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

Baby75 wrote: »

well done some times we have days like that when the head and heart are willing but the legs say no! but like you said it is not the main thing and this will stand to you in the future.

I watched home alone on Sunday

Yes exactly & its all experience:)

Awww i just love all the Christmas films with the lights twinkling on the tree:D

Tues 10th Dec - 1hr easy
1:00 - 6mi - 10:01min/mi

Early run again. Very very windy & lashing rain - lovely combination for a run before work

Weds 11th Dec - 2mi w/u, 8*1min hill sprints with 3min jog, 2mi c/d

Sprints - 7:10,7:10,7:09,7:23,7:10,7:30,7:19,7:19

Headed up to Stocking Lane for my hill sprints. Didn't know the area very well. Parked near the local shops & went off on my w/u. Just made it up as i went along trying to stay on flat ground as much as possible! Got in position for my sprints & off i went! The 1st one was a shock to the system:eek: I thought i had done hill sprints before but nope nothing like this at all!!! They just got harder & harder...my glutes, calves, thighs were all on fire! All i could think was my god who the f@#k invented these bloody things:eek: S also was in my thoughts here as i sprinted for the 7th time! The profanities i used were very unlady like and lucky for him he wasn't there to hear them:pac: Weirdly enough i actually enjoyed this session especially pushing myself! Finished off with a 2mi c/d back to my car. 1st proper hill sprint session done

Thurs 12th Dec - 1hr easy
1:00 - 5.71mi - 10:38min/mi

Took this extremely easy after last nights session.

Fri 13th Dec - 1hr easy
1:00 - 5.87mi - 10:13min/mi

Didn't get this run done when i wanted one drama after another! Ended up in town later than i was supposed to be then the bus took fooorrreeevvveeerrr!!! Got home & went out straight away. Was a nice run & once done i went home & got ready to go for some festive drinks with work

Sat 14th - w/u, 15mins @ 7:50/8, 5mins@7:40/50, 15mins@7.50/8, c/d

Really had to gear myself up for this run!! One too many drinks & then the shots i swore i wasn't going to drink were all very apparent as i set off with glitter still on my face even though i washed it a few times! I drank a zero tab & some lucozade in order to try minimize the effects of the alcohol:eek: This was a tough run, apparently i will get used to running the day after drinking especially with Christmas...time will tell! I hit the paces and actually felt okish...except for when i thought i was going to puke...thankfully it was a false alarm but i really couldn't wait to get this run over & done with!!

Sun 15th Dec - 1.45mins run
1:45 - 10:93mi - 9:36min/mi

This was a really nice run especially after yesterday's run It was very very icy on the footpaths & i actually think i resembled bambi on ice for some of it

Happy with the weeks training- 43.9miles done!

Kellygirl wrote: »

Great training happening here. Those hill sprints and other similar sessions are gas as torture while in the middle of them but give such a buzz after.

Thanks a mill Actually really enjoying trying out all the new stuff too as much as i give out Yes its kinda like a love - hate relationship with those sessions!

eyrie wrote: »

That's a super week, great going. I've that same hill session in my plan for tomorrow, it's always a "fun" one :rolleyes:

Thanks a mill:)

Oh best of luck with them, I'm sure you won't curse as much as me

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Enjoying this log the last while. Happy Christmas E

Thank you
And to you & yours!

Itziger wrote: »

(E)Lainey, one question for ya, What do the family make of the new 'hobby'? You are a fairly new convert to this level of running, right? Do they think, fooking hell, she's off out again, and it St Stephen's Day and all........

At this stage now my crowd are used to my habits but it has been 12 years or so.

Haha just wondering if you're psychic as you wrote this before i even ran today:eek:
Yes i'm very new to this level of running but have always been active at one thing or another! TBH let's just say there's been a few teething problems as they all thought oh fair play doing the marathon & now that its done its back to normality( whatever that is ha) So they are all adjusting to this being a lifestyle change for me not just a fad:) Luckily enough i'm able to get out early enough so it doesn't really impact much at all

Did it take long for your family to adjust?

Tues 31st NYE - 1hr easy
1:00 - 6.06mi - 9:59min/mi

Nice easy run. Ran by an older man in all his lovely new running gear & he gave me a huge smile & wave then wished me a happy new year to which i returned the sentiment...made me smile for the rest of the run ahh it really is the little things!

Weds 1st of Jan 2020 - w/u, 10*1min@7:00/7:10 with 2.30 rec, c/d
6.52,6.42,6.43,6.44,6.39,6.40,6.45,6.42,6.44,6.29

So after a night of celebration with the fam then heading to bed at about 2.30am i thought i'd try get as much quality sleep as possible but was awoken by my drunk OH shouting at his phone alarm to stop (he still had it set for work)thinking it was Alexa:eek: He swiftly got an elbow in the ribs!
Met S in the Phoenix park & headed off for the session. I absolutely love running in the park it really makes a huge difference to where i usually run! There's such a buzz about the park that's magical:) A mixture of runners, walkers, families etc brilliant to see! We jogged to the Khyber to start our hill sprints. It was a really good session & i enjoyed it so much more than my last set of hill sprints! It was amazing to see all the deer just gathered around like spectators watching Haha! The company was great too think i pushed that little bit harder having S there!

Thurs 2nd Jan - 1hr easy
1:00 - 5.82mi - 10:23min/mi

Back to 6am start as back to work:eek:

Fri 3rd Jan - 1hr easy
1:00 - 5.95mi - 10:08min/mi

Another early start...body needs to adjust again

Sat 4th Jan - w/u, 20mins@7.40/50, 5min jog, 10mins 7.20/30, c/d

Motivation for this run was extremely low! Mental busy back in work & the body adjusting to a routine had me feeling a bit meh! I eventually got out to do it & my legs felt very heavy for the w/u...I wondered how the hell i was going to hit the paces:eek: Thankfully as i got into it i actually felt much better & managed to hit all the paces easier than i thought! 7.49,7.40,7.46 for the 1st lot then 7.26, 7.28 for the 2nd. Again i ended up really enjoying this run.
Home then feeling all energised to celebrate my beautiful grandsons 1st birthday:D

Sun 5th Jan - Planned 12m long run - actual 14m long run

Just to put into context SB has his version of this run on his log which is a nice story but not the way it was...

Off i went to the Phoenix park to meet S. I was supposed to meet him at the allocated spot at 9:05 to which i was slightly late...whats a couple of minutes amongst friends;) After he slightly moaned about my "tardiness" we set off on our run to which i pressed a button on my watch...about a mile and a half in i realized my watch hadn't started at all:eek: i did not "forget" to press it i just pressed the wrong button! Anyway S looked so impressed when i broke the news to him...i actually think his nose flared slightly...we(well i) laughed it off but i still needed 12miles recorded on my strava so to his delight we set off for another 12miles! Originally S had planned the usual loops of the park but because of my tardiness he decided we should head out of the park because he had practically looped it waiting on me!
Off we went down the keys, up O'Connell street all the while S was showing me all the different buildings & streets on DNS as I am shockingly bad at knowing places for someone who's a Dub!! We ran past Mountjoy prison to which i asked S if he had ever been an inmate We ran up along the Royal Canal all the whilst S commented on every runner we seen!One runner in particular caught his eye ahead...he had a 26.2 miles tattoo on his calve, a "laptop" strapped to his arm & a designer cap on his head backwards:pac: I told S i could so see him like this runner to which he was horrified:D A girl was running with her "dangerous " terrier who startled me when it 1st ran by me but the best was S slagging me then as the girl was running back towards us the "dangerous " terrior decided to play chicken with S and would have won only S jumped(according to himself...didn't look like a jump to me) out of the way...it was very amusing:) Then as we were coming to the end of the canal there were 2 swans & i simply stated that swans can be a bit unpredictable to which S replied...oh you'd better watch these 2, they have a reputation for going after people...they are killer swans...Ok so he had me going right up until he said killer swans!!! We continued on back into the park to complete 14miles in total for me
Again I ran places i have never ever been but it was a really enjoyable run with good company.

Total miles for the week - 48.5miles

On a separate note tonight I won the boards awards for best newcomer to which i am truly shocked & humbled. Up until recently all my runs were done alone & only for this community i wouldn't have half the knowledge or ambition i have now, so thank you to all who post & comment it's always great to see how people are getting on & if you are having a bad day or struggling a bit with a plan to see that others do too! Everyone on here has families and commitments elsewhere so it's good to know that even the runners that make it look easy also have to juggle everyday life too

See i said i love waffling:eek: thanks again

Treviso wrote: »

Some serious paces going on there for your training E, what's the goal for Raheny or is it still up in the air?

Congrats on winning the newcomer of the year award, the post above shows why you deserved it so much. Although, you probably need to share it with S as he's the source for most of the material! A lot more Laurel & Hardy moments to come when the two of ye go out running together

It's still up in the air tbh as my main goal is Bohermeen so will just gauge it closer to the day!
Haha thanks a mill was chuffed to have my name thrown around with the likes of yourself, CBG & Lambay...nice compliment;)

In fairness to S, god love him he is unfortunately just a casualty of my chaos:eek: as he will freely tell you!

Murph_D wrote: »

I believe ye ran into my missus on the canal run also. But what's this about needing 12 miles on Strava? Can you not just do a manual add like the rest of us when we forget to start the watch? Or just offer that mile and a half up to the gods?

Congrats on the award.

We did indeed that was just after the dangerous terrior and before the killer swans:eek: S told me who she was as she greeted us with a lovely friendly smile

I could have done that but as my tardiness had already irritated S i decided to just keep going with irritating him, made the run so much more fun

Thanks a mill

scotindublin wrote: »

Great post and a thread I will be following with interest in 2020; bags of potential and great committment. Another protege for young (ish) Sean!

Thanks a mill! Yep he sure keeps me on my toes:D

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Hey congrats on your Boards Newcomer gong!
And belated congrats on a fantastic Marathon debut!
But dear god Kate Bush on your running playlist...

I'll pin this log to my goodreads bookmarks.

Haha cheers

Oh god if you seen my varied playlist:eek:

AuldManKing wrote: »

I've only found this log in recent months and am enjoying it immensely.
Its making some people up their logging game

Thanks a mill! Sure i just love getting carried away with my log

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Congrats on winning Best Newcomer E, very well deserved! Looking forward to following your progress as you inevitably move up through the gears this year.

Have to say I really enjoyed the variation in run descriptions between yourself and SkyBlue. I know which version I believe!

Thanks a mill

There's the truth...then there's the truth as told by S

Tues 7th - 1hr easy
1:00 - 5.96mi - 10:06min/mi

Early start again & tbh i'm actually getting used to these. Biggest downfall is how dark it is & as a woman i try to be extra vigilant. Really can't wait for the bright mornings to come around!

Weds 8th Jan - W/U,8*1min@6:43/6:52 with 2min jog, C/D
5:59,6:13,6:36,6:35,6:54,6:30,6:57,6:34

Decided to do this on my lunch break so that i could see my watch! Also decided to test out my frowned upon(S) brand new vapourflys:D oh the excitement heading off on this run was unreal, felt like a kid at Christmas! They felt amazing, it honestly felt like I was running on clouds, the spring, the lightness in them...unbelievable:)
The session went so perfectly as in i felt amazing the whole way through. I was slightly faster on some of the paces which i put down to my amazing new runners but of course S was having none of this! Actually said he'd heard it all now whilst rolling his eyes:pak: I went back to work on cloud 9!

Thurs 9th - 1hr easy
1:00 - 5.78mi - 10:24min/mi

Dreamt about running on clouds for this run:D

Fri 10th - 3miles easy & 5 strides
37:03 - 3.69mi - 10:03min/mi

This run was to loosen up the legs before my 5k pb attempt which i decided not to tell anyone after my Jingle bells 5k disappointment:( Enjoyed this run & really looked forward to my race/run the next day!

Sat 11th Jan - W/U, Hartstown park run(pb attempt), C/D

Was feeling a bit anxious about this purely because of the wind! I wasn't giving up on my dream but i knew i was going to have to work extremely hard for it which i was 100% willing to do. I arrived earlier than the scheduled time...yes me, early...shock horror:eek: S arrived 1 min late but after my recent tardiness i decided to let it slide, plus whats a min between friends;)
I put on my wonderful vapourflys & we set off for a w/u with S taking me around the course. I knew this was going to be tough, the winds just seemed to be picking up! We discussed a plan of action & S sensibly mentioned he may have to back off at some stage & that made perfect sense! We made our way to the start so dressed in my speedy shorts & my spanky vapourflys we set off! Was happy to have a decent start & we seemed to be going as planned with only a few people ahead. Heading into the wind was so bloody tough! I really didn't know how i would sustain this pace doing another loop! Fair play to S when the winds were really tough he ran either side of me blocking the wind which was very much appreciated:) Just after half way S pulled back which we had discussed. I have to say i felt a bit weird when he backed off like how was i going to do this without him there telling me to keep going:eek: I pushed on & decided i needed to beat my last 5k time no matter what, i just couldn't let S down after all his help so mentally i was 100% getting this pb now i just hoped my legs would accommodate my heart!
I felt ok until I got to that headwind again, jesus christ this was tough! I looked at my watch & seen 8mins, i felt so bloody disappointed, i thought I was going to die, i swore then that I was never ever gonna run a 5k ever again! I decided it was a ridiculous distance & i was giving up on it after this! I looked up & seen the girl ahead of me check over her shoulder to see where i was, this actually filled me with confidence with her thinking i was a threat to her even though i knew i couldn't catch her I decided to give it a hell of a go. There's no way a poxy breeze was f*@king this up for me!!!! I dug as deep as i possibly could & pushed on that little bit further, i ran as fast as my little legs would take me down to the finish & I couldn't believe it i had gotten my PB!!!!! Ecstatic is not the word. This was not an easy PB my parkrun time was 21:20 & i honestly couldn't be happier. Finished 8th overall & 2nd female S Came in shortly after & he was thrilled for me, have to say it was brilliant he looked proud as punch & i honestly couldn't have done it without him so just for this part of my post i will be nice to him:) So thanks a mill S I really appreciate your help
Now enough of that...i went & got changed back into my asics & jesus it felt like i had bricks on my feet! We bumped into Sheep1978 who joined us for a short distance & went on his way! I sometimes feel like I'm running with a celeb when i'm with S the amount of people he knows haha he seen a woman from work & said hello & I said she probably thinks you're out running with your daughter to which he replied you said that joke last week & it wasn't funny then whilst rolling his eyes...i know i laughed:D
Was feeling so happy driving home that i took the wrong turn off the bridge in Blanch & had to go back up & around...wouldn't be like me to get lost
My day was made even better by Liverpool securing yet another win!

Sun 12th Jan - 12miles easy
1:59 - 12.03mi - 9:07min/mi

Arranged to meet S,C & D in the Phoenix park for a run. Again arrived slightly early, could get used to this! What i wasn't going to let slide was the fact that S was late a 2nd day! Himself & C had started a bit earlier to get some extra miles in & they were to pick myself & D up on the way, it was a very cold morning to be waiting around:eek: Eventually they arrived & we set off. Was a really nice run with some nice chats & banter(mainly at the expense of S) again i'm not sure if S does indeed fancy himself doing a few hurdles as he decided to jump(i say this loosely) over yet another dog! The miles absolutely flew by for this run & having the company really does make a huge difference:)

Feeling really good about this week & my training overall!

Total miles for the week 43.6miles