Dream big, work hard, achieve your goals - My DCM '19 Journey

Week 10 Mon 26th - 3m Recovery

Mile 1 - 10.25
Mile 2 - 10.48
Mile 3 - 10.21

Nice easy run to loosen the legs

Tues 27th - 5m easy
Mile 1 - 10.03
Mile 2 - 9.47
Mile 3 - 9.52
Mile 4 - 10.30
Mile 5 - 10.06

Again another nice easy run nothing much to report.

Weds 28th W/u pmp c/d

Mile 1 - 9.11
Mile 2 - 8.31
Mile 3 - 8.16
Mile 4 - 8.14
Mile 5 - 8.27
Mile 6 - 8.28
Mile 7 - 8.42
Mile 8 - 8.53
Mile 9 - 9.21

Again i found it hard enough to stick to 9min paces, the paces i ran felt very manageable & comfortable! Enjoyed this run, was afraid the race plus the weeks milage would make this harder but thankfully not!

Thurs 29th - 5m easy

Mile 1 - 9.51
Mile 2 - 10.13
Mile 3 - 10.11
Mile 4 - 10.15
Mile 5 - 10.01

Nice easy paced run, only problem with this run was i had to do it before work :eek:
2 things i took from this run is that i don't like getting up earlier than necessary and i am 100% not a morning person

Fri 30th - Rest & work night out

Sat 31st - 4m easy

Mile 1 - 9.45
Mile 2 - 10.21
Mile 3 - 10.35
Mile 4 - 10.27

Did this run just to keep the legs loose as i knew i couldn't even attempt my LSR after a night of drinking. Felt a bit sluggish but sure only myself to blame there

Sun 1st Sept - 19m lsr with a few pmp miles

Mile 1- 9.49
Mile 2 - 10.01
Mile 3 - 9.44
Mile 4 - 9.43
Mile 5 - 9.45
Mile 6 - 9.39
Mile 7 - 9.08
Mile 8 - 9.47
Mile 9 - 9.44
Mile 10 - 9.26
Mile 11 - 9.28
Mile 12 - 9.29
Mile 13 - 8.28
Mile 14 - 8.24
Mile 15 - 8.41
Mile 16 - 9.06
Mile 17 - 10.19
Mile 18 - 9.57
Mile 19 - 9.50

Got up early & had my usual brekkie of porridge & a banana. Decided to bring 3 gels with me & my beaker of water. Headed out at a nice easy pace & felt good. Was dreading this run as i had seen everyone else had it done on strava so my mind was telling me i should have already had it done!! After a couple of miles i pushed that thought out of my head & it was really good. I got deep into my thoughts & music so this lead me to miss a lot of the beeps on my watch for my paces each mile! It was a really comfortable run so that also may have been a reason for me not checking so much!
Miles 7 onwards i took a gel here & decided id probably actually only need to use 2 of them. I made up the route as i went along so was nice seeing different areas! I couldn't run through Citywest like i usually do because there had been reports of 2 big dogs loose that bit a man & killed a little dog so until i know they are gone i wont be risking it! So not like me at all my mind went into overdrive imagining the dogs chasing me & me running for my life but then wondering how i was going to explain the erratic running to Mr Guppa :eek: I don't know which i would have been more afraid of the dogs or mr Guppa Anyways thankfully this scenario only happened in my head & like i said before i can only imagine the thoughts in my head for 26 miles haha
I ran down by the canal to add extra miles on & it was really enjoyable, at this stage i was doing my pmp miles which i really enjoyed because it proved to me thst i had gone slow enough to be able to run the faster miles then slow back down! I passed a lot more runners today than i usually do on a Sat which was nice as most of them said morning or smiled but some still need to learn to be nice, costs nothing!!

Overall i was really happy with this run & felt i could have kept going! Absolutely thrilled to have my longest run to date done with only 8 weeks to go till D day :eek: Bring it on i say

On a final note looks like i'll be running my half marathon the day Dublin replay!! COYBIB

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Well done Lainey, you are doing great!

I also heard about the dogs on the loose. Good call not taking that route. It's very sad as by the sounds of things they have been roaming quite a while now and while they will obviously have to be put down when they are found, it breaks my heart because most situations like these can be avoided if the dogs had a responsible owner to begin with.

Only 8 more weeks. Have you started thinking about what you might do post-DCM yet, or am I the only one getting ahead of myself?

I know its really sad the poor dogs should be cared for properly:(

No i haven't really thought about it but know i will defo dive into something else because even tho its a lot of training ive loved the discipline & learning & reaching all the new goals

What are your thoughts?

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Yep - the culchies have to stick together!


Come late November a grads thread will pop up for you guys who are interested in progressing your running after DCM. There are plans included for all distances and I've found them great as a next step after my first marathon. But, that's all for down the road.

Sorry we are so great but i supose as a culchie you're well used to being runner up


Oh that's good to hear, this suff kinda gets addictive:D

Sat 7th Sept - 20m lsr with a few pmp miles

Mile 1- 10.03
Mile 2 -9.49
Mile 3 - 9.53
Mile 4 - 9.28
Mile 5 - 9.42
Mile 6 - 9.37
Mile 7 - 9.40
Mile 8 - 9.55
Mile 9 - 10.15
Mile 10 - 9.57
Mile 11 - 9.45
Mile 12 - 9.01
Mile 13 - 8.51
Mile 14 - 8.53
Mile 15 - 9.37
Mile 16 - 9.41
Mile 17 - 9.01
Mile 18 - 8.52
Mile 19 - 8.44
Mile 20 - 9.45

Got an early night as i hadn't been feeling great in work, dosed myself with paracetamol too. My poor grandson was also admitted to hospital so between everything i had a very restless night. Got up Saturday morning not really sure if i would be able to do the run but decided to prepare as normal & see how i felt!
Gave it about 45mins after brekkie & water & actually felt good to go. Rang my daughter & she said the baby was dehydrated & getting tests so nothing i could do there, so off i went.
I took a zero tab in my water bottle & 2 gels. 1st couple of miles were fine eased myself into my pace & felt good. Took a gel at 6 miles & then at 12 miles. I felt i pushed a bit too hard but generally was feeling fime right until the end of the run.
Got home & did a couple of stretches & then i got so dizzy!! This lasted for almost an hour! I literally couldn't stand up at all. I knew i had pushed myself too hard & especially with me not feeling 100%. Tea, toast & chocolate helped lots

Sun 8th - very easy miles

Mile 1 - 10.53
Mile 2 - 10.37
Mile 4 - 10.52

Went out for very easy miles! Needed to recover from yesterday's disaster of a run

DCM wk 12
Mon 9th - easy miles

Mile 1 - 10.19
Mile 2 - 10.49
Mile 3 - 10.15
Mile 4 - 10.01

More easy miles, still not feeling great!

Tues 10th - easy miles with strides

Mile 1 - 10.05
Mile 2 - 10.34
Mile 3 - 10.19
Mile 4 - 10.10
Mile 5 - 10.27

Did 5 easy miles which felt good followed by strides which i always enjoy

So after reflecting on my lsr on Sat & gradually my stupid illness getting the better of me & getting some valued advice i decided to take 2 days rest so that i would be in the best possible shape for my very 1st half marathon on Sat :eek:
I really don't know how i'm feeling about it with everything thats been happening but i do think i will give it a hell of a shot!
The best news ever is that my gorgeous grandson came home from hospital today

Unknownability wrote: »

Well done on the long run, some of the miles look very fast.

Delighted your grandson got this discharged.

Yeah they were too fast & i think i payed for it!! Lesson learned!!

Thank you:)

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Delighted to see the good news about your grandson. With that weight off your shoulders, you should have a great race tomorrow, especially if you don't put yourself under too much pressure regarding targets

Thanks a mill, what started as a disastrous week is actually going quite well now! Feeling back to myself too & feeling excited for tomorrow. Defo think you're right about putting too much pressure, just a tiny bit ha Nah will go out & give it my best & hopefully i can pace it & manage it well

Kellygirl wrote: »

Best of luck tomorrow and great to hear your grandson is home.

Thanks a mill

hillsiderunner wrote: »

I was thinking you were about 25 from the posts! :pac:
(have had a look back at page 1 now ...)

Good luck with the half.

Haha wouldn't be the 1st time I've been called immature

Thanks a mill!

skyblue46 wrote: »

She meant bubbling with the exuberance of a youth! :pac:

Haha i'll take that so, you will see the true meaning of over exuberance in McGrattons after i have had a drink

eabha19 wrote: »

Exactly what I was going to say. Delighted the little man is home and best of luck tomorrow.

Filters are great these days haha

Thanks a mill

Medics half marathon - My very 1st one

Got up early & pottered around for a bit. Then i made my porride & put a zero tab in water & sipped over this. Felt pretty good & positive. So i put the address into my Google maps & thought ah this looks grand, leaving in plenty of time
Well how wrong i was! Please let me add that i have the worst sense of direction EVER. So back to my journey singing along to Elton John till my hears content...following the voice of the lady on my Google maps but she went very quiet & i followed what i thought was the route on the map but nope because of roadworks i completely went onto the wrong road!!! No way of turning back, panic set in, i started shouting at the lady on Google maps, imagine :eek:
I quickly composed myself & made my way back to the correct road. Thankfully i got to the town with time but my god it was hard to find the GAA club! I parked up & followed the few people walking towards the race. I heard 2 people behind me say sure we'll just follow this girl, the girl being me haha, i said oh god you don't want to follow me i haven't a clue where I'm going:pac: Long story short i got my number & did a warm up

With a few mins to go the girl made an announcement about the race, expecting just the usual run of the mill announcement, NOPE, basically she said under no circumstances to wear headphones, you are in the country roads now..they WILL kill you :eek: So no headphones it was! This would be the very 1st time i ever ran with no headphones!!

We walked around to the start & as there were only 180 people racing there was lots of room but i started out near the front!

Miles 1 - 6
I had heard it was to get easier after mile 6 so i decided to control these miles as much as possible. In my head i was going for maybe 8.10 - 8.20 miles but in fact most were faster but it felt so comfortable. The 1.45 pacers were a good bit ahead of me but i had decided to run my own race. For most of these miles i ran in a group of 3 but i felt like moving off so i did towards mile 6. At this stage 2 blokes ran by me chatting & they were saying what a drag it was & in my head i was like oh i know what that means, I'm a real runner

Miles 7 - 12
I still felt really strong & was actually enjoying the scenery & all the sounds without my headphones!! The one thing i did not enjoy was the smell of manure, oh good god it was strong :eek: Give me the smell of Dublin anytime haha defo a Dub true & true, except for that one time recently being told i'm actually not a true Dub because I'm a southsider...that person shall remain nameless
There were a lot of bridges & one VERY steep one which was torture going over but fun coming down it! I caught up with the 1.45 pacers & stayed with them for 1 mile but think maybe i should have pushed away sooner!!

Mile 12 to finish

Feck it now was my time so i pushed on, looking at it now i defo think i could have pushed harder. When i knew i was coming up to the finish i actually thought the finish was further away because it was around the corner but it wasn't so i was raging i didn't sprint earlier!! I was absolutely thrilled when i seen the clock, in my head before the run i had the mindset that i had absolutely nothing to prove but lots to gain I knew i would be thrilled with 1.50 or less but to see 1.43 i was over the moon crossing the line!

Really thrilled with my 1st ever half as i felt strong & controlled the whole way around!!

Thankfully all roads lead to Dublin so i managed to find my way home without getting lost

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Put that Sia tune back on! (you know which one . Brilliant racing and time.

(was it not the 1:45 pacers you were catching though?)

Ahem cough cough don't know what you mean

Yes i needed Sia & stamina to push earlier...so i do need my music