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

Haha love it D🤣

Yes my point exactly, it could have happened 😉

A, that thought never entered my mind👀🤔🤣

Quite a vivid imagination I have apparently 🤷🤣

🤣🤣🤣

Thanks a mill D & well done yourself 😁

I'm a few weeks into a plan for Bohermeen and I plan to run Raheny too. Hoping to update my log this week then back to weekly hopefully.

Hope all is good with you🤗

Mon 9th - Rest

Tues 10th - 45 mins easy

Got out for this at lunchtime, god the weather was awful, so bloody windy!

Weds 11th - W/U, 6*0.5mile@5k, off 90secs, 4*150m strides off 1min, C/D

Again another lunch run. Weather was still crap with a rain thrown in. Decided to do this on the nice tarmac path loop in Fettercairn. Enjoyed it!

Thurs 12th - 30mins easy.

Fri 13th - 45 easy or 3*1k eim

I decided to do the 3*1k eim reps as I feel like they add some well needed variety to a vanilla run. I'm not a huge fan of just running easy runs so it's really nice to have these as an alternative😊

Sat 14th - 15mins easy, 20mins HM, 5mins easy, 15mins HM, 10mins easy

Running around Tallaght in the strong winds this week were getting to me so I decided to head to the PP for this & my OH & grandson decided to accompany me. They headed off after I parked on the Furze & I set off. After the easy bit I settled into the HM bit, I eased into it & got myself into a nice rhythm, easing off the efforts a bit on Chesterfield & around by the OS but then could pick it up a bit for the other bits. It felt good to be running consistently & being able to judge my efforts a bit more than I may have in the past. Met my OH & grandson in the visitor centre where he really enjoyed a hot chocolate💛.

Sun 15th - 11 Miles easy run in the PP

This was the Boards meet up run. There was a nice group of us. We set off with C deciding on a last minute route. Was nice to chat to everyone as we ran moving along with different people for different sections. Discussing running targets, shoes, experience etc, was lovely just getting to know people. A fair bit of banter too, although I think the rules need to be highlighted that if you are in a group & something is said about a group that you are not in then it should NOT be repeated to said group😉 Other than that a very enjoyable run with some tea, scones chats & laughs back in the visitor centre. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is thinking of joining along.

Mon 16th - VO2 Max test

I went to Health Matters in Tallaght for this & really pleased with the whole process overall. I was very nervous & not a fan of threadmills anyway but Sean(who was performing the test for me) was very friendly & reassuring. Once I settled into it I actually kinda enjoyed it.

My score came out at 54 which is in the superior range( yes I went straight home & told everyone who would listen that I am indeed superior😂) My Anerobic Threshold came in at 167bpm.

There was lots of other science stuff that we went through but I wouldn't be great at trying to explain it. After speaking with S about the results I think it confirms I have been training correctly. I have always had faith in S & his training that he gives me & this just confirms that. We have tweaked one or 2 things with my 1k reps etc but only slightly, overall they were being done in the right zones.

I think ultimately it has given me the little boost I need right now & anything that can help me in a positive way is gladly welcomed at this stage.

Tues 17th - W/U, 10mins@threshold, 5 easy, 6*2mins@10k off 90secs, 4easy, 13mins@HM, C/D

So after my new found knowledge I ran the threshold part based on my HR(161 - 167) I eased into it as I have in the past tried to get it up too fast then it would be too hard to keep it in the zones. I tried to stay steady at around 164/5 to give me leeway for the bits uphill & into the wind. It went really well so I was happy going into the 10k reps. Kept these very controlled & felt more & more confident as the session went on. Finished off with the HM section & broke it down into laps for myself(in the fettercairn tarmac loop) this really helped mentally & it went by quickly enough. Overall I was very pleased with this session, it felt hard but a controlled hard!

Weds 18th - 40 recovery run.

Absolutely freezing out, a snood amongst a lot more was worn today. Stuck on my Aslan playlist. So sad to hear that Christy is now receiving palliative care at home. I have been a huge fan for over 20 years now & been to so many gigs, he is just the most passionate performer, always fascinated watching him on stage in his bare feet & how he would tell the story of each song with his hand movements. As one of his songs says, in so many peoples eyes he is a working class hero💛

The whole lot of them couldn't wait to rat on me👀🤣

Where I'm from snitches get stiches 🫣😉🤣🤣

Thanks a mill, you know yourself any little boost is always very welcome 😊

Haha let's just say I could feel his eyes rolling when I mentioned it for the 3rd time🤣if anyone will keep me grounded it's him & rightly so!

All joking aside it has put a pep in my step & I feel like I'm enjoying the jucier runs more! With all of us runners on here it's all about balance & doing whatever we can to make this enjoyable 🙂

My VO2 max on my Garmin is a very generous 62 & my score was 54. Also the race times calculated on the Garmin are very generous indeed!

I never look at that, it was only someone asked about them & they were way off🤣🤣

Thurs 19th - 65mins moderate/easy

Was happy to get this done at lunchtime, it was cold but with the sun it actually felt nice, a really good running day😊

I ran this based on my HR with the info from my VO2 test as I was very interested to see if the paces would match up to the HR. It felt really good & the paces were very simular to what I have been doing for this run, pleased to know this!

Fri 20th - W/u, 3*1k eim, C/D

I had a choice to do 45mins easy or the eim run, not much of a choice really, the eim is just way more interesting so that's what I went with.

Sat 21st - W/u, 6*3mins@5k off 90secs, 3mins easy, 4*150m strides off 1min, C/D

Set off a bit later than I originally eanted but thankfully the weather was ok & it actually seemed a lot milder. I went to the Fettercairn park, on the tarmac loop. Started off really well, very controlled but loved doing the faster stuff. Was on my 4th rep & a young lad was there with his dog, he let him off his lead & the dog ran off. He didn't seem to have huge control over him so as I'm nervous of dogs anyway I decided to leavd the park & head across to the Jobstown one. Was hit straight away with a very strong headwind, I knew this park was more open but it was a big difference. I finished off the last 2 reps at the same effort even if the paces were slightly slower. The strides felt really strong & controlled, loved finishing so strongly.

Sun 22nd - Long run

Had a couple of options to do this but decided to get up early & do it around Tallaght. Made the route up as I went but very similar to previous routes. Caught up on a few podcasts then put on my da's playlist which I haven't listened to in a while, felt great & comforting listening to it as I ran to his grave, a quick tidy & a kiss blown to his plaque & off I went. Finished this run feeling very content🤗

Miles this week 47.7 miles

Overall very happy & feeling more confident with this weeks training 😁

Mon 23rd - Rest

Tues 24th - 45 mins easy steady

Did this at lunchtime, just gradually increasing the HR.

Weds 25th - W/U, 2*10MINS@LT off 3mins, 2min rec, 15min HM, C/D

Set off to the Fettercairn park/loop for this. Eased into it nicely & set off on the LT reps. My aim is to keep the HR at about 165ish & not max out at 167bpm. The 1st rep came in at 6:52 pace & the 2nd 6:43 - really happy with how comfortably hard this felt! Once the recovery was done I set off on the 15min @HM, again I settled into this nicely & the 15mins came in at 6:57 pace - happy with this session😊

Thurs 26th - W/U, 4*1k eim plus 4 strides, C/D

I choose to do this as I do enjoy the eim reps but I kept it at the lower end of the HR range which is now 154 to 159bpm. The run went by so quickly lost in my music & thoughts of my da on what would have been his 74th birthday💛

Fri 27th - 40mins easy with strides

Sat 28th - Few easy miles with strides

Sun 29th - Raheny 5 mile chip time 33.44 PB 😊

Was really looking forward to this as I absolutely love the atmosphere of this race! Had arranged to meet S & D for a warm up so met at the baggage drop area. Got changed & set off. The weather wasn't too bad, a bit blustery in parts but overall a nice running day. Had a few chats & felt like we were running with royalty as everyone was shouting hello to @Murph_D 😉 Finished the warm up & met @Lazare who was clearly on a mission today! We got a nice spot in the starting pen & the banter was good craic, great to start a race so relaxed. My plan was simple enough today, no pressure on myself with where my head has been all I wanted was to be able to stick to my own plan & execute it well, if I did that then I knew it would be a good day. We set off, quite congested but not as bad as the last time I did it. I looked at my watch & I was happy with how it was going. D & C were up ahead then @scotindublin passed by with a quick hello & @skyblue46 passed also. I knew I had a decision to make, do I try keep up with them now or let them away, I looked again at my watch & was satisfied I was where I needed to be comfortably for now so decided to wish them all well in my head but to just focus on my own head & running. The 1st 2 miles passed quickly enough, D was ahead at some stage here & I overtook him by a small amount, my mindset here was to gradually increase the pace to see how it felt as there was still a fair bit to go. We came around a corner & as I was running along I spotted D ahead of me again, I laughed out loud thinking where did that fecker come from😅 it gave me a giggle but again I just got back into the zone then passed him again at some stage but not by much. At some stage I also became aware(sorry I didn't recognise you at 1st) that I was running alongside @MisterJinx we exchanged a few words then both back into the zone. I felt good here, strong, hurting but not overly hurting. I was sticking to my plan & that felt really good. Both myself & P used each other well for the remainder of the race, we took power & determination from each other, taking it in turns to go ahead, especially for the part in the park which to me feels like it goes on forever. The drag out of the park was a killer too but I knew I had a PB in sight so dug in for the final straight, also wondering if D was gonna just zoom past me!! I finished really strong which is something I love doing if I have it left in me! Delighted to see I got myself a PB but more than that I ran the race I had planned to race & I really enjoyed it😊 I stuck to my plan, I ran & felt so strong for the whole race, yes it was hard but a good manageable hard if that makes sense. I have gained great confidence from my performance & I feel very proud of it.

Went for a C/D run with S along the causeway, god the views were amazing, anyone that has somewhere so beautiful to run should really count their blessings absolutely stunning!

The day was finished off with drinks(lucozade for me) chicken wings & chips with some really amazing company, lot's of chats with Mrs D & Mrs C which was lovely, I love meeting new people! A great day all round.

Super well done to everyone who ran yesterday😊

Edit: forgot to add I came 11th out of approx 350 in the F40 category- not a bad result at all😉

Miles this week 38.3 miles