Running with the birds or for the birds?

After my lacklustre performance in The RnR Half I threw myself into training with gusto this week. At the same time I had to make sure I recovered well and didn’t have any niggles after the half so the focus was mainly on upping the mileage, next week will see more quality sessions added. I’ve been swimming in the glorious Irish Sea almost every day and with the temperature at a record high of 17 degrees Celsius it is very pleasant, I also feel it helps with recovery for the legs. I also need to increase strength work but with the boys still off school for the summer I’m finding it a challenge to fit in trips to the gym. All in all a good week for me which I I really enjoyed.


Tuesday August 5th
Dip in 40 Foot
Recovery 5.63 miles @ 9min/mi pace

Wednesday August 6th
Rest day
Dip in 40 Foot
45 minute Body pump class

Thursday August 7th
Dip in 40 Foot
Club session/MLR 13.02 miles @ 8.23 pace
Thursday night is a progression run from the club out to Dun Laoghaire and back so I did it backwards, running in and home. Summer and the fact that the Streets of Galway 8K was on meant I had no company on the way home so unfortunately no one to push the pace and keep me honest. Still tired after Monday, I managed a paltry 4 miles 7.25 pace so not sure what benefit if any I got, still delighted to get an MLR run in all the same.

Friday August 8th
Dip in 40 Foot
Recovery 6.31 miles @ 9 min/mile
75 minute Hot Ashtanga Yoga class
Mr Stew was running in to work so I joined him for the first 3 miles of his run before turning back for home. What a wonderful, wonderful run, at the turnaround point in Blackrock we both stopped and enjoyed the view of Dublin Bay, not surprisingly we spent the whole time telling each other how lucky we are:). As I turned for him I bumped into a super-speedy PaulieC also taking advantage of the fabulous morning, I didn’t keep him talking too long as he looked like he was flying during his PMP run.

Saturday August 9th
St. Anne’s Parkrun total 6.44 miles
Dip in 40 Foot
Mr Stew is back in town:D:D:D:D:D
Another happy, sunshiny day and with Mr S back running regularly I suggested he make his comeback even more official by doing a parkrun, St Anne’s being the flattest we opted to head over to Raheny. A nice easy warm-up along the route and we bumped into some clubmates before the start. I had briefly toyed with the idea of using it as a session and racing but I was keen to run with Mr S (he told me I was chicken and should have raced;) bwak, bwak) We started a good bit towards the back and settled in chatting to people along the way. We were lucky enough to be joined by MurphD for a short while, his training is going really well for Berlin and hopefully we will all have lots to celebrate in The Oscar Wilde on the night of September 28th. It is so, so enjoyable running in an event just for fun, no looking at the Garmin (apart from Mr S keeping an eye on his HR). We finished in just under 26 minutes and then headed off for a cooldown in the sunshine. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….

We heart parkrun:)

Sunday August 10th
LSR 18.31 miles @ 8.03 pace
Running dates are the new thing now so I had to get in on the fun;) and I had the pleasure of Claralara for company on this run. We ran from our house, a nice easy mile down to the 40 Foot where we hid 2 towels for our return and then along the coast through Killiney, Shankill and to the start of Bray head where we turned for home. As expected the miles ticked by and we barely looked at our Garmins. In fact I was so busy chatting and looking where I was going that I tripped just after 10 miles into the run, luckily no damage at all and I was up again and trotting along in no time. We finished back to the 40 Foot for a high-tide bouncy, bouncy dip in the sea, jumping straight in in our running gear, bliss:D As if the day couldn’t get any better Officer Digger arrived to flex his guns and Mr Stew made us all breakfast…. A double-running-date:), let’s see if TbL can top that;);)
Total weekly mileage 67.46

Monday August 11th
Dip in 40 Foot
45 minute Rip 60 class
6.24 recovery miles

Tuesday August 12th
Dip in 40 Foot
45 minute Body pump class
Fartlek session (3,4,6,8,6,4,3 mins w 1 min recovery) total 9.47 miles @ 7.53 pace
I was joined by Meno who had returned from his travels for this run and despite the fact that he very kindly paced me for the 3 and 4 minute sections I still didn’t run well at all, I really struggled with the 8 mins (pace was 7.20:eek:) with 6.35 being the fastest paced section for the first 3 min rep; doesn’t bode too well for me but I possibly had worked too hard in the class in the morning. Character building;)


Wednesday August 13th
13.4 miles @ 8.50 pace
Dip in 40 Foot
A fabulous early morning run into town with Mr Stew on his way to work and home again.

Thursday August 14th
Rest day
An honest to goodness rest day because I was catching up with housework, gardening etc…. I like to call that cross-training;).

Friday August 15th
75 minute Hot Ashtanga yoga
LSR 22.15 miles @ 7.55 pace
Dip in 40 Foot
Company again with Meno for the first 8 hilly miles around Killiney and then Caralara and I ran in and out to the East Link, nice flat for the last 16 miles but into the wind on the way in but at least it was at our backs on the return. This run was tough but that’s to be expected on a Friday afternoon after a busy week. We had hoped it would get easier on the way back with the wind at our backs but at that stage we were tired and dehydrated. I probably would have fared better with more fuel, I took 2 gels during the run but having only had a bagel for breakfast 4 hours before we headed out I was veyr hungry from about 14 miles. Absolutely no way I would have finished so strong if I wasn’t chasing the amazing Claralara and I was delighted to see the pace pick up for the last 4 miles (really only because we just wanted to get the run finished;))

A nice bouncy high-tide dip had us feeling good in no time..... yippee another good run in the training bank.



Saturday August 16th
Recovery total 4.44 miles including Tymon Parkrun
With Claralara as run director the Stew family headed out to help lend a hand (This week the Stew family was me, junior and Meno, Mr S was golfing). I woke tired and a little dehydrated from the LSR but not too bad. I really enjoyed the run, I took it nice and easy and kept junior with me for the first mile and he headed off to catch a few juniors up ahead, finishing second in his category almost 2 minutes ahead of me. I was well behind him in 25.31 and then added on another mile. Junior also helped me sort tokens when we finished so he earned extra brownie points for the day.

Lots of happy parkrunners around on a breezy summer day. We spotted Raycun speeding by us, he was so fast, we crossed paths, twice.
We heart parkrun again!

Sunday August 17th
recovery 5 miles @ 9min/mile pace
I had hoped to run just over 8 miles steady but we had a late night (although no wine for me, i haven't had any alcohol in almost 3 weeks:D) and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to run with Mr Stew. A fab blustery, windy run down the west pier and back home.


Another good solid week for me, I was disappointed with the failed fartlek session but I’m just going to keep plugging away and hope the results will follow. Less than 6 weeks to Berlin and although I’m not too optimistic about my chances of a PB there at the moment I’m not giving up just yet.
Total weekly miles 61.75

Monday August 18th
Slow 6.7 miles
Lots of swimming in the sea
I managed to avoid alcohol on the Sunday night on the camping trip down to Wexford with junior and a big group of pals in the hope that I’d do a MLR on Monday but it turns out alcohol is necessary for sleep in a tent! I was shattered on Monday and even the lovely countryside couldn’t keep me going so I cut the run short and spent the day on the beach instead.

Tuesday August 19th
Club session 6 X 5 mins fast w 2 mins steady
Total 13.4 miles
On Monday night I broke my 3 week long alcohol abstinence in order to get a good night’s sleep and the wine went down very nicely with toasted marshmallows, so I wasn’t too hopeful of a good club session especially after spending the morning packing up all the stuff we had brought camping but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I was pleasantly surprised, the fastest rep (obviously the first!) was 6.38 pace and the slowest was 6.55. I took it easier than everyone else on the 2 mins. I had gotten the dart in and ran home to bring the mileage up, slept very, very well that night!

Wednesday August 20th
45 minute Body pump class
MLR 15.26 miles @ 8.48 pace
with the Frank Duffy 10 miler on Saturday I front-loaded my week in order to squeeze in a mini-taper. I ran into town and collected Mr Stew form work and we ran home together. I was very tired at the end of this one as I hadn’t eaten too well during the day.

Thursday August 21st
45 minute Circuit training
Dip in the 40 Foot

Friday August 22nd
Another dip in 40 Foot

Saturday August 23rd
Race Series Frank Duffy 10 Miler
Total 15.73 miles including w/u and c/d
Joy of joys, Mr Stew was back in action for this race and it was to be a family fun day out with all the boys travelling to the Phoenix Park with us. For some reason I had envisioned a Brady Bunch/Hollywood family type experience for such an auspicious occasion but the reality was of course very far from that:rolleyes: with us all just about making it into the car without killing each other!

Driving in I realised that I was actually quite nervous about the day, Mr Stew has been running really well within his prescribed HR zone and although I knew he would be in no danger at all during the race I was still naturally quite concerned. I once again offered to run with him instead of racing but he quite rightly told me I had to race and he had to run on his own. Fortunately we had left the house in plenty of time and when we arrived early to park in the visitor centre we met up with lots of club-mates and then we began to relax. We told the boys where best to spot us throughout the race and left them and headed off for a warm-up. By the time we had warmed up we were in great form and ready to go and as we headed to the start Pharrel Williams was blaring out over the tannoy as the sun beamed down on us, what a great way to start a race:)

A part of me was feeling just a little bit sad kissing Mr S goodbye as he headed down to the back of the pen, I’ve always loved tucking in behind him and chasing him during races and racing is no longer an option for him. The other part of me was really overjoyed to have us both toeing the line for a race after the past few months and yet another part of me was feeling very nervous about my race as I wasn’t feeling too confident. My PB is 67.XX from April this year but that was off the back of a PB marathon and I was well rested, I was hoping to run sub 70 today but I honestly wasn’t sure how I would do after doing so badly in the RnR Half and I had been exhausted all week…… It’s safe to say I was a little all over the place:eek:
After the wheelchair athlete set off we were sent on our way and I had a big smile on my face as I passed under the gantry. About 400M in things calmed down a good bit and I settled in behind a group of clubmates. My strategy for the race was to race it all the way, I had my Garmin screen showing distance only and occasionally I would allow myself to look at the splits when the miles would beep.
The first few miles of the course are nice and fast and I was feeling good 6.41, 6.43, 6.47 by now my clubmates had all drifted on up ahead of me so I tucked in with runners whenever I could along the way. The support out along the course was super with Crusaders giving shouts of encouragement all over the place. I still hadn’t seen my boys, I must have missed them at the start. Occasionally I’d come upon a runner I knew or one would pass me and we’d exchange pleasantries (or rather we’d mutter hello and say we were suffering;))
The next few miles were beginning to feel tough 6.53, 6.52, 6.46 and I was starting to doubt myself but still even more support for our club and the sight of my 3 boys cheering me on perked me up a little.

About 600M after the 5 mile marker I spotted a club runner drop his gel wrapper, he was running with a clubmate and I suddenly heard myself say “You shouldn’t throw gel wrappers on the ground you know”, he replied with something like “I can’t carry it” and I’d hazard a guess that I helped him on his way to a PB because he stormed off, I'm sure he was thinking “Nosey old cow, I’ll show her”;) I won’t name and shame, suffice to say it’s a club that is infamous for its ability to run in a group across the width of the road;)


I knuckled down for the next couple of miles 6.42, 6.48 and tried to hang onto anyone who was ahead of me, I was overtaking the odd runner and looking forward to leaving the park. Out the Islandbridge gate and instead of feeling good I started to get really tired, I had thought that this part of the course would be easy but it was very exposed. The music and the cheers outside the garda rowing club were very welcome and I perked up again for a minute but then I noticed a good few runners overtaking me, I was going backwards:eek: I was passed by a male clubmate and I wished him well and then a female clubmate came alongside me and while I was glad Crusaders was doing so well I was also thinking “feck that, my name will be at the bottom of the newsletter this week”;) so I vowed to hang on to the female. A great big shout out from Racoon Queen as we entered the park cheered me up but I was really working hard at this stage Mile 9 was a horrific 7.20 and I’m pretty sure that if it weren’t for my clubmate I would have been even slower.
Passing the 9 mile marker I glanced at the time on my watch and while I knew I’d finish under 70 minutes I also gave myself a kick up the ar*e and started to pick things up, overtaking the odd runner and trying very hard not to be overtaken. My clubmate and I kept overtaking each other and each time I’d think “Darn it, I’ve gone too early”, we were neck and neck with about 400M to go and I was pushing so hard, my legs were wibbly-wobbly-wondery and I was feeling nauseous… (remind me why I love running so much?;)) The guy on the tannoy summed it up nicely as we crossed over the spotter mat “And now we have OD from Crusaders and GE from Crusaders... fighting it out... neck and neck... all the way to the line, a fierce battle for nothing more than the club bragging rights”:D I actually burst out laughing as I crossed the line, I had no idea who had finished first and promptly proceeded to dry-retch with a very real risk of a full scale vomit:eek: 6.58 (.06 @ 5.20 pace)
Chip time 68.54, 2nd F45
I luckily pulled myself together without vomiting and I exited the finishing chute as quickly as possible with one thing on my mind; Mr S:D I jogged back out along the course expecting to see him a couple of miles later but after about 400M I saw his unmistakable big frame and smiling face and I was so, so relieved and so, so proud. A quick check with him and how his HR was and when he told me he was doing good I told him to pick it up to the line, 79.XX for him:D he had thought he might run 85 minutes. Mr Stew is most definitely back in town:D

RayCun wrote: »

leading the team to gold, well done!

This was also the Dublin 10 mile championship and I bagged another couple of very lucky medals again…. Silver medal in the Old Dear category and First scorer on Crusaders O35 team to win Gold:D Im not sure what I’m more happy about, the gold medal or the fact that I’m in the O35 group!

Sunday August 17th
LSR 16.1 miles

I was delighted to have company for this run; 16 very slow tired and cranky miles and that was just meno not to mention me! I knew a long run on very tired legs would benefit me greatly and we started with the hills in Killiney and then nice and flat. I actually started to feel a bit better towards the end of this run. No major niggles, just tired and a little sore.


Another good solid week for me and although my time from the Frank Duffy doesn’t suggest a 3.09 in Berlin I’ve decided that’s my goal. Not long to go now
Total weekly miles 67.15

Monday August 25th
Unplanned rest day
Mad busy day with lots to do around the house with the boys heading back to school so no time for a trip to the gym or a recovery run. The Stews have a new addition to the family, Spanishstew2 landed safe and sound and is adorable, like most Spanish kids he is also very sporty so we’ll have to get him to a parkrun as soon as possible.

Tuesday August 26th
6.86 recovery miles up around the hills of Killiney
45 minute Circuit training class
A blustery windy fabulous day, the sea was wild, I really enjoyed this run, still a little disgusted with myself for my poor performance on the hills at the 10 miler I slotted in 8 mile repeats, a small steep hill with fab sea views so it wasn’t too bad.

Wednesday August 27th
Very quick dip in the 40 Foot
45 minute Body pump class
8.18 easy miles
Still feeling a little tired after the 10 miler I decided to stick to easy running all this week.Back to the hills of Killiney again and I was lucky enough to get out before the rain arrived.

Thursday August 28th
Dip in the 40 Foot
45 minute Circuit training class
6.09 easy miles
Sunshine:) Another nice easy run, legs starting to feel good again.

Friday August 29th
Another dip in 40 Foot
LSR 24 miles
I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of claralara on this run and as has been remarked time and time again the miles tick by nicely with company. I had hidden 2 bottles of blue drink at the Merrion Gates the night before when I was out so we knew we wouldn’t have to stop at a shop.
A nice easy mile to the 40 Foot to hide a bag with a towel and then we headed into the East link, despite the wind into our faces on the way in we were chatting away catching up with all our news and before we knew it we were turning to run back to the 40 Foot again. Essentially the run was broken down into 3 X 8 miles (sounds so much easier that way:D). The second 8 miles with the wind at our backs was super fun and we drank some of our drink and hid the remainder in Blackrock park for the next time we’d be back. Arriving back in Sandycove with 16 miles on the clock and when we turned we both really, really felt the wind draining our energy:eek:, no chatting now just the occasional word of encouragement and by the time we got to Blackrock park we were both dreaming of our blue drinks:) Luckily for us nobody had taken them (has happened to me before) and they hadn’t been peed on by a dog (hasn’t happened to me but I’m sure it has to somebody).
With the benefit of the wind at our backs and the yummy sugar kick we made it back to Sandycove, both of us very, very happy to finish. Another high-tide dip in the sea to ease our tired muscles and then more sugary yumminess in the form of flapjacks and rocky road and we were right as rain. It is so, so nice to have the LSR done by Friday afternoon:D
I was pleasantly surprised looking at the splits later to see we had picked up the pace to 7.18 for our last mile (more because we just wanted the run over;)) with our overall pace averaging 7.55. A good solid LSR deposit in the Berlin training bank:D

Saturday August 30th
5.33 recovery miles
I was quite dehydrated on Saturday morning but my legs weren’t too bad. I’ve had a niggle in my left hamstring that’s been at me on and off so I’ve made an appointment to see ecoli, it seemed fine on this run. Junior is back to GAA so I was lucky enough to run around one of my old stomping grounds on the North side of the city; Mr Stew and I met each other at DCU (NIHE Dublin at the time we were there) so it was lovely to run along Griffith Avenue.

Sunday August 31st
Dip in the 40 Foot
Unplanned rest day again, I had hoped to get out and bring my mileage up to 60 miles but the return to rugby and lots more things to organise for the boys and school meant the day ran away from me (see what I did there?;)) I also decided it would do me no harm to have a rest day as I want to get a good solid week in next week. We did manage to get down to the 40 Foot for a sunshiny high-tide swim

Total weekly miles 50.75
Another good solide week, not the mileage I had hoped for but the LSR is a great confidence booster.
Total miles for August 254.47

Gavlor wrote: »

Nice to see you again today, will hopefully get to have pint with you and Mr Stew in Mcgrattans!

And great to see you again, lots of happy runners in the 1.40 group for you, FBOT and Beepbeep:D Did Saturday rekindle any of your running mojo or is the bike still your preferred form of getting form A to B? Looking forward to catching up with you again over marathon weekend.

RayCun wrote: »

how did King Stew get on?

King Stew was his usual stewpendous self:D:D (I'm pretty sure it was you who first coined this term?) I was actually a little apprehensive heading in on Saturday; he had had a really, really busy week in work with lots of late nights and the half was going to be the furthest he would continuosluy run since before his cardiac arrest. In the end I had nothing to worry about, I know I'm obviously biased and all that;) but he really is "totes amaze balls" (I learnt that term from claralara:D). He started just behind us in the 1.50 group, moved ahead on the Khyber and we never caught him:D 1.48 with his HR below the prescribed level the entire run. He really enjoyed it and was waiting for me in the finishing chute.

Congrats on a fantastic run from you! How is the recovery going? How is Junior getting on at cross country? Our junior is focussing on his rugby career;) at the moment so no running for him.