Aiming for October...

racheljev

Great day today, 2:13:18. Delighted with it, had 2:20 in my head. Had same probs as RK at the start, what is the deal with the walkers starting at the front... and then giving me dirty looks as I try to get around them... grrr. Anyway, got moving and hit each mile marker at between 9 & 10 mins. Got to 5 miles at 49mins dead - in the Frank Duffy hit it at 55, so definite improvement. Ran into the loo just before 6 miles and dropped my bloody headphones and they broke, so no music for the second half. Kept ticking off the miles until the hilly bit - oooh that was hard. But still hit the times I wanted - although the miles were more 10 mins than 9ish. Was looking like 2:17 at one point so I put on spurt and legged it for the last little bit. Crossed the line with smile all over my face at 2:13, so so happy with that!:D Great race, nice goodybag and I got the fancy Adidas bag cos I registered early. Result!

RacoonQueen

Well done. That is a super, super result.

kennyb3

Super running! but more importantly fair play and getting out and doing it and not letting the dental problems get in the way!

krankykitty

What a great run Rachel. You're so dedicated and you can see it paying off..

rainbow kirby

racheljev wrote: »

Great day today, 2:13:18. Delighted with it, had 2:20 in my head. Had same probs as RK at the start, what is the deal with the walkers starting at the front... and then giving me dirty looks as I try to get around them... grrr. Anyway, got moving and hit each mile marker at between 9 & 10 mins. Got to 5 miles at 49mins dead - in the Frank Duffy hit it at 55, so definite improvement. Ran into the loo just before 6 miles and dropped my bloody headphones and they broke, so no music for the second half. Kept ticking off the miles until the hilly bit - oooh that was hard. But still hit the times I wanted - although the miles were more 10 mins than 9ish. Was looking like 2:17 at one point so I put on spurt and legged it for the last little bit. Crossed the line with smile all over my face at 2:13, so so happy with that!:D Great race, nice goodybag and I got the fancy Adidas bag cos I registered early. Result!

Well done, great time

(also, go team PB-with-dental-problem, I set my 5k PB back in March while goofed up to the eyeballs on painkillers due to an abscess)

Bally8

Well done Rachel, excellent time!

racheljev

5.1 slow miles in 54 slow minutes this morning. So tired! 3 yr old has been sick since Saturday (temp, cold, bit of puking) and instead of saying "don't you know I'm in training, get someone else to mind you!", I've been going constantly the past few days and nights looking after her. So I'm knackered - but I still got my 5 miles done..:)

racheljev

Another run where my head caused more trouble than my legs. 9.5 miles in 1:39. Out at 5.45 this morning, pitch dark, had to keep putting watch light on to see how long I'd been out for. Didn't enjoy it, but it's one of those runs to put in the back of my mind, in the category "see what I can do, even though I don't want to".

osnola ibax

Hi Rachel, well done on Saturday, 5:45 again this morning, your commitment to the marathon is unbelievable, I still don't know how you do it

racheljev

20 mile lsr scheduled for tomorrow, not sure about it at all. No sleep at all this week cos 3yr old sick and not sleeping, and when she doesn't sleep, I don't sleep... But if I don't get it in tomorrow, it'll be too late. Think I'm going to have to coffee up before I go out tomorrow...:(

metamorphosis

In the same boat as you R. Thinking of heading out tomorrow for the lsr as have a bit of work and such to get done on sunday but i have to head out to Shannon to a going away do for my friends who are traveling and will be given a lift in tomorrow morning. Needless to say i won't be drinking but i will be tired

Best of luck with it.

racheljev

15.45 miles in 2:31:40. Very disappointed and upset, was aiming for 20. As soon as I went out, I knew it wasn't right - wrong top, dodgy tum, wind in my face no matter which way I turned. No sleep during the week with sick baba, and dodgy tum back again yesterday recipe for bad run. Got up early, had some brekkie, waited for a while and headed out. After an hour, had to stop at cafe to go to loo, kept going again. At just over 2 hours, was running up Drumcondra Rd, crying my eyes out cos I felt so bad. Ran for another half hour and my body literally seized up. Stopped the watch, and started to slowly walk up the road. A neighbour pulled up beside me, jokingly asking if I wanted a lift the 200m up the road, saw my face and practically threw me into her car. So I cried all over her as well. Cried in the house, cried in the shower, eventually had to stop cos it was dehydrating me even more. Thought I'd done 14 miles so felt a bit better when I mapped it to see 15.45. Still though, bad bad run, bad bad day, just want to forget it. I know anyone reading my log must think "Jeez does she ever have a normal day, it's either all the way up or all the way down". Sorry about that! Ok, so lessons from today: no sleep during week not good for lsr; if stomach dodgy, take immodium night before; don't wear top for cold weather cos even though it was raining and windy, it wasn't cold. It has to get better than this, it really does.

metamorphosis

Aw man we ALL have those runs.

Keep thinking of last weekend and how well you did and how everything WILL fall into place because your dedication has been 1st class and you have clocked up more than enough miles. Chin up.

racheljev

Thanks v much UL, don't be too nice or I'll start crying again, honest!:o

osnola ibax

racheljev, as i've said before a couple of times, I can't get over all those early morning starts and your committment to the marathon, with a young family, it takes some doing and i've really admired you for it.

UL is right, you have the work done now and today was practically a 16 miler, some training programmes have max runs at 16 miles (i think, there was a thread on it somewhere in the main forum a/r/t recently. My emotions have been in a heightened state this week, I think due in part to tiredness from the race last weekend but generally just tiredness.

Have faith in your work so far (not trying to make you cry).

rainbow kirby

Nothing else to say but *bighug*

It's ok. We all have our hard days. You've done amazingly well to get this far, don't let one crappy day put you off.

Bally8

Ah Rachel my heart goes out to you. I know its easy for me to say but you should be so proud of all you have achieved. There is no way in hell you would catch me getting up as early as you do and sticking to training through all the things you have been through recently. I think everyone on here is brilliant but you are the person I admire most for the commitment you have given. I havent posted on boards myself in nearly a week cos my training is going so bad, I dont even want to tell ye about it. But I had to post here and tell you that it will be worth it for all of us in the end.

menoscemo

Hey Rachel 15.5 miles in 2:31 is really fast, If I am calcualting it right it is even faster per mile than your half marathon last weekend?? (10m9 sec /mile last weekend and 9min 45 sec this weekend) that being the case it is a hell of a run. It actually means you went through half marathon distance in 2hrs 7 minutes today!!!
That is definately a positive and you probably only blew up today becuase you were going too fast. I Imagine at 10.5+ minute miles (as you should have been doing;)) you would have got through the 20 no problem. Chin up.

jb-ski

+1 Well done so far. Great log!
The countdown has begun, so stay positive.
jb

racheljev

Thank you all so much, I don't know what to say, I'm SO grateful for all your support. See? I'm crying again! Seriously, thanks very much.:)

bourne99

15.5 miles is more than I've done! Also, if it's any consolation, every single time I run, the wind causes my eyes to water and tears stream down my face. It gets worse when I'm running fast - I literally look like I'm running away from my problems. People I run by constantly give me looks of 'ah, the poor guy'... But, I also cry when I laugh, so I just can't win!

Tomorrow will be better! Best of luck!

racheljev

5.3 miles in 55 mins exactly. Dark and rainy this morning but not too bad. Used my new Polar HRM thingy this morning. Avg HR 156, max 187. Now have to look up exactly what that means....

goofygirl

Christ almighty Racheljev how the hell do you manage to get up so early to run? What a superstar. Can't wait to meet you and the rest of the Boardies on the 26th. You deserve an extra-special medal for your insane training times as well.

racheljev

6.2 miles in 65 mins this morning. It was cold AND dark (but with a full moon) AND frosty so glad of my long sleeved top! It's also bin day, so kept passing smelly bin lorries, yeuch... Legs v sore so ran v slow. Think I'll be icing and anti-inflammatory-ing later on:(

racheljev

2.5 crappy sore miles, didn't bother timing cos it was all bad!

racheljev

18.1 miles! Yay! Did it in 3:22, but had to stop for toilet break, traffic lights, stretching, so actually ran 3:12. Much happier about this week than last week. That's the longest I've been out since I started training. And I did what I never do, I mapped my run before I went out so I knew exactly where and how fast I was going. I went out with a new fancy belt with 2 bottles on it. It was so bad! Ran down the road with it and had to run back to the house. Decanted the bottle contents into my regular bottle and left the house for take 2. Decided to take it easier than last week - walk break of 20-30 secs every 10 minutes. Worked fine until 2 hours when I had to stop for a toilet break. Hard to get back into the rhythm after that but kept going. Head got bad about 2:30 - point in the route where, if I turned left, I was 10 mins from home. If I kept going, up a hilly bit, I was 35-40 mins from home. Stretched for a few secs, gave out to myself and kept going. Feet sore now, insteps very sore. But it's done, yay!

Blueskye

Yay, Nice one. Hopefully you should be feeling a bit more confident about the big day now

racheljev

1 hour yoga class this morning, lots of lovely s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g. Legs feel okay after Saturday, walked a bit yesterday and no ill effects. Taper starting from tomorrow!

racheljev

4.1 miles this morning in 44 mins - could I BE any slower? Actually, it was pitch dark, drizzling rain and the ground was very slippy. I nearly broke my neck on a frickin' conker on Griffith Avenue, ended up sashaying into a pile of soggy leaves so I tried to be very cautious - please,no accidents at this stage, please. So of course, because I'm being careful, something will happen!

racheljev

6.1 miles in 1:01, grand run. Not too hot, not too cold, still pitch dark but that's ok. No conker related falls or accidents this morning, phew, so it's all good. Hubbie's birthday today so going out for indian meal tonight - can I write it off as carb loading??:D

Abhainn

Catching up on your log Rachel. Enjoyable read.
Well done on your 18 miler. You've been doing great and you are an inspiration to many. Keep it up. Just 12 days to go.
Enjoy the anticipation of your first marathon.

Slogger Jogger

Likewise, catching up with your progress Rachel. Keep it up. Sorry to hear about Seanie's cousin. Good luck in the DCM. Might see you in the crowd,

Slogger (aka Mick Hanney)

racheljev

Thanks Abhainn & Slogger. Mick, I reckon you'll be at least two hours ahead of me!

Today: high temp: check. Sore throat: check. Runny nose, blocked head: check. Aching body: check. Shivering, sneezing: check. Meeting with teacher to discuss my son being bullied: check. General allround feeling of sh1teness: check. Dosed to eyeballs on Nurofen cold and flu: check. No run today and probably tomorrow.

racheljev

Think I'm back in the land of the living. Been in bed since Thursday. Cold bit worse than I thought. High temps, shivering, sweating, all that good stuff. No running, no walking even! This is the first time I've even been on boards since Thursday - unbelieveable:eek:! Lost 4lbs in 3 days, not a good plan. Not really sure where I am now for next week, can literally feel muscles wasting and fitness seeping out. Will see how I feel tomorrow, might try jog up and down Griffith Ave. Fingers crossed my energy levels start to pick up pronto. I just CANNOT give in to a bleedin' cold at this stage!!!!

Bally8

god you poor thing rachel. Fingers crossed you get better in time. Take care of yourself!

racheljev

Got out this morning, felt a little bit dodgy but did 3.2 miles in 30:36. Happy enough with that. Head still feels full of fuzzy snotty stuff but cough better, and feel better for having got out in the wind and rain! Hopefully no more setbacks.

osnola ibax

Your nearly there racheljev, all this early morning stuff is about to pay off, fantastic log

racheljev

2.85 miles in 27:34. Had a feeling of DOOOOOM this morning that I just couldn't shift - so afraid something was going to happen at this stage to ruin it all! So - slipped on a wet leave and nearly creamed myself, ran around a corner ON THE PATH as a bus came the other way around the corner ALSO ON THE PATH (honestly, first Tunney, then Racoon Queen, are they picking us off one at a time?), then a frickin' cat jumped out of a skip in front of me and I nearly had a heart attack. Needless to say, I ran home straight away! Anyway, I think that's it till Monday. The taper madness has well and truly set in - talk to me and see how quickly I can turn the conversation to the marathon. (Sample conversation: "Weren't John & Edward hilarious on X Factor?" "Yes, think I might put that song on my marathon playlist, didI mention it's Monday?"). Fingers crossed it goes well and my next post will be "Yay, I did it!" Thanks for all the support, the A/R/T people rock.:)

metamorphosis

haha i can't stop talking about the marathon either. It's not on purpose it's just that it is always playing on my mind. My housemates have gone gaga i'd say! They were in galway yesterday for job interviews and i think i started talking to myself about Monday. EEK!

All will go well on Monday for you. You have put all those hard miles. Hopefully it stays dry!

osnola ibax

Now I know I shouldn't really be watching x factor but John and Edward are hillarious, I nearly fell of the couch when they started talking to each other during last Saturdays performance, I don't think they have a clue... Or do they?? Anyway, they won't be on my marathon playlist, I'll be listening to --amadeus-- singing eye of the tiger

krankykitty

Very best of luck Racheljev, it must feel great that all the early morning runs and the huge commitment are soon going to be translated into a great run on Monday! I hope you have a great race and will be looking forward to hearing all about it next week!

racheljev

Just found perfect way to take mind off marathon: have son come out of school saying, Fancy dress tomorrow for last day before midterm. Get home to realise no costume. Have son decide he wants to be Fernando Torres. Decide that we need to get a blonde wig from somewhere. Leg it to local shopping centre with 3 kids. Run into Art and Hobby shop, have son tell me the costumes are a bit childish (he's only 9!) Find Claire's Accessories shop. Buy blonde hairpiece thingy. Bring it home, take it off comb thing, sew it together, cut curls off it (because as daughter points out, he doesn't want to look like Torres' sister). Arrange on head with black headband. All sorted, till son realises that Torres name is not on home jersey, it's on away jersey and he wants to wear home jersey. Spend 90 mins printing, then outlining, then cutting T O R R E S 9, then stick it on the bleedin' jersey. Didn't think about the marathon once...

jb-ski

krankykitty wrote: »

Very best of luck Racheljev, it must feel great that all the early morning runs and the huge commitment are soon going to be translated into a great run on Monday! I hope you have a great race and will be looking forward to hearing all about it next week!

+1 A great training log, you've come a long way since June.
have a great day on Monday,
jb

goofygirl

Hey Racheljev glad you're avoiding taper madness so!

Hope you have a great race on Monday, you definitely deserve it

Slogger Jogger

Best of luck Monday Rach. Theres nothing quite like the feeling of crossing that Marathon line the first time.

racheljev

Drove most of the route this morning, realised how little I know the southside. Shockin' hilly around Inchicore but the rest of it seems okay - ish.... Collected my number and goody bag at the RDS - kids quite impressed with Cheerios but not so much with the healthy bar. Felt a bit in awe of all the people who looked far more toned and serious than I did. Will have to keep telling myself, you're ok! Brought OH and kids to Milanos to say thank you for putting up with me over the past few months, full of pasta now! Feel like having a little sleepy....

rainbow kirby

racheljev wrote: »

Felt a bit in awe of all the people who looked far more toned and serious than I did.

Lol ditto! Going to that expo is a great way to feel like a huge fatass! :eek:

Bally8

I no nothing of Dublin- Im a total country bumpkin so Monday is a total unknown to me. I have decided to imagine each mile as a mile on the routes I know around Nenagh- think that might help me on the day.

racheljev

Well it's done! 5:05 - not the time I wanted but at least I finished. I reckon if I hadn't been sick last week I definitely would have broken 5 but that's just an excuse.. I was doing grand until mile 12, bang on for 4:35 pace and then my legs just turned to jelly. I purposely hadn't gone out too fast so I can't blame that. And I've run 12 miles loads of times so it wasn't as if I hadn't done it before. Miles 12 - 18 were the worst I've ever run, or felt. I started counting my steps and telling myself I could walk for a bit when I hit 1000 steps. My OH and kids, and my sisterinlaw and her fiance were brilliant, they followed me all over the course and cheered me up no end. Once I hit 20 I knew I wouldn't break 5 hours, but I also knew there was no way I wasn't going to finish. My brother ran some of the last mile with me and that really kept me going. As I crossed the line, I was in floods and a tall man dressed in a Hawaiian skirt and a bikini gave me a big hug - thank you whoever you are! Just so glad it's done and dusted. and I am going to utter the immortal words - I am NEVER doing it again!!!

krankykitty

WELL DONE RACHEL! That must have been so hard going during the 12-18 but yet you kept going. That's real courage. Must have been great having the family with you all along the way, they must be very proud of you!

Hope you are going to do something nice this evening now to wind down and celebrate your achievement