But its cold outside

Week 6/14 for Donedea 50k - 11th - 17th Dec

The plan went out the window this week as the kids snotterfest hit me full on!!:eek:

Though I'd manage a run on Fri or Sat but had a terrible headache that took 2 day sot clear and so just wasn't in the mood.


Sunday 17th December

I had arrange to meet a couple of Ladies in Navan this morning and only for they were using me to get them back out running after injury, I'd have cancelled.
Anyway met them 9am and off we set with no route planned but there's plenty of route to choose from. We set off nice and easy and I never looked at the watch at all throughout the run and really enjoyed it.

at about 6m, one of them was struggling so we slowed it down a bit and she found her groove.

Left them at 11 miles and i continue on for a few more. Leg started to get sore so decided id leave it at 14 but ended up with 15.2m in total....changed and then set off home and next thing i heard the watch beeping for a lap and discovered that i had hit the watch back on and it had recorded 16.1m.

10.00, 9.55, 10.13, 10.14, 9.56, 10.24, 10.25, 10.13, 10.24, 10.10, 10.37, 9.44, 10.17, 9.45, 9.40,

Total 15.2 m in approx 2hr 30mins

WTD: 15.20
MTD: 67.88m
YTD: 1430.29m

Well things have not really being going to plan since the last update on the run on Christmas Eve.:mad:

Lets just say 2017 limped home to close off with 1481.2m and I couldn't even round it up to 1500m.

Christmas day was a difficult day with a lot of pain in my hip & leg and it has been coming and going since then. I didn't get much running in with frosty weather(I don't run in the frost), 2 Christmas funerals and 4 Birthday in our house, the rest was actually doing me good as when I wasn't running the pain was less noticeable. I have no pain when running but its after the runs that I feel it and night time is the worst when I'm trying to sleep!!

Anyway, I was very diligent with doing my daily exercise from the PT and the S & C from Coach and I could notice the difference. I was almost pain free.

Headed out last Saturday for an easy run and that night the pain was back. Put it down to volume, with it being low over the previous few weeks so headed out on Sunday for 10.6m to bring weekly total to 20m, as London training was starting on Monday and with only 15 weeks to go, I needed to get back into long runs and sessions. No issues and finished out at 12m for a weekly total of 21.4 and ready to go back into proper training next week.

Sunday night was not good and at one stage it crossed my mind that the pain was similar to Sciatica, so checked out the details of Sciatica(at 1.30am, well I couldn't sleep anyway!!) and it mentioned that it is very similar to Piriformis syndrome.

Aha so that's the issue, seeing as I had piriformis issue a few months back, so booked in for massage for Tuesday might.
No run Tuesday as ended up with migraine Tuesday morning so had to take day off and head back to bed. Went for massage and was looking forward to it, to get rid of the pain but he wouldn't treat me. My pelvis is internally rotated and all the exercises and running has been making it worse so I'm on the Bench, again!!
I've to go to the Osteopath before he will treat me again and get the pelvis sorted and we'll take it from there. Appointment booked for tomorrow!!

So Donadea 50k is off the cards and thankfully I went with the Gut feeling and deferred my spot on the eve of New Years eve so that will be in the plan for 2019.

London Marathon is 14 weeks on Sunday so I will make a decision on that in a few weeks when I see how this issues pans out....no point in doing it just for the sake of doing it if I'm not at full race fitness.


So summary of running for last 3 weeks - this is short:

Week 25th - 31st December

Tuesday 26th Easy run 5.2m @ 9.52
Sunday 31st December - 3.1m @ 9.36

Week 1st - 7th January 2018

Mon Jan 1st - a short Birthday trot as I always run on my Birthday to get the New ~Year off to a great start!!!
3.2m @ 9.42

The 5k a day plan for January only lasted 1 day!!:o

Saturday 6th Jan - 6.2m @ 9.27 felt great on this run and could have kept going!!!

Sunday 7th Jan 1205 @ 9.41 was tired by end of this and had terrible DOMS to go along with the leg pain on Monday...

No Running this week as ordered!!

Not the start to a New Year I was hoping for but in the grand scheme of things its not the worst that could happen and I will bounce back no doubt!!:D

Another week with no running - 15th - 21st January

So another week gone and another week of frustration. No walk Monday as I was told to mimic my running schedule so resting Monday is my normal routine. did my Strength & conditioning exercises that Coach has given me, 7 exercises x 3 rounds.

Tuesday, planned a walk in Kells while waiting for my daughter to finish her workshop but the snow was too heavy and the paths were completely covered so didn't want to risk a fall, so another rest day.

Body was sore on Wednesday so headed out for a walk at lunchtime when the snow had melted away. It was bitterly cold so no hanging around.
3.17m in 46 mins, very cold.

Thursday back to the osteopath and the body has improved greatly but all the different problems are raising their heads. I have had a low level headache since Tuesday a week earlier so he worked on my neck and it was extremely tight, so he released a lot of the tension in my neck. Also the adductor was worked on and OMG the pain was almost unbearable.....blooming elbow into a muscle is not nice!!:eek:

Not there yet but getting there, back next week and another week of no running and max 30 mins in the walking, got a slap on the wrist for the 60 minutes last Saturday:eek:

If I am completely pain free this week I can add some intervals into my walking....got excited until he said 30 secs slow jog with 5 mins recovery!!!:rolleyes:, back on Thursday for another torture session.

Rested Friday as instructed to allow the muscles to heal.

Saturday got out after returning from shopping before I got warm and comfortable at home. another bitterly cold & wet day but thankfully I only had a misty rain for my walk...2.5m in 34 mins
Followed up with the S&C session, had some pain in the evening in my right leg and a bad nights sleep with pain in my left hip, feels like I'm back at the start again.

Sunday headed out again while there was a break in the rain, took it a lot easier in this walk and as I had company it was easier to do. The rain returned as we turned for home with 1mile to go. 2m in 32 minutes.
I had the pain in my right leg again throughout the evening!!!

Here's hoping for a better week!! Patience is a virtue!!:D

Ok so this is about a month late but I will regret it down the line if I don’t do my 2017 review. It was a great year for a bit of variety, doing 800m to 50k, with a few PBs along the way.

January
Started off well on New Year’s Day with a PB in the Tom Brennan 5k in the Phoenix Park 22.44. The rest of the month consisted of training for Donadea 50k. Total miles for January 171.79

February
First weekend in February (05/02) had me running the Trim 10m at easy pace (1.42) and thoroughly enjoying the run.

The following weekend (11/02)I did my first “longer than Marathon distance” with the Donadea 50k. Really enjoyed this no pressure run that had a 5hr cut off and paced it well to come in with a PB of 4hr 54min 33. Huge Boards support on the day made it a memorable event and one that I can now tick of the “to do” list. Started a run streak at end of February. Total mileage for February 102.30

March
March was easy running all the way as the recovery from Donadea continued.
12th March was the Meath Spring Half Marathon in Bohermeen. This was run at easy pace coming in at 1.51.58. Another thoroughly enjoyable run….love these no pressure runs.:D

25th March had me doing my first EOI event at Bellewstown. I had signed up for the 10m race. Lovely outing but it had hills I had to walk up (a first for me) on both laps. Delighted to get 1st lady home in the 10m. 1.24 (over 2mins outside my PB). Run streak still going well.
Total mileage for March 151.41

April
No road races in April but on 19th I ran a 1500m race on the track as part of the Meath league. No official time but did it in about 6.10. Had hip issues the day after so body didn’t like the softer surface. Hamstring issue the week before but otherwise an uneventful month. Run streak still going well. Total of 149.00 miles

May
I had hoped to run in the Meath Championships but it clashed with my daughters First Communion so that will have to wait until another year.
Instead on the 17th May, I took part in the Meath Relays, my first relay in about 35 years. First time for the club to have an adult’s team in the relays.:eek:
We did both 4 x 100m and the Medley relay, where I ran the final leg which was 800m ( 800m in 2.55). A great experience, but running on the track again affected my body and left me with 2 very tight calves that were cramping a lot over the next 2 days, so my running streak came to an end on the 19th May having run for 80 days straight and completing 381.85 miles.

A few days later I found myself on the starting line for the first time for the Bob Heffernan 5k. Very tough run and finished 7 second off my PB with a gun time of 22.53.
Total for May was 124.21.

June
Another new experience when I terrifyingly arrived at he Leinster Masters Championships in Tullamore, where our club had a massive amount of 3 members competing. 800m yielded a new PB of 2.51 and a sliver medal
The following 2 weeks had total of 3 runs as I was sick and unable to run.
And the next 2 had me in Italy on holidays but a hip issue flared up and limited my running. No issue when running but a lot of issues after!!! Only 52.41 total miles run in June. Year on year this is usually my lowest mileage month.

July
This started off poorly with the hip issue still lingering but eventually got back running. No races to report. Slightly better mileage with 79.24 miles for the month

August
13th August and I found myself at 6.30am heading on a minibus to Dublin with 10 other club members for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon. I wasn’t feeling the love for this so it ended up at marathon Pace, found it tough with the heat and the hills. 1.54.19
26th August - Frank Duffy 10m Race – a horrible run with a horrible experience. One of these runs you just want to forget about 1.24.48 well off my PB and I was hoping to get a new PB!!! However I did get 2nd Female O40 in the Garda Championship which was run in conjunction with the Frank Duffy 10m.
Total mileage for the month 133.07

September
23rd September I found myself in my first official pacing gig. - Dublin Half Marathon 2.10 Pacer
Got there early enough to avoid all the problems and had a fantastic run experience and really enjoyed it. Tough enough rough for racing but fine for pacing!!! 2.09.32

October
This was a busy month for me starting off on 8th with the ¾ Marathon in Longwood which I used as a practice run for my Marathon pacing gig. I ran this at the PMP for a 4.40 marathon. Aim was 3.30 and came in at 3.29.43. A great event.

2 weeks later 22nd Oct had me back for Longwoood 10k race in the wind. I had a great run and was delighted with a PB of 47.14 giving me a 7 sec PB from last raced 10k in Aug 2016.

1 week later on 29th Oct was Dublin Marathon and my first Marathon Pacing gig with the 4.40 pacing gig. I had an absolute ball doing this and really enjoyed helping others like I have been helped over the years. 4.39.35 job done!! Total mileage for October was 147.76

November
No rest for the wicked and straight back into training the following week. 3 weeks after the marathon on the 18th, I found myself in the freezing cold out on the Co Louth coast at the Annagassan 10k race and ran my heart out for another 10k PB. Delighted to get a PB of 46.58:D in this. Never in my wildest dreams a few years ago when running 57 min 10ks, did I think I would knock over 10 mins of a 10k race.:cool: Total mileage in November 129.90.

December
December dawned and Donadea 50k & London Marathon was what this month was all about. The plan , simple - Getting good quality mileage done and building up the strength & endurance.
However the first week in December sees the start of IT Band/hip issues.
One good week of training followed by a not so good week and that was how the month panned out.
New Years eve after another hard week and discussing it with Coach and following my gut instinct, I deferred my Donadea 50k entry until 2019!!! Total mileage ran was 118.79
Total Mileage for the year came in at 1481.20 miles, not bad considering the variation in the training!!

So 2017 brought a few sweet PBs but more importantly a few new experiences from 800m on the track to relays, pacing gigs and a 50k race. What will 2018 hold!!!!;);)