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

Thanks so much💛

Thanks so much P, really means a lot.

The logical me knows that I shouldn't feel guilty & that my da would say that to me! The emotional side just misses him so much...

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I am so sorry you lost your dad too. Everything you have said makes so much sense to me, hopefully the waves of intense grief lessen as you have said. I was afraid it might be a bit much for people but it is who I am, heart on my sleeve person. I hope they didn't upset you too much or anyone else that was never my intention. Sometimes being so in touch with my emotions is a curse but hey you can't change who you are. I know I need to face it & deal with it as best I can.

I'm hoping Manchester goes well, I have put in the work but not accounting for the last month obviously. Yes I agree it's something we can all finally look forward too having races again & race reports to read🤗

Thanks so much for all the lovely words folks, it is very comforting reading them❤

Manchester Marathon Week 9

Mon 6th Sept – Rest day

Was a tough day for both myself & my son so was really glad of the rest day!

Tues 7th - W/U, 8*400's C/D

Felt good for this but jaysus it was so humid out! I was sweating for the whole run.

Weds 8th Sept - AM W/U,6*1k, C/D - PM 16*200's

Had planned to run this earlier but got stuck doing stuff so I set off as soon as I could conscious that today was a double day. The 6*1K's went well, legs & fitness feeling good. Stopped in my tracks when I seen a man across the road on his walk, he looked so like my da, composed myself then set off again. These things are bound to happen just hoping they don't hurt as much with time.

Obviously had to leave this later than I would have liked but was good once I got into it. Another muggy evening but really happy to have another double under my belt.

Thurs 9th - W/U, 2k,2*1k, 5*400, 10*200 C/D

Loved this run, enjoying the mix of distances & paces. Legs felt good for it. This had to be the most humid day so far, everything I had on me was soaked right through😮

Fri 10th - W/U, 10*400's, C/D

Got out for this at lunchtime, don't remember too much about it.

Sat 11th - Rest Day

Was heading to my fav restaurant, Salamanca's, in the evening with 2 really good friends, was feeling a bit unsure about it but glad I went. Only had a couple of drinks & was on the last bus home but good to chat & have a little bit of normality🙂

Sun 12th - Easy Endurance run with surges – 20Miles

Set off for this with a vague route in mind. Ended up going around a fair bit of Tallaght before heading over towards Lucan & down onto the Grand Canal. I don't usually bring any fuel or water for my long runs but thought if it was anyway like it had been all week then I would have too. Thankfully it wasn't too muggy so I didn't need to bring anything. There was a little chill so wore my light wind breaker & my cap as it looked like it might rain too. Felt really good for this, legs were turning over nicely & even though I had been dreading it I think the route helped me enjoy it.

Can't believe I will finally have ran my 2nd marathon on this day in 4 weeks time. Just hoping I do myself & all the amazing people that have helped & supported me over the last few years proud🤗

Miles for the week – 59.8

Miles for the year – 1,727.3

No nothing yet & with everything that's been happening it was only when I seen it mentioned on the Manchester thread that I sent them an email, waiting to hear back now.

Manchester Marathon Week 10

Mon 13th – Rest day

Tues 14th - W/U, 10*400's C/D

A bit of an emotional night & morning so set off to the PP for this as I find it very peaceful there. Ran my reps on The Furze road between the bollards. Ran by feeling for some of them as the GPS kept jumping. Enjoyed this run on a lovely sunny day.

Weds 15th – AM 1k,2k,1k,2k,1k          PM – 15*200’s

AM Dropped my son off to school then set off for this run. Enjoyed it & the legs felt good.

PM Collected my daughter from work then went out for this, I always like the 200s, nice for keeping the form. Was a lovely evening too with beautiful skies.

Thurs 16th - W/U, 6*1k with 5 strides C/D

This felt fine, don’t really remember much about it.

Fri 17th - W/U, 10*400s, C/D

Again I don’t remember too much about this run.

Sat 18th - Rest

Enjoyed watching Liverpool win, cracking goal by Keita!

Sun 19th – 2m w/u, 13m 4 – 8mins slower than my best, 2m c/d

Had quite a restless emotional night but still wanted to get this done early enough. Went out just after 8, weather was lovely. Decided to stay around Tallaght for this run. Set off for the warmup then I was hoping to average between 7:30/40 for the 13miles. Started off feeling good, averaging about 7:35ish at this stage & it felt good. Around mile 5 my mind started wandering, I couldn’t shake it. The pace started slipping to 7:40, then 41,42. No matter what I did it seemed to stay here. My legs didn’t feel overly tired, but I just couldn’t seem to get the pace back to where I wanted it. The route was getting hillier too & the wind seemed to be picking up for the last few miles, I wasn’t sure if I was just going to walk at this stage. It would take a lot for me to give up & just walk so I just agreed with myself that if the pace has to be that bit slower then so be it, just don’t stop – so I didn’t. Finished it with an average pace of 7:45. Wasn’t what I wanted but we’ll draw a line in the sand & move on. Hopefully I will run well in Manchester, sure who knows really? I think this is around the time doubts start setting in. Main thing for now for me to work on is my mind, if I can crack that I have a much better chance of a good run.

Miles for the week – 55.9

Miles for the year – 1,783.2

Thanks D, it was tough enough but ideally I would have liked to have stayed at the 7:35/40 range but sure I will move on🤗

I don't have a proper target time in mind , trying to keep the pressure off myself really. For now I think I will set a realistic pace for halfway & then reevaluate where I am at that stage. Obviously a nice PB would be very very welcome too😂

Manchester Marathon Week 11

Mon 27th – Rest Day

Tues 28th - W/U, 5*400's, 7*200's, C/D

Went out to the Park for this, ran these on the Furze Road. Passed by an elderly man walking his dog a few times, 1st time he shouted "God I wish I had your energy", then 2nd time "And your pace!" I just smiled back at him, I love the friendliness of most people when I'm running in the park.

Weds 29th – AM W/U, 6M with surges C/D - PM W/U, 15*200's, C/D

Got out after dropping my son to school as my daughter was looking for a lift to the airport as she was heading away to the sun(not jealous at all). Run felt good.

Left my 2nd run till 6ish, again no problems here, always enjoy this one! Found my old DCM19 training top & wore it out as I felt chilly heading out the door but sure the top ended up tied around my waist!

Thurs 30th - W/U, 2*1k,2*1k with 5 strides C/D

Liked that this run was a bit different, enjoyed it.

Fri 1st Oct - W/U, 4*400's, 6*200's, C/D

How is it October already? Feels like time is flying but dragging by too if that makes any sense at all!

I had a few things on today & was hoping to get this done in between apps but that just didn't happen. My daughter booked me in to get my hair done(I don't think it has ever been this bad😲) Unfortunately it took a good bit longer than expected so I was feeling quite anxious, anyway I finally have blonde hair again & a fringe I can see through 😉 Went out for my run but not really sure how I even got out the door with the way I was feeling - glad to have it done!

Sat 2nd - Rest Day

Sun 3rd – W/U, 6M@7:05/15, C/D

For the 2nd time this week I decided to run in the park. Had received my new runners yesterday, the NB Rebel V2, a bargain on Lifestyle sports, no choice on colours so lucky for me I like pink/purple runners😉 They felt really nice from the start, very airy, good toe space, spongy but not as spongy as the Novablasts, overall I was happy in them. I also wore my New NB sorts, these felt great they never moved on my thighs which was great as some of the tight shorts end up rolling up, I think these will be the ones I wear next week. Set of for the warm up down to the Furze/OS loop to do the 6 miles at pace. The wind was quite strong along Chesterfield then onto the OS side but got a nice break on the Furze side. I felt good but then doubts started creeping in after about a mile & a half, lot's & lot's of doubts🙄 I really had to fight hard with my head as I knew physically I wasn't struggling at all!! I will put it down to Maranoia at this stage & just pray that it doesn't fook me up next Sunday!!

Overall another good week of training. I really can't believe this time next week I will hopefully have completed my 2nd marathon😊 It was originally just myself going then my 3 daughters & bf's decided to come support me, for this I am very grateful🤗 They plan a night of 2 of partying (we are going Fri evening till Mon evening) but I will just be relaxing & preparing for Sunday then hopefully a celebratory meal & drinks Sunday night, either way we will toast my dad❤️

Miles for the week – 42.4

Miles for the year – 1,879.7

Ah thanks D, bet you say that to all the runners 😉

Yep & the NB shorts go perfect with them😜

Ah D it's ages since I bought a new pair & in fairness they were a proper bargain😉 I have 4 pairs in rotation that I use mostly, then a couple more pairs if I feel like a change. Variety is the spice of life😜😁

Shhh🤫😂

I got my number a while ago, my hotel is literally across the road...no queue at all when I was there. Only needed to give my name & DOB. If you are held up I could see if they'd give it to me for you as I'll be in my hotel for the evening? Hopefully you are not held up.

Ah thats brill! Best of luck tomorrow 😊

Apologies in advance for how long this is...

Manchester Marathon chip time 3:29:07

1976 of 32784 overall

143 of 8814 women

As most of you know this marathon was booked as a back up plan for Dublin not going ahead. I had spoken to my dad about it at the time around my worries of travel, covid etc & he told me to just go for it & see how things were at the time of the marathon. Dublin was always my 1st choice but as it was not happening I committed to Manchester & so my training began. My plan A goal all going well was 3:22 with 3:25 as my plan B. Unfortunately with my dad's passing & no matter how much I tried to pretend it wasn't affecting my training, it was, of course it was! I was thick in the middle of grief & this meant that I couldn't give the maximum effort to my training that I needed to obtain my goal A time. The 4 weeks after my dad died were the 4 crucial weeks that needed me to be 100% , & it was clear I just couldn't give that but I did continue to train & it did really help me, I really wanted to complete my 2nd marathon & see what the experience was like compared to the 1st time.

After a tough few days leading up to the marathon I knew I needed to re - evaluate my goal for this. What was the slowest time I'd be happy with? I had made Antrim all about my dad & my grief, it was the stage I was at in the process of grieving where I thought about him all the time & constantly wanted to do things that would make him happy (not that I don't know but along with the guilt I was feeling it was very intense). Unfortunately for me it just didn't help, although I felt pure joy after Antrim for a while the come down was just not worth it, the dark place I went to on the Monday wasn't helpful at all for me dealing with this thing called grief so I really wanted to do all I could to avoid that happening again. I decided that week that this marathon was 100% about me & no one else! Obviously I wanted people to be proud of me but really I wanted to finish with a smile on my face thinking YES I've done it! I didn't think for 1 min that I wouldn't think about my dad or feel emotional but I just didn't want to allow it to dictate my race. I had worked pretty damn hard for this, I put in a solid block of training, never missing a day, it was all down to me being committed & disciplined about my training so I felt I deserved to reap the rewards & PB on the day. After a chat with S we discussed a strategy & I had a better idea of where I was.

Set off to Dublin airport for the 1st time in so long. We got there early enough thankfully as the security queues were quite long, Friday evening peak time obviously. Once through we relaxed & I had an ice cold pint of Orchard Thieves, really enjoyed this! Flight was grand & we grabbed a taxi straight away, the hotel was in Manchester Central & I actually didn't realise how close I was to the convention centre to pick up my number so i was really pleased with this. Saturday I picked up my number, very fast & efficient, felt so a buzz again which was great. We did a few bits in the town, had Nando's then I made my way back to the hotel to chill!

I had a decent enough sleep & actually slept right up to my alarm. I felt quite rested & calm, maybe it was because I was away? Not really sure but it fet good not to be stressed! Got up at 7 & made my porridge pot that I had brought with me, hoped back into bed & put the tv on while I ate mainly to drown out my youngest daughter snoring in the bed beside me (oh the glamorous life of a runner). I got up a short while later, showered & got into my gear feeling proper excited. We all met downstairs to head off but my 2nd eldest daughter had such a good night that she was absolutely dying, she looked grey & still very drunk so we sent her back to bed & told her to follow down in time for my finish. The tram stop was full of runners, the chatter was great, such a buzz about the place. Crammed like sardines on the tram we got off at Old Trafford stop & made our way. I gave my gear to my other 2 daughters & headed off into the athletes village. Everything was set up quite well, toilet queues moved quickly enough thankfully. I had left a long sleeve top on me to wear till I started but realistically I didn't need it, it was getting quite warm. I made my around to the start & moved into the Red A area. It was fairly packed but again a lovely atmosphere of excited runners anticipating that today was going to be their day...well I know that's what I was thinking!

We were delayed a bit & then the crowd started moving, yes we are off. I tried to weave in & out of people at this stage to get a rhythm going. Looking back it was a quick enough downhill start. The GPS was hoping as we came to a lot of tall buildings. I felt good but now realise I was going faster than I should have been, I had planned for a more conservative start, my 10k splits do not reflect this! It was getting warmer although it didn't really seem to affect me unless the sun was directly in my eyes. The miles seemed to pass by so quickly, so many thoughts going on in my head but mainly positive ones feeling thankful to be here & enjoying it. The support was brilliant, the crowds cheering & calling you by your name really lifted my spirits, I felt like I was grinning constantly, ran by a DJ playing songs & he said into the mic, Elaine where did you get that smile? Priceless! I laughed, but again little things like this around the course made it so enjoyable. There were stretches of the road that were a bit more lonely & a bit of a slog but in general the supporters were great.

Came to a couple of drags & uphills towards Mile 14 I think it was & god they were tough, just looking at all the crowds ahead of your gradually going uphill is so bloody draining mentally. This was over a road on a bridge I think, then this lead to mile 17 going through Altrincham, Jaysus this was so steep, I thought I was going to cry, almost walked it, my legs felt so zapped after it. Then this brought us back across the road on the bridge. I looked to my right to see a runner on the ground rolling around, at 1st I thought he was having a fit but then he got up started screaming like someone possessed & tried to grab a cyclist who was watching. An army man & a paramedic ran & tried to hold him but he broke free & tried to jump over a railing, they grabbed his leg but he was still screaming. It was quite traumatic watching it, there was something really wrong with him. Anyway it shook me up for a bit but I just tried to get back to my own focus for the race. I had taken on a couple of gels at this stage & popped electrolyte tablets into a couple of my bottles of water by this stage but my tummy was feeling a bit sick, so I decided to just use one more gel but kept the bottle of water to sip on. For the next few miles I just kept telling myself, just get to mile 20 then you only have 10k left. So with each mile that passed I was happy knowing I was on the countdown. After mile 20 I knew it was about getting sub 3:30 & I was happy with that. The next few miles went by, people shouting well done Elaine, great running Elaine, Almost there Elaine. The energy was amazing but I knew I was slowing, I wasn't suffering really badly but didn't feel I had it in me to push on. As I ran around the corner heading towards my finish my gang let out a huge scream & they all had tshirts on with Go Momma E, I was beaming, so bloody proud to have them all there supporting me. I checked my watch & knew I had to push on for the sub 3:30, so that's exactly what I did. The photographer was just a bit down from the finish line, so I gave him my biggest smile & put my arms in the air because I knew I had achieved my goal!!! I crossed the line at 3:29:07, absolutely thrilled with this. I was quite wobbly & broke down crying so one of the girls with the medals came over to me with water. It was so emotional but just like my 1st marathon I enjoyed this. At no stage of the marathon did I suffer so bad mentally or physically that made me want to stop & I am so grateful for that!

I meet up with my girls & their boyfriends & we got a few pics then went for food & a celebratory drink. After showers etc we went out for a game of bowling & arcade games that conveniently had a bar for lots more drinks. Monday was followed up with a prison escape room, mini golf & some darts. Overall the whole weekend was brilliant & very well needed by me!

I met Healy in the airport on the way home & had a little chat, felt bad for him but he will pick himself back up & decide whats next & whats best for him(sorry if you thought I was some weirdo just staring at you!!) Nice to finally meet you.

If this had been before I would have been gutted I didn't get my A goal but I genuinely am so proud of myself & happy with how it went on the day.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to S who has really been supportive & well just so patient with me through all this...couldn't ask for a better mentor.

I did it dad & as your favorite song goes... In my life I love you more❤️