: Sub 50 mins

Also, as mentioned, pre-Crohn's I ran 5 miles in 37:30. I'm miles away from that kinda pace at the moment, but long-term, it would mean alot to me to be able to beat that. And from now on, I intend all my posts to be more about the running, and less about the Crohns-ing!

(*Bonus points for anyone who spots the thinly veiled Munster Rugby references I crow-barred in throughout!)

aloooof

I should also give a tip of a hat to a friend who pointed me in the direction of this place and the Novices thread specifically. He's a graduate of the 2015 DCM Novices thread. He's turned into a running machine over the last number of years, pretty inspiring, and is always very generous with advice when answering my (numerous) running questions. His log is worth a read:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057442298

ReeReeG

Best of luck! 
I follow a runner on Instagram, aliontherun1, who has Crohn's and is very open and honest about how she handles it all! Maybe you already follow her of course...

aloooof

ReeReeG wrote: »

Best of luck! 
I follow a runner on Instagram, aliontherun1, who has Crohn's and is very open and honest about how she handles it all! Maybe you already follow her of course...

Thanks and cheers for the tip! But ya, I found her blog back when I was very sick, and found it really helped an awful lot.

diego_b

Good stuff there now D, when you read it back like that you've cleared a fair amount of hurdles and doing unreal at the distances you are running now for marathon training. No bother to you now, keep the eye on ball (round, small and oval if you must ;-) ) and onwards/longerwards/fasterwards you go.

aloooof

diego_b wrote: »

Good stuff there now D, when you read it back like that you've cleared a fair amount of hurdles and doing unreal at the distances you are running now for marathon training. No bother to you now, keep the eye on ball (round, small and oval if you must ;-) ) and onwards/longerwards/fasterwards you go.

Cheers D! I often forget myself how far I've come and it's only at certain moments (like sitting down to write that) that I remember. Every reason not to get too disheartened if/when I have some setbacks.

aloooof

DCM Training - Week 8:

Mon:. Rest
Tue: 4m Easy. Completed 4m in 43:14 @ 10:48 pace.
Wed: 1m WU, 6m PMP, 1m CD. Completed 8 miles in 1:20:44 @ 10:05 pace overall.
Thurs: 4m Easy. Completed 4.45m in 47:39 @ 10:42 pace.
Fri:. Friends wedding.
Sat:. Wedding recovery.
Sun: 16 miles LSR in the morning, 2:53:41 @ 10:51 pace. Limerick won an All-Ireland in the afternoon. Safe to say, I'll never forget the week I started a training log.

Can't remember much from the long run now, with the day that was in it, so an abbreviated "Things I noticed / learned" this week:
- Winning the All Ireland for the first time in 45 years is some craic! :pac:

aquinn

Honesty is the best thing around here and especially on your opening post, good for you.

I want to wish you all the very best.

The mentors and fellow novices are always a fanstastic source of help and encouragement.

What plan are you following for DCM? It looks like the Boards rather than Hal.

Well done on getting healthy enough to run and continue to do so. That's a fantastic achievement.

ariana`

aloooof wrote: »

DCM Training - Week 8:

Mon:. Rest
Tue: 4m Easy. Completed 4m in 43:14 @ 10:48 pace.
Wed: 1m WU, 6m PMP, 1m CD. Completed 8 miles in 1:20:44 @ 10:05 pace overall.
Thurs: 4m Easy. Completed 4.45m in 47:39 @ 10:42 pace.
Fri:. Friends wedding.
Sat:. Wedding recovery.
Sun: 16 miles LSR in the morning, 2:53:41 @ 10:51 pace. Limerick won an All-Ireland in the afternoon. Safe to say, I'll never forget the week I started a training log.

Can't remember much from the long run now, with the day that was in it, so an abbreviated "Things I noticed / learned" this week:
- Winning the All Ireland for the first time in 45 years is some craic! :pac:

Congratulations on the win - though it pains me to say it it was well deserved on the day

Best of luck with the log, you've come a long way and i've no doubt you'll go a lot further too.

aloooof

aquinn wrote: »

Honesty is the best thing around here and especially on your opening post, good for you.

I want to wish you all the very best.

The mentors and fellow novices are always a fanstastic source of help and encouragement.

What plan are you following for DCM? It looks like the Boards rather than Hal.

Well done on getting healthy enough to run and continue to do so. That's a fantastic achievement.

Thanks very much! I'm only now getting around to reading some logs, but the advice and general encouragement on the Novices thread has been amazing so far.

Yep, I'm following the Boards plan (having missed a couple of recovery runs of late, due to moving house among other things) but am determined not to miss any more between now and 28th October!

aloooof

ariana` wrote: »

Congratulations on the win - though it pains me to say it it was well deserved on the day

Best of luck with the log, you've come a long way and i've no doubt you'll go a lot further too.

Commiserations, Ariana! I've only just seen on your log where your allegiances were, but I must say, every single Galway person I met after was extremely gracious in defeat. Ye gave us one hell of a scare tho!

aloooof

DCM Week 9 complete, half-way there and I'm gonna try my first table!

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Wed| 1m wu 6m PMP 1m cd| 1m wu 6m PMP 1m
Thu| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 18m LSR | 18m
Sun| 2m Rec| 2m
Total | 36m | 36.8m


Longest distance I've ever covered in a week, which I seem to be saying most weeks now!

Things I noticed / learned this week, on the LSR:
- Tried some Clif Shot Bloks. They were the business.

- Didn't bring enough water with me and felt really de-hydrated towards the end. I was running a relatively new route, had €2 with me, but zoned out / missed the petrol station I intended to stop at. Need to be mindful of this in future. Was really thirsty all weekend after also, so maybe need to start drinking more water in the days before the LSR too.

- Met my fiancée for the last 2 miles. This really helped, particularly as I was running up a steep hill around mile 14, so it really kept me going.

- Last week, towards the end of the 16m LSR, I felt really fresh and was able to increase the speed for the last 2 miles, finishing the last mile @ PMP. Complete turn-around this week, legs didn't have it in them and had to slow right down to finish it.

- Felt absolutely wrecked after, much more so than previous LSR's, but then I did just run 18 miles! :pac:

- Having said that, I think it was just down to how I was feeling on the day. Equally think I could go out in 2 weeks and nail the 20m LSR!

- Nursing a cold today, and feeling generally run-down so I'm hoofing the vitamin C, hot drinks and food into me.

Overall, I can't believe I'm halfway thru the plan! It's absolutely flown by and has been amazing. Counting down the weeks towards the big day now!

aquinn

Always drink plenty when training and not just on the day but in the days that lead up to it. Not just water also as that'll wipe out electroytes, plently of fluids though.

I find Dialoryite, blackcurrant, brilliant if you take in a bottle with you or drink it before or after your run. Fantastic for hydration.

When I was marathon training I used those zero tab things in a plenty of water and always good to have emergency money to buy a water or sports drink whilst out and about.

Pee should be straw coloured as a sign of well hydrated.

A brilliant week, well done.

aloooof

aquinn wrote: »

Always drink plenty when training and not just on the day but in the days that lead up to it. Not just water also as that'll wipe out electroytes, plently of fluids though.

I find Dialoryite, blackcurrant, brilliant if you take in a bottle with you or drink it before or after your run. Fantastic for hydration.

When I was marathon training I used those zero tab things in a plenty of water and always good to have emergency money to buy a water or sports drink whilst out and about.

Pee should be straw coloured as a sign of well hydrated.

A brilliant week, well done.

Thanks for the tips! Normally, I drink plenty of water during the day in work, but think I dropped the ball last week. I've got some of those High5 Zero tabs so I'll bring them in with me and drop them into my water bottle to sip on during the day. Hopefully that'll solve it!

Huzzah!

aloooof wrote: »

DCM Week 9 complete, half-way there and I'm gonna try my first table!

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Wed| 1m wu 6m PMP 1m cd| 1m wu 6m PMP 1m
Thu| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 18m LSR | 18m
Sun| 2m Rec| 2m
Total | 36m | 36.8m


Longest distance I've ever covered in a week, which I seem to be saying most weeks now!

Things I noticed / learned this week, on the LSR:
- Tried some Clif Shot Bloks. They were the business.

- Didn't bring enough water with me and felt really de-hydrated towards the end. I was running a relatively new route, had €2 with me, but zoned out / missed the petrol station I intended to stop at. Need to be mindful of this in future. Was really thirsty all weekend after also, so maybe need to start drinking more water in the days before the LSR too.

- Met my fiancée for the last 2 miles. This really helped, particularly as I was running up a steep hill around mile 14, so it really kept me going.

- Last week, towards the end of the 16m LSR, I felt really fresh and was able to increase the speed for the last 2 miles, finishing the last mile @ PMP. Complete turn-around this week, legs didn't have it in them and had to slow right down to finish it.

- Felt absolutely wrecked after, much more so than previous LSR's, but then I did just run 18 miles! :pac:

- Having said that, I think it was just down to how I was feeling on the day. Equally think I could go out in 2 weeks and nail the 20m LSR!

- Nursing a cold today, and feeling generally run-down so I'm hoofing the vitamin C, hot drinks and food into me.

Overall, I can't believe I'm halfway thru the plan! It's absolutely flown by and has been amazing. Counting down the weeks towards the big day now!

Nice week training and well done on the LSR. Your 16-miler a couple of weeks ago was nearly bang on the same pace as mine.

How do you find nutrition with the Crohn's? I know you said you watch what you eat, but in terms of fueling on the run or is it not an issue?

aloooof

Huzzah! wrote: »

Nice week training and well done on the LSR. Your 16-miler a couple of weeks ago was nearly bang on the same pace as mine.

How do you find nutrition with the Crohn's? I know you said you watch what you eat, but in terms of fueling on the run or is it not an issue?

Thanks a million! I might not be best positioned to answer this at the moment cos, prior to this weekend, I had never eaten anything before a morning LSR or tried any fueling on one, would ya believe!

I'll obviously need something on the marathon day itself, so this weekend I started experimenting; tried a bagel 30 mins before heading out and some Clif Shot Bloks during the run itself.

Plan was to take a blok on 6 miles, and then one every 2.5 miles after so 4 overall at 6, 8.5, 11 and 13.5. First one was fine, but felt a bit iffy after the second one (and I was running out of water) so decided to just take one more at around 12 miles instead, which was fine again so think every 3-3.5 miles might work for me.

I ordered some Tailwind which arrived this morning so I'm going to give this a go on the next LSR as well, which will be Saturday week as I've the Frank Duffy 10 this weekend. Tho I'm nervous of how I might react to the caffeine ones, tbh. Trial and error tho!

Just had a quick look at your log (nice Murakami reference!) and that's some serious mileage you're covering! Or should that be kilometre-age?? :pac:

aloooof

DCM Week 10 complete, weeks really are flying by! Bit of a mixed bag of a week, was off sick early in the week so missed 2 training runs but finished with a race and a new PB.

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 4m Easy | Rest
Wed| 4m w 5x strides | Rest
Thu| 5m Easy | 4m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 2m Easy| 2m Easy
Sun| Frank Duffy 10m| New PB! 1:28:55
Total | 25m | 16m


Frank Duffy 10m Race Report

Earlier in the week, I was strongly thinking I might have to ditch this race, but come Thursday I was feeling much improved. Got some solid advice on the Novices thread and decided to wait til Saturday / Sunday to see how I was feeling and what kind of pace I'd attempt. General systems check on Sunday morning and I decided to give it socks!

Goal was sub 1:30 so 9 minute miles all the way. Felt this was a reasonable goal, somewhere between my pace from the South Dublin 10k (8:27) and Cork Half Marathon pace (9:14). In retrospect, 9min/mi made it pretty easy to do all the mental arithmetic you end up doing during these things!

Arrived out to Swords later than I had planned, so did a quick warm-up before shuffling into position, down the back of Wave 1. I remember thinking that this was the least nervous I've ever been for a race, which I think is in large part down to the marathon training. 10 miles now seems like a short distance. Which is mad!

And before long, we were off!

Miles 1-3
Bit of bunching for the first mile but I settled into a nice rhythm pretty quickly. Mile 1 was done before I knew it, watch beeping for 9 minutes on the dot. Occasional glances at the watch to make sure the pace was ok and I wasn't over-doing it. Saw an 8:15 pace at one point during mile 2 so reined that in pretty quickly.

It was a warm and sunny day, so I was thankful for the first water stop. Drinking from a cup while running is far from easy tho! :pac: Decided to walk whenever I picked up a cup at the other water stops.

Miles 4-6
Think it was during this section that, at one point, the road opened up and we could see a left turn with a huge line of runners ahead of us all. Was still feeling very strong tho, so nothing to be discouraged by.

My Garmin was beeping a decent bit before the mile markers by now, so I made sure to check my time when passing the mile markers instead of relying on the GPS (lesson learned from a previous race!). At 5 miles I was at 45:13 and 6 miles was 54:15. 15 seconds over pace with 4 miles to go. I'd have taken that at the start of the day, hoping that I could negative split it.

At this point I decided to try gain 5 seconds back each mile for the next 3, which would have me bang on pace after 9 miles and ready to attack the last mile.

Miles 7-10
Tried to keep it ticking over here and mile 7 came in at 1:03:10 so I had gained those 5 seconds. Got chatting to someone briefly during mile 8. The chat made me realise I was feeling tired but good so tried to kick on a bit. Mile 8 was at exactly 1:12:00 so I had made up the deficit a mile earlier than planned. Just 2 more 9 minute miles and I'd have my goal!

Feeling tired now but knew I had it in me. Few more glances at the Garmin, pace was varying between 8:35-9:00. Mile 9 went by and 1:20:48 was on the watch. Thoughts of "12 seconds to spare" quickly changed to "have I got a bit more in the tank here". Tried to up the pace a bit again. About half a mile from home, I remember hearing the tannoy in the distance and kicked on as best I could. Last push for home and it looked like I had came in under 1:29! Text later in the afternoon confirmed it, 1:28:55!

Overall, cannot state how much I enjoyed this race! It's yet another PB in the bag (albeit against a pretty soft time from 2 years ago) but I really feel the marathon training is paying off, especially at the longer distances. Over 6 minutes off my 10m time and over 4 off my Half are testament to that.

The volunteers and supporters all along the route were great as well, tried to give them all a "thank you" shout as I made my way around. Ultimately, these things don't go ahead without them!

So just the 8 weeks to go! Time to dig in, there's a 20 mile LSR looming large...

aloooof

Week 11 in the bag, along with a 20 mile LSR. I'm still buzzing from that one!

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Wed| 1m wu, 6m PMP, 1m cd | 8.1m Total: 1m wu, 4m PMP & GT5k @ Easy pace
Thu| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 20m LSR| 20m
Sun| 3m Rec | 3.1m
Total | 39m | 40m


First time ever hitting 40 miles in a week. (Rounded up the 3 mile recovery run by .1 to hit that)

Things I noticed / learned this week:
- Had agreed to do the Grant Thornton 5k a few weeks back. This fell on the 1/6 PMP/1 run, so I decided to do 1/4 PMP first and then run the race with the other half, which I figured would be somewhere between PMP and Easy pace, which worked out perfectly.

- Doing a part of a PMP run on one of Dublin's busiest thoroughfare's is pretty tricky! Plenty of bobbing and weaving going on.

- 20m LSR went so much better than the 18m 2 weeks ago. Think I had carb-loaded and hydrated much better in the lead-up; I wasn't nearly as thirsty during this one. Also, during the 18m I took a Clif Shot Blok on 6 miles and remember wolfing it down. At 6 miles here, I didn't feel like I needed one, but figured that's the best time to take one.

- First 6 miles took me to the Park, and miles 6-14 absolutely zipped along, felt like the watch was beeping for each mile very quickly. I've done nearly all of my LSR's on this section, so think the familiarity helps. And to that end, I'm going to start doing more of the DCM route so I know what's in store.

- Very pleased with the pacing as well (especially for the first 14-15 miles). The runmute home can be very stop-start while crossing roads so was keen to get the pacing for this one right.

- My technique for getting my bottle back into my flipbelt is improving! :pac:

- One or 2 small niggles during it; right knee at mile 8 and sole of my left foot at mile 11, but both soon settled down quickly. Also, was feeling so good that I tried to pick up the pace to PMP for the last mile, but felt a slight twinge in my calf so backed off. Things to keep an eye on (and possibly a physio visit to line up).

aloooof

Week 12 of DCM Boards plan complete.

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 6m Easy | 6.1m Easy
Wed| 1m wu, 9m PMP, 1m cd | 1m wu, 9m PMP, 1m cd.
Thu| 3m Rec | Rest
Fri| Rest | 2.1m Rec
Sat| 16m LSR| 16m
Sun| 3m Rec | Rest; Crohn's kicked of so skipped it.
Total | 39m | 35.2m


Things I noticed / learned this week:
- 9 miles at PMP was tough but good; found it difficult to slow down for the final cd mile!

- LSR included last 15m of the DCM route. Was great to get this done to have an idea of what's in store. I've now run every part of the route at some point. Almost got lost, except a fellow runner kindly came over and asked "are you looking for the marathon route?" and pointed us in the right direction. Was much appreciated, and further re-emphasised to me that runners are generally a sound bunch.

- Tried an extra bottle in the flip belt and found it way too annoying. Ran back to the car after 0.25m to get rid.

- Tried Clif Shot Bloks and Tailwind for fuelling. Taking them together definitely didn't work, stomach felt dodgy, so back to the drawing board (possibly together they were too much). Thinking of just going with the bloks, complemented by some High5, as I've had the most success with them so far.

- Ran this one with a friend, definitely noticed the miles skipping along quicker. That should bode well when there's another 20,000 people or so around me!

aloooof

Week 12 DCM Boards plan

Day | Plan | Actual| Comments
Mon| 3m Easy | Rest |
Tue| 4m w 5x strides | 4m w 5x strides |
Wed| Rest | 3.5m Easy |
Thu| Rest | Rest |
Fri| 2m Easy | Rest |
Sat| DRS Half | 13.1m | New PB! |
Sun| 2m Rec | 3m Rec |
Total | 24.1m | 23.6m|


Dublin Race Series Half Marathon - Race Report
Absolutely perfect conditions, I love running in the park in this weather.

Goal for this was to go sub-2, to beat my PB from Cork in June of 2:00:58, so 9:09 pace would get me there. Plan was to keep the 2 hour pacers within range up to either 8 or 10 miles and push on from one of those if I was feeling strong enough. Failing that, try hang onto the 2 hour pacers all the way.

Quick warm-up when I got to the park and positioned myself a bit back from the 2 hour pacers and soon we were off.

Mile 1-3 (9:15, 8:57, 9:13)
Started off, the usual bunching at the start, and trying not to weave too much. Noticed a gap between the 2 pace balloons, but decided to hang on back behind and just keep the first of them in range.

Mile 4-6 (9:11, 9:10, 9:05)
Bumped into a friend here who was also aiming for sub-2 as well so stayed with him for a bit. Caught up with the first of the pacers at this point, some encouragement from him and I was tipping along nicely. Saw 9:05 pace anytime I glanced at the watch at this point. Quick gulp of water at the water station and back into it.

Mile 7-9 (9:20, 9:10, 8:46)
On the footpath up Chesterfield avenue, I was still with the first 2 hour-pacer, but felt a drop in pace here, mainly cos it was so narrow. Was feeling strong so decided to push on a small bit once we turned back down Chesterfield avenue. I knew White's Road had an incline so I eased it back a bit there.

Once we turned down Tower Road on the downhill around 8 miles in, I decided to set off to reel in the 2nd 2 hour-pacer. Gradually gaining and caught up around the 9m mark. At this point, I remembered getting to 9m in Cork and was really feeling it there. No comparison here, felt really strong with a good bit in the tank.

Mile 10-Finish (09:00, 08:36, 08:46, 08:32, .1 @ 6:34)
Serious encouragement from the pacer here at this point, she shouted something along the lines of "if anyone's feeling strong, now's the time to push on, ease forward", was just what I needed to hear. I've never upped it this early in a race, but felt I was really cruising along so upped the effort another notch. Down Acre's Road, the left and then right, I glanced back over my shoulder up the hill and there was no sign of the pacer so I figured I had eked out a nice gap.

Out onto the Upper Glen, knew there was an incline here but I was still feeling good enough to keep pushing forward, passing quite a few people at this point. Started to up it again, and kick before the turn onto Furze Road. Got blocked in and had to weave an awful lot here, which I'm taking as sign of how strong I was feeling and how much of a kick I had. Final push I was over the line, watch stopped at 1:58:08, chip time 1:58:06.

Afterwards:
Hung back just after the finish line, was hoping to get to say thanks to the pacers, but bumped into a friend and then couldn't spot the balloons at all after a chat with him.

Absolutely delighted with that, taking 2m52 off my time from Cork. Really feel like I'm becoming a better judge of effort and pace during races. The marathon training is obviously paying off endurance-wise!

Huzzah!

Really nicely done on Saturday. Congrats!

aloooof

Huzzah! wrote: »

Really nicely done on Saturday. Congrats!

Thanks a million Huzzah, very pleased with myself!

aloooof

Week 14 DCM Boards plan

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Tue| Rest | Rest
Wed| 8m Easy | 8.2m Easy
Thu| 5m Easy | 5.1m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 20m LSR | 20m LSR
Sun| 3m Rec | 3m Rec
Total | 40m | 40.7m


Things I noticed / learned this week
- Over 150 miles covered in September. I've said it plenty during this training plan, but that's by far the most I've ever run.

- Trying to finally nail down my fuelling strategy and think I have it sussed now. Had Clif Shot Bloks at 5.5m, 7.5m and 10m. Then had a gel at 13m and a final shot blok at 15.5m. Got a real boost from the gel, but they are tougher on the stomach, so going to limit them to 2 on the day, complemented with the bloks.

- Finished the final 3 miles of the 20m at close to PMP. Hadn't intended this, but good boost to know I had a bit left.

- One or 2 twinges of the calf during the recovery run so plenty of stretching and foam rolling on the cards this week.

- Into October. Mad.

skyblue46

aloooof wrote: »

Week 14 DCM Boards plan

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| 4m Easy | 4.4m Easy
Tue| Rest | Rest
Wed| 8m Easy | 8.2m Easy
Thu| 5m Easy | 5.1m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 20m LSR | 20m LSR
Sun| 3m Rec | 3m Rec
Total | 40m | 40.7m


Things I noticed / learned this week
- Over 150 miles covered in September. I've said it plenty during this training plan, but that's by far the most I've ever run.

- Trying to finally nail down my fuelling strategy and think I have it sussed now. Had Clif Shot Bloks at 5.5m, 7.5m and 10m. Then had a gel at 13m and a final shot blok at 15.5m. Got a real boost from the gel, but they are tougher on the stomach, so going to limit them to 2 on the day, complemented with the bloks.

- Finished the final 3 miles of the 20m at close to PMP. Hadn't intended this, but good boost to know I had a bit left.

- One or 2 twinges of the calf during the recovery run so plenty of stretching and foam rolling on the cards this week.

- Into October. Mad.

Well done on some great training. You're in a fantastic place heading into the last big week. That 3 miles at MP is a brilliant sign too.

aloooof

Cheers Skyblue, never thought I'd be able to manage these distances, but I'm really looking forward to the big day now. Can't believe it's October already, it's flown by!

aloooof

DCM Boards plan - Week 15

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 5m Easy | 5m Easy
Wed| 1m wu 5m PMP 1m cd | 1m wu 5m PMP 1m cd
Thu| 3m Recovery | 3.5m Recovery
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 18m LSR | 18m LSR
Sun| 3m Rec | Rest
Total | 36m | 33.5m


Things I noticed / learned this week
- Really feeling heaviness in the legs at the moment. But then I'm supposed to at this stage!

- Did the same route for the LSR as an 18m LSR a few weeks back that I really struggled on, including a hill on mile 16 or so. Tough going, but much improved this time.

- Tried another gel and all went well again (aside from trying to open the thing with sweaty hands!). DCM fuelling strategy sorted tho.

- Forgot the nip tape before the LSR. Got lucky this time with no issues, but it reminds me I must make a to-do list for the morning of DCM so I don't forget anything.

aloooof

DCM Boards plan - Week 16

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 5m Easy | 5m Easy
Wed| 5m Easy | 5m Easy
Thu| 5m Easy | 5m Easy
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 14m LSR | Rest
Sun| Rest | 14m LSR
Total | 29m | 29m


Things I noticed / learned this week

- Fairly uneventful week. Which is exactly what I want at this stage.

- Definitely had a few miles across the runs that were on the quick side. Need to rein that in.

- Compared my 14m LSR to a 14m from week 7 of the plan on largely the same route. This one was 2:29:59 with avg HR of 145bpm vs 2:30:14 with avg HR of 156. Small sample size, but the easy / LSR pace seems to be getting easier, so pretty happy with that.

- Going to read some race reports from previous Novices threads this week for added inspiration.

aloooof

DCM Boards plan - Week 17

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 3m Easy | 3.5m Easy
Wed| 4m Easy | 4.45m Easy
Thu| 4m w 6 strides | 4.45m w 6 strides
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 8m LSR | Rest
Sun| Rest | 8m LSR
Total | 19m | 20.4m


Things I noticed / learned this week
- Nothing too much to report this week either. I do remember on the Thurs evening run, picking my footing very carefully where the street lighting wasn't particularly good. Last thing I want is an injury at this stage.

- Still can't quite decide on goal target for Sunday. Did the Race Series Half in 1:58:06, and did the PMP sessions at around 9:55 pace, which is 4:20 pace. But I'm in wave 4, which has 4:30 pacers. Thinking I'll split the difference and do up a 4:25 pace band that sets me up to stay behind the 4:30 pacers for the first 8-10 miles or so.

- Other than that, excitement is huge at the moment!

Huzzah!

aloooof wrote: »

- Still can't quite decide on goal target for Sunday. Did the Race Series Half in 1:58:06, and did the PMP sessions at around 9:55 pace, which is 4:20 pace. But I'm in wave 4, which has 4:30 pacers. Thinking I'll split the difference and do up a 4:25 pace band that sets me up to stay behind the 4:30 pacers for the first 8-10 miles or so.

- Other than that, excitement is huge at the moment!

Sounds eminently sensible to me.

aloooof

Huzzah! wrote: »

Sounds eminently sensible to me.

Thanks Huzzah. I'll probably second guess this countless times this week, tho.

aloooof

DCM Boards plan - Week 18

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 2m Easy | 2m Easy
Wed| 1m, 3m PMP, 1m| 1m, 3m PMP, 1m
Thu| 3m Easy | Rest
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 2m Easy | 2m Easy
Sun| DCM! | DCM!
Total | 38.2m | 35.2m


Race report here.

Can't really add much to that, absolutely amazing weekend. (And as an added bonus, Munster won with a penalty from half-way when time was up )

Mr. Guappa

I've just found your log this morning. Fair play for your openess, and to come back from where you were to be even running regularly again is a hell of an achievement.
I'm glad you enjoyed DCM, you put in a very dedicated block of training and deserved a good result on the day.

aloooof

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

I've just found your log this morning. Fair play for your openess, and to come back from where you were to be even running regularly again is a hell of an achievement.
I'm glad you enjoyed DCM, you put in a very dedicated block of training and deserved a good result on the day.

Thanks A, 4 days later and I'm still buzzing! Was nice meeting you on Sun morning and I'll be keeping an eye out for your log

diego_b

Great report there D, so glad it all went so well for you. Very glad to have shared some of the experience with you on the day (and I meant every word, a serious achievement in my eyes).
I am looking forward to seeing your next challenge (and when you do DCM again, you definitely will!)!

coogy

aloooof wrote: »

Thanks A, 4 days later and I'm still buzzing! Was nice meeting you on Sun morning and I'll be keeping an eye out for your log

I'm still on a high too. Don't think I'll be coming down for some time yet!

Huzzah!

aloooof wrote: »

DCM Boards plan - Week 18

Day | Plan | Actual
Mon| Rest | Rest
Tue| 2m Easy | 2m Easy
Wed| 1m, 3m PMP, 1m| 1m, 3m PMP, 1m
Thu| 3m Easy | Rest
Fri| Rest | Rest
Sat| 2m Easy | 2m Easy
Sun| DCM! | DCM!
Total | 38.2m | 35.2m


Race report here.

Can't really add much to that, absolutely amazing weekend. (And as an added bonus, Munster won with a penalty from half-way when time was up )

Congrats on DCM. I’d a feeling you were going to have a great debut and you proved me right. Hope the recovery is going well.

aloooof

coogy wrote: »

I'm still on a high too. Don't think I'll be coming down for some time yet!

Maybe not until October bank holiday weekend next year??

aloooof

Huzzah! wrote: »

Congrats on DCM. I’d a feeling you were going to have a great debut and you proved me right. Hope the recovery is going well.

Thanks a million, still so happy with it. You'll love Dublin when you do it!

aloooof

Post-marathon down week, total of 5.3 miles (3.3 of which were far too quick). Found some more numbers from the marathon tho, which emphasises that the slow start worked a treat for me.

Distance | Time | Position| Gain
10k| 1:06:08 | 13,823 |
Half| 2:16:02 | 12,927 | 896
30k| 3:10:18| 11,610 | 1317
Finish| 4:26:49 | 10,393 | 1217
Total | | | 3430


New goal to take me into the New year, tho. I've ran a total of 852 mile so far this year, so want to make it to 1000 before the end of the year. I think I'll have to average ~ 20 miles a week, so that'll keep me honest.

Am also going to sign up to a race soon too. Looking forward to giving the shorter stuff a go.

aloooof

Day| Actual| Pace
Mon| 4.5m Easy | 11:11
Tue| Rest |
Wed| 4.5m Easy | 11:09
Thu| Rest |
Fri| 4.75m Easy | 10:32
Sat| 4m Easy | 10:50
Sun| Rest |
Total | 17.75m


All easy stuff at the moment, with DCM still in the legs. (The quicker Friday pace I'm putting down to mostly being downhill).

Had intended on getting out for a few miles on Sunday, but the heel is giving me grief at the moment so decided to stay off it. Physio appointment 2nite, so hopefully will get to the root of it.

Holding off on deciding a plan until I get the green light there, but I'd like to have the Grads Base plan done, and started into the 10k-HM Grads plan before Raheny 5m (if I can make it to that); I've some amount of acronym's to learn tho .

aloooof

Weekly update is gonna be pretty sparse this week, and for the foreseeable. Visited the physio last Monday, who told me to quit the running for 6-8 weeks. The heel pain amounted to an issue in my calcaneus. (New word for my vocab, there).

He's given me some exercises and stretches to do daily, and I'm considering hitting the gym in the meantime to try maintain some of the fitness gains from the marathon.

Pretty gutted, and I'm not gonna hit 1000 miles for the year now, but I'd rather it happen now than 6 weeks ago before DCM. It's also not a bad time of year for it it to happen, as this will take me into the New Year and I can crack on again. Missing it an awful lot already tho...

ariana`

aloooof wrote: »

Weekly update is gonna be pretty sparse this week, and for the foreseeable. Visited the physio last Monday, who told me to quit the running for 6-8 weeks. The heel pain amounted to an issue in my calcaneus. (New word for my vocab, there).

He's given me some exercises and stretches to do daily, and I'm considering hitting the gym in the meantime to try maintain some of the fitness gains from the marathon.

Pretty gutted, and I'm not gonna hit 1000 miles for the year now, but I'd rather it happen now than 6 weeks ago before DCM. It's also not a bad time of year for it it to happen, as this will take me into the New Year and I can crack on again. Missing it an awful lot already tho...

Sorry to hear of your injury but you are right it's not a bad time of the year to be injured - you won't feel 6-8 weeks passing and before you know it'll be the new year and you'll be back to it with new goals and determination. Can you do anything in the meantime - cycling, swimming or strength training etc? It might help to keep you sane :P Mind yourself x

aloooof

ariana` wrote: »

Sorry to hear of your injury but you are right it's not a bad time of the year to be injured - you won't feel 6-8 weeks passing and before you know it'll be the new year and you'll be back to it with new goals and determination. Can you do anything in the meantime - cycling, swimming or strength training etc? It might help to keep you sane :P Mind yourself x

Thanks ariana. Physio suggested cycling, swimming or a cross-trainer. Basically anything with no/limited impact. I don't enjoy them nearly as much as running, but they'll do for the time being. I'm just mad to give a 5k a crack! :pac:

eyrie

That's so annoying aloooof, really sorry to hear you're out injured. It's no fun! At least at this time of year 6 weeks will fly by, but still I know what you mean - cross training etc just isn't the same!

Kellygirl

Sorry to hear you are injured. Hope you find something else to keep you amused until you can run again.

aloooof

eyrie wrote: »

That's so annoying aloooof, really sorry to hear you're out injured. It's no fun! At least at this time of year 6 weeks will fly by, but still I know what you mean - cross training etc just isn't the same!

Kellygirl wrote: »

Sorry to hear you are injured. Hope you find something else to keep you amused until you can run again.

Thanks, both. I'm taking it as a lesson to properly stretch / foam roll / get physio regularly in future to avoid any more time out. Can't wait to get back at it!

aloooof

Overdue an update here. Still no running for me, but the injury is vastly improved. Back to physio next Monday evening which I'm hoping will give me the all clear. (Pretty fed up of the exercise bike at this point!)

My only run in the last few weeks was a Parkrun back home in Limerick on Christmas day, my first ever Parkrun! (Probably not the wisest move, but I couldn't resist). Definitely plan on getting some more Parkruns in this year, the atmosphere was great.

2018 Review:
A pretty memorable year for me (both running and non-running related), but the running highlight by a distance was DCM and being part of the Novices group. Overall, 6 races and 6 PB's, I couldn't have asked for much more, with a total of 873 miles. Was on track to get >1000m but injury did me in.

Month|Race|Distance|Time|Previous PB
April| Great Ireland Run| 10k | 52:38 | 55:15
June| Cork Half Marathon| 10k | 2:00:58| 2:04:31
July| Race Series 10k | 10k | 52:30| 52:38
Sept| Race Series 10m | 10m | 1:28:55| 1:39:46
Sept| Race Series Half| 13.1m| 1:58:06| 2:00:58
Oct| DCM| 26.2m| 4:26:49|


The only negative has been the post-marathon injury, but hopefully I'm nearly over it.

Goals for 2019:
Currently, it's hard to look beyond saying "remaining injury free" for this. That, coupled with more consistent running, would be the 2 big ones for me, but I can't to the latter without the former. With those in mind, I'd love to aim for the following:

1. >1000 miles for the year.
2. 10+ Months of >100 miles.
3. Sub 50 10k.

Finally, I'd like to say thanks to everyone for the support on here, and happy running for 2019!

ariana`

Well done on a great yea, completing a marathon is such a massive achievement, you should be very proud. I hope you're on the road to your 2019 goals very soon!

aloooof

ariana` wrote: »

Well done on a great yea, completing a marathon is such a massive achievement, you should be very proud. I hope you're on the road to your 2019 goals very soon!

Thanks ariana! This is week 7 out now, so I'm raring to go as soon as the physio gives the go ahead. I'm pretty certain I'd have been crocked long ago, and out for a much longer period if it wasn't for the advice of yourself and the other mentors.

Hope you're over the worst of your various injuries, niggles and post-DCM issues and have a PB-filled 2019!

Kellygirl

Best of luck for 2019 and hope you are back to training soon. It’s very frustrating.

eyrie

I hope the physio gives you the thumbs up next week and you can get off the exercise bike and back on the road! Best of luck for 2019