Here goes...again!

Bally8

When I started my first training log here in 2009 I set myself the goal of running the Dublin Marathon. Was thrilled with myself for actually doing it (with a lot of help and support from everyone on here!). So I decided that 2010 would be an even better year. I had planned to work on my speed and fitness, set a quicker time in Dublin and fit in as many races as possible. The year started off well. I was running regularly and even had a fantastic time doing the Cork Marathon relay with my husband. However I had been carrying a chronic achilles injury for a year by then and realised I had to stop trying to run through it and deal with it properly instead.

I had some great physio and was making a good recovery when I somehow lost it...my motivation really and over the last 2 months I've reverted fully to my old couch potatoe ways. Excuse after excuse. I miss running though, miss the fun of being part of the ART forum and the excitement of race day. So thats why Im starting this new log. I am now ready to get back on track.

So here are my aims for 2011:
1. Stay injury-free all year (this would be a miracle when you take my past 3 years of constant injuries into consideration)
2. No more wossie walking breaks in my runs.
3. I want to do as many races as possible- maybe 1 a month if possible.
4. Get out on the bike more.
5. Complete the Connemara Adventure Challenge.
6. Maybe if Im still in one piece- the Dublin marathon.

Must go for my first run in weeks now...

RubyK

Enjoy getting back out there Bally8 and best wishes for 2011.

racheljev

Good luck missus, getting the head right (and getting out the door!) is half the battle. Hope your year goes well

digger2d2

Good luck with this year's goals...Hopefully all will go well for you!

Bally8

Thanks everyone- glad to be back with ye.

Right...Run number 1 of new log= Yikes!!:eek: I thought I might try an easy 4 miles but wow I had no idea how much I've let my fitness slip. All the Christmas food and the laziness of the past few months have left a major mark on me. I thought I was going to puke or pass out. I only managed 2 slow miles (21:51) but hey its a start. Did 10 minute interval training on the stationary bike after - my breakfast came back from my stomach and is now lodged in my throat- gross:p

Blueskye

Good to have you back and best of luck with the new log. Injuries are a total pain so here's to an injury-free 2011

earnyourturns

Failte ar ais!

Bally8

31st Dec
Managed to squeeze 2.5 miles in before heading off to Cork to visit family. Found it tough again- have a strange wheeze- might be congestion or something left over from chest infection or else Im just majorly unfit:).

So that was the last run of 2010. Glad to see the back of the year- from a running perspective, only managed 410 miles (not sure of exact figure). Thats less than half 2009's figure. Im hoping 2011 is the year where I finally reach 1000 miles.

specialk1977

best of luck with your log..im in a similar situation to yourself..only gettin back into it after 9 weeks eeekk

littlebug

Best of luck Bally8
I'm just getting back into it again myself... I keep saying I'll get back on the bike again too but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe I'll try keeping up with you!

digger2d2

Bally8 wrote: »

. my breakfast came back from my stomach and is now lodged in my throat- gross:p

Was that one of those gels again that caused that?

Bally8

Ha ha luckily not!! Although I wish I was able to run distances long enough to have to take gels again

Bally8

Sunday 2nd January
First road run in over a month. A very slow 3.55 miles. Enjoyed it though- so glad to be back at this. Dungarven 10 miler is in 4 weeks time. Not sure my fitness will be back in time but I'll do my best to get there. No niggles in ITB or achilles to report, woohoo.

Week 1 Summary: 3 runs, 8.05 miles total, O minutes walked!!

Total miles this year: 3.55.

Bally8

Tuesday 4th Jan
4 miles on the treadmill (43:42). Nice and slow again, not worried about time just getting some miles in my legs again. Did 10 minutes on the stationary bike then 10 on the rower. Good workout, glad to be back at it.

Bally8

Wednesday 5th January
Had planned on doing 3 or 4 miles today but when I got back to my house I saw a jeep parked just down the road that belongs to an evil developer who is trying to build an estate around our house. So I continued running past him to see what exactly he was doing. Then realised I would have to keep going a bit longer or it would look very weird so I ended up doing 5.13 miles:)

Happy with that, longest road run in ages. No niggles or pain yet. 17.18 miles ran with no walking since I started back running last week:)

claralara

Good work over the last few weeks and best of luck with the goals for 2011. Enjoy

shazkea

Great to see you back Bally8 - best of luck with the log and training for the goals in 2011

Bally8

Friday 7th January
Treadmill today, 4.17 miles in 45 minutes. Feeling great, no pain or niggles. I had planned 3 miles tomorrow and 6 on Sunday but that would be 5 runs this week and an increase in milage from 8 in Week 1 to over 22 in Week 2. I think I need to be a little cautious right now. If there is one mistake I have made over and over its increasing my milage too fast after coming back from injury. And its always led to the same result- more injuries!

So Im going to take a rest tomorrow and try 6-7 miles on Sunday. Its hard though as I have the time right now to fit a few runs in. From next week on Im back working my full hours so will only be able to fit 3 runs in max.

digger2d2

Good to hear...Keep going now!

Bally8

Thanks digger. Glad to see you have your own log going too.


In other news Im 56th on 1000 mile challenge after Week 1. Would love to stay in the top 50ish for as long as possible this year.

Bally8

Sunday 9th January
6.4 miles in 70 minutes on treadmill. I had planned doing it on the road but the weather and other things got in the way, its not possible to run in the dark around these parts, the roads are too dangerous. Found it tough enough, maybe it was just the monotony of it. Still Im just very glad to be back running.

Week 2 Summary: 4 runs, 19.7 miles.

Year to date totals: 5 runs, 23:25 miles.

Bally8

Sunday 23rd Jan
8.08 slow miles on the treadmill- 1hr 30 mins. Havent ran in 2 weeks:eek: Not going to beat myself up over it, I want my running to be enjoyable not something that brings me guilt. I do need to run more but work and life has been getting in the way and will continue to do so until the end of Feb.

Week 4 Summary: 1 run, 8.08 miles.

Year to date: 6 runs, 31.33 miles

Bally8

Friday 28th Jan
4.05 mile run. Took me 46 minutes and boy was it a bad one. Every part of my body seemed to hurt (except the achilles funnily enough). I was off work yesterday with a gross stomach bug but felt much better this morning so I decided to get a run in. Pain wasnt from stomach bug though, my hips, shins and itb ached, dont know whats the story with that. Maybe is because my running is so inconsistent.

Dungarven 10 miler is Sunday. Im a bit worried about how I'll hold up for it but I'm doing it anyway. Aim is a very slow 2hrs- brutal I know but my road running has turned to a crawl since I came back this year and cut out the walking breaks. I dont mind though, its all about getting back into the swing of running, I only want to finish this race in one piece (and hopefully not last!)

shazkea

Good luck for Dungarvin tomorrow

I hear you on everything hurting during a run - just not enjoying the runs at the moment. I can't wait to be running without niggles again. Hope your feeling good tomorrow.

Bally8

Thanks shazkea I made it to the finish line in one piece thank god!

So Dungarven 10 mile (Finished in 1041st place out of 1050! Eek! in 1hr 50 mins- yikes!)
Not long back from my trip to Dungarven, had a great day. Started with my sister but I left her off after less than half a mile as I couldnt keep pace with her. I was suprised at the quick pace of eveyone. It was kind of heartbreaking to be passed by so many people in the first mile but I kept reminding myself that Im only back from injury and I really hadnt put the training in.

Lots of great touches in the race, loved how they called out times at the mile markers (I had my garmin on but still thought it was a lovely touch). The support from the stewards was brilliant, so encouraging event though I was the 1041st person to pass them! I was such a friendly atmosphere. I will definitely be back next year.

I was never comfortable the whole way round, I found it tough going but pushed on and am thrilled to say that I ran the whole thing. This is the longest I have ever ran without taking walking breaks even through all my marathon training. I think Im totaly done with them now.

Delighted to have ran it, roll on next race...

racheljev

Well done on getting back after the injury, and fair play on cutting out the walking breaks. Seems we were all out racing today!

Bally8

Did 10k on the treadmill today. Thats 51.59 miles so far this year. Not half as much as I had planned but I've been lazy and inconsistent with my training. I've decided to stop posting here. Im finding a lot of the threads very negative about slower runners like myself. Im proud of how I went from being a couch potatoe to become someone who exercises more than anyone else I know. But all the negativity around here about 'slower' joggers and 'proper runners' is starting to get on my wick. Best of luck to everyone with their goals and thanks a million for all the support. Ill check in on all yer logs to keep up with the great progress.

rainbow kirby

Bally8 wrote: »

I've decided to stop posting here. Im finding a lot of the threads very negative about slower runners like myself. Im proud of how I went from being a couch potatoe to become someone who exercises more than anyone else I know. But all the negativity around here about 'slower' joggers and 'proper runners' is starting to get on my wick. Best of luck to everyone with their goals and thanks a million for all the support. Ill check in on all yer logs to keep up with the great progress.

Sorry to hear that.

Bally8

Ok Im back:D

I couldnt stay away!!

The start of February was a very strange time for me. Lots of drama and stress in my life and then some of the threads on the main forum were stressing me out too. Weird I know but I just wanted all the negative things in my life gone.

But then I realised that the A/R/T forum has been such a positive place for me over the past 2 years. I would never have ran the Dublin marathon if it wasnt for the support I had from people on here. I dont think I would be running today was it not for Boards.

So Im back and hope Im forgiven for dumping ye so easily when the going got tough

I've been reading everyone's logs and am so excited for ye all heading to Barcalona this weekend. Cant wait to hear all about it. Maybe I will join ye next year.

Bally8

So an update on what I've been doing since I last logged on is probably a good way to start back...

I've been running regularly, fitting in 3-4 runs per week. Achilles not paining me at all- woohoo! I've been trying to work on my speed but it really has gone backwards since I cut out all walking breaks. I know it will come with time so Im not worrying about it too much. I've also started playing the Biggest Loser game :mad: on the Wii:mad::mad:. Thing is, it is really keeping me motivated. I do the workouts 4 times a week and then run after each one. I've lost 4.5lbs in the 3 weeks I've been doing it. I've also started aerobics on Tuesday nights. I love it, I've never done one before so its something new to add to my exercise regime.

I ran the Castleconnell 10k last Sunday. It took me 64 minutes. Not a fab time but a good one for me. The goal of a sub60 min 10k is still what Im after and I really feel that its something I will achieve this year.

So thats us up to date. Aerobics tonight- cant wait!

shazkea

Good to see you back on boards . Well done on the 10km and keep up the good work

Bally8

Thoughts of the gang in Barcalona today making me so excited and motivated to really get back into training. I want to be there someday too:)

Anyway this week:
Tuesday 1st March: Aerobics class. Lots of work on core, thighs and ass. Hurts so good:D

Wednesday 2nd March: Biggest Loser Yoga session + a 20 min interval session on the treadmill. Trying to do 2 speed sessions a week in the hopes of getting my mile times down. 2.12 miles.

Friday 4th March: 6.38 miles. Went on the flat route but realise now that I shouldnt be avoiding hills. Every race seems to have hills and they usually knock the wind out of me. More hill training needed in future I think. Biggest Loser upper body work out when I got back.

Sunday 6th March: 7.7 slow hilly miles. Took me 1:22:29. Slow but glad to be getting the hill running started. I know it will benefit me in the long run. Biggest loser challenge on wii when I got back. Then weigh in. Another lb lost. Woohoo!

Summary:
This week: 16.2 miles, 3 runs
This month: 16.2 miles, 3 runs
This year: 111.5 miles, 22 runs.

Bally8

Tuesday 8th: Aerobics class- god she really tortured our backsides tonight. So painful - great.

Wed 9th: Did a quick 1 mile warm up (9is min/mile) then my hubby joined me (yippie- I miss running with him) and we ran/walked 5.56 miles together. Really enjoyable to have someone to run with. He is doing the Cork relay with me so started his training this week. We should get the chance to run together maybe once a week from now on now that Im back on a 3 day week at work.

Friday 11th: 4.43 miles in 45 mins on the treadmill. I was a total wuss- didnt want to go out in rain so took the soft option of the treadmill. Felt good though and would have done more if I hadnt a race on Sunday.

Sunday 13th: Adare 10k. This was my 4th time running this race. Unfortunately it might just be my last. Organisation was very poor today. Lots of little things added up to make me reconsider my annual trip there.

Met my sister there, I found it easy to park as I knew where to go but she found it much harder as there were no clear signs anywhere of where to park, or to register or that there even was a race on for that matter. No t-shirts left for us either (not a problem though as I have 3 others). So we lined up at the start but were kept waiting there for ages as they let car after car pass through the crowd.

My main goal from today was just to beat 64 minutes from 2 weeks ago in Castleconnell but when the race started (eventually) and I took off at a much faster pace then I usually do and decided to heck with it- I was going to try for my sub60 today! It wasnt to be though- I was tiring after 3 miles and thought that I would maybe walk a bit when I got to the water station and collect myself for a big push for the last 3 miles. However there was no water left at the station:eek:. I was pretty annoyed as it was very hot and I got there 28 minutes in. This is the first race ever where there was no water at all on the course. Very poor. Anyway I got over that and pushed on. Between cars and walkers spread 4 abreast across the road there were many close calls and times where we almost had to stop to keep safe. No water at the end, refreshments very poor. Very few marshalls. Really gone downhill which is a pity as I have been a champion of this race in the past.

Finished in 1:00:54. Thrilled with this- not a sub60 obviously but a PB by 2 minutes.

Dont want to sound too moany about the organisation of todays race but it was a bit of a shambles and there are so many races these days offeriing better.

shazkea

Congrats on the PB

Bally8

Shin splints :mad::mad: AAGGHHH. Im so sick of being injured!!!

Bally8

This week:

Tuesday 15th March: Aerobics class today- the instructor was all over the place with the cardio section. She couldnt remember what to do next and had to skip some songs and make it up as she went along. Dont know what was going on there. The floor section was a million times better- we must have done 100 squats and lunges. I really felt the burn. Also she is making me do stage 2 pushups as she calls them and boy do my arms feel it.

Wednesday 16th March: Biggest loser yoga session- got the sweat pumping believe it or not. Had just enough time to run out to the treadmill after and do 12.5 mins. Covered 1.32 miles. Shin was hurting a bit but I thought maybe it was from the race last Sunday or all the leg work on Tuesday night's aerobics.

Thursday 17th March: 6.76 hilly miles with my OH. My shin was very sore for most of this run and I probably made things worse by running the last 10 minutes at top speed because I was bursting- I mean bursting- to go to the toilet and thought I might have an accident at the side of the road if I didnt sprint home.

Shin was very sore after so I iced it and did some stretches and stressed myself out by reading all about shin splints on the internet and giving out to myself for never learning. I always try to come back with too much mileage.

Saturday 19th March: Biggest loser full body workout. It was challenging to say the least. I discovered sumo squat jumping jacks- they are my nemesis. I could only manage 5 at a time before my legs turned to jelly. Finished up with a trial run on the treadmill so see if my shin was better:D (Im either very optimistic or maybe impatient). It was fine for 1 mile actually but then started to niggle so I gave up at 1.78 miles.


I was supposed to do 8 miles today but I didnt do anything other then walk the dog as I know I should rest for a few days. Plan is to try not to run until Wednesday and then fingers crossed Im fully healed and ready to get back on track with my training for Cork.

Summary:
This week: 9.86 miles, 3 runs
This month: 43.32 miles, 9 runs
This year: 138.7 miles, 28 runs.

hollypink

Cool, another yoga practitioner!

Bally8 wrote: »

Shin was very sore after so I iced it and did some stretches and stressed myself out by reading all about shin splints on the internet

I have a tendency to google my symptoms sometimes if I'm feeling ill, it is really stressful alright! Hope the shin recovers soon.

What are stage 2 pushups? They sound difficult! I can hardly do 10 modified push-ups (the ones where you're on your knees)

Bally8

hollypink wrote: »

What are stage 2 pushups? They sound difficult! I can hardly do 10 modified push-ups (the ones where you're on your knees)

The instructor showed us 3 types of push-up. Stage 1 is on your knees with your bum up in the air (very easy really.) Stage 2 is on your knees with bum down (I'd say these are the ones you do maybe?) and Stage 3 is the full on ones. Before the classes I couldnt do one push up on my knees so I was doing the easiest type for the first few weeks. I think the instructor saw how easy I was finding them so pushed me to the next level. I can do about 4 sets of 10 then my arms start to hate me:)
Cant imagine being able to do full push-ups.

Bally8

Tuesday 22nd March : 1 hr aerobics class. Really pushed myself tonight. Im hoping all the squats, lunges and core work will be a help with my running. I had big hamstring aches when I did my long runs training for Dublin 2 years ago so Im hoping that these kind of exercise will strenghten them in case I decided to do a marathon this year.

Wednesday 23rd March: 4.32mile run in 45:55. Happy to say the shins didnt give me too much trouble. I hadn't ran in 4 days and was dying to get out to see if I was better. I wouldnt say they are 100% but definitely not painful like last Friday. Iced them when I got home. Feeling pretty happy with myself. Please please god let me get back running injury free from now on:)

Bally8

Friday 25th March: Ran round the corner to my sisters house where we started off on a 7.72 mile walk. Then ran home again. Not a big fan of this walking lark. We were out for over 2 hours as it was very hilly and my sister is only getting back to exercising after a lay off. I much prefer running I have to say. Still it was lovely to have company and I am trying to do other things than running. My feet had blisters afterwards which is weird and I actually think I wouldnt have gotten them if I had ran for 2 hours.

Saturday and Sunday were a disaster running-wise. Didnt manage to get out at all. Busy all day Saturday and today I was too hungover and sleep deprived to get off the couch let alone run. Hopefully these unplanned rest days will be of benefit to my shins.

Back on track next week hopefuly.

Bally8

Tuesday 29th March: Didnt get to my aerobics class:( Had no one to babysit so I sat on the couch and ate a big golden crisp and a bag of taytos instead!

Wednesday 30th March: 9.3mile run in 1:44:56. This was one of those terrible runs in which I got the worst case of paranoia ever. After 2 miles both my shins hurt. Then at mile 3 I felt a very familiar pain in my achilles and then at about 6 miles my ITB flared up to say hello. I tried to talk sense to myself and say that the niggles were not real, only fear. Im so scared of being injured again that when I feel the slightest niggle I start freaking out imagining the worst. By the end of the run nothing hurt, I was just unbelieveably thristy and hot. So who knows if any of those parts are actually injured again. For safety sake I did lots of stretching and then iced various body parts.

My excuse for the very slow time (apart for the fact that Im very slow:D) is that it was a very very very hilly route. In fact I had to stop and walk 3 times as it was just too steep. Not the best route for injuries caused by too much hill work. The problem is I live about a 10 minute drive from any flat roads and I dont want to have to drive in order to go for a run.

Bally8

Friday 1st April: 3.1 easy miles on the treadmill. Im running the Plassey 10k on Sunday so this run was just to see if there were still any niggles. Luckily I felt quite good for this run. No achilles pain anyway which is the greatest relief. I am doing Plassey for fun with my husband. We will be going at his pace so it wont be an attempt for a sub 60. Emer Casey in May will be the next attempt at that goal.

metamorphosis

I might see ya Sunday, I won't be running but if i see ya ill shout!

Bally8

Tried to update my log last night but my laptop died! Boo!!! :mad: All my work stuff is on it- big boo!!! However my lovely husband went and bought me a netbook today- yippie:D and a work colleague thinks he can recover everything from the laptop hard drive - double yippie:D!!

So to update - yesterday was the Jacinta O'Brien 10k- this used to be the Plassey 10k which I've ran twice before even though the route changes slightly each year. I loved this race. The atmopshere was great, marshalls great- so many of them and so enthuastic. Weather lovely, t-shirt very nice even, lots of water in little bottles. started on time, chip timing. A much much better experience than Adare a few weeks ago.

I hadnt any time goal for this race as I was doing it with my husband who hasnt ran in 2 weeks and is only starting to train again. I wanted to just run/walk it with him and forget about the sub60 as I didnt want to put undue pressure on my shins. We took off very quickly and as usual for my hubby any plan for a set run/walk schedule went out the door and he just took off. Thing is his legs got such a shock his shins went mad and he was in a lot of pain from very early on. After a few painful miles of run/wallking 3.2 miles in he came to the very difficult decision to drop out. We are doing the Cork marathon relay in June and he couldnt afford to cause himself a big injury that could prevent him training for that. So I decided to carry on without him and get to the end as quickly as possible.

I actually really suprised myself with the pace I was able to muster and took great joy in passing about 20 people on my way to the finish. Did it in 64 minutes which is the same as my time in Castleconnell in February which I ran the whole way:eek:

I take great confidence from the latter half of this race. I always believed that I am a plodder. Destined to be a plodder for the whole of my running career. Now though I am starting to believe that maybe I could actually get faster. I dont have to run 10.30/11 minute miles - maybe I can do 9-9.30 minute miles. That would be amazing!

Bally8

Tuesday 5th April: Aerobics class. Really enjoyed it tonight. She did a bit of Zumba with us which just made me laugh a lot - great fun if you leave your self-consciousness at the door! We also did lots of core work which I hate and love in equal measure.

Wednesday 6th April: 6.55 miles in 1 hr 15 mins. Did the first 2 miles 3 min run/2 min walk with the OH then left him and ran the last 4.55 miles on my own. I decided to keep as slow as I could to just get the miles in and see what my lsr pace would feel like. I reckon if Im going to do 10 minute miles for Cork, my lsr should be 11-11.30 minute miles.Its tough going that slow though so I ended up doing about 10.30minute miles instead.

Im not really following any training plan for Cork yet. So at the moment Im just getting the miles in and hoping that I have no long lasting injuries.

Bally8

Sat 9th April
10 mile lsr in 1:50:26. Wow it was hot out there today. I drove to the Nenagh by-pass where I did lots of my runs when training for the Dublin marathon. Its very flat so easy on the old body. I was aiming for 11 minute miles as plan for Cork is 10 minute miles. I was going a little faster than this for first 6 miles but then I stopped for water and never really got my pace back again. I slowed to 11.20ish miles for the last 4 miles. Managed to pick up the pace for the last mile and tried my best to get it done in under 1hr 50 as that was my time in January for the Dungarven 10 miles. Failed though.

My achilles was giving out to me at the end, fingers crossed its ok. Its my most enduring injury and I cannot afford to go through the amount of physio I did last year in order to fix it.

Back at home I discovered I could use my frozen pea ice pack to ice my right shin and my left achilles at the same time:D Woohoo that will save me 10 minutes a day:D

metamorphosis

Just ease off for a few days and you will be grand. ice. Would you consider wearing comp socks on long runs and after it for a few hours. Help with the blood flow to the achilles, which it needs as the tendon gets little blood flow in general hence why it takes so long to heal.

Also, keep up the eccentric exercises even after you're healed. I do weighted calf raises still to this day. It will prevent it getting injured again in the future. I know its a pain to do when healed but its worth alone to not get injured again. Prevention is better than cure and all that.

good one in the run yday.

Bally8

Thanks for the advice meta. I will definitely look into getting the compression socks. I'll try anything if it keeps my injuries at bay. In saying that I really have been haphazard in doing my eccentric exercises since I've came back from the achilles injury. More often than not I forget to do them. I really must just make them part of my running routine- as much as ice has become recently.

I didnt see your post until after I had ran today but I wont be running until Wednesday again and then probably Saturday or Sunday and then no running for 2 weeks as Im off to Vegas and very busy with work until the end of the month. Im hoping that the time off will help with any niggles Im having right now.

So the wise thing to do today was to probably rest but I was driving myself mad worrying if I had injured the achilles again yesterday so decided to do a short run on the treadmill to see how it felt. 3.6 miles in 37 minutes. All felt good thank god.

Total miles this week: 20.15 (the highest weekly milage this year so far)
Total this year; 182.4

Bally8

Didnt have much time for running this week but I dont mind as it was time to give my legs a bit of a rest anyway. I really would love to avoid any serious injury this year. Im getting more and more interested in aiming for the Dublin Marathon. However I would need to be injury free for a months on end in order to do that and I dont think Im capeable of that. So for now its a best case scenario dream and if it doesnt work out I have plenty of other goals to keep me happy this year.

So I missed aerobics this week- the girl I go with couldnt make it and I was wrecked so I didnt go either:(. It was a total cop out because if she was going then I would have gone and enjoyed it. Wednesday was a hectic day so I didnt manage to run until 8.45. I have to say Im very proud of myself for doing it at that late time. I dont think I have ever ran that late in the evening before, I always made excuses. 4.66 miles on the treadmill in 48 minutes. Felt fantastic, no niggles or pains, felt like I could run for miles but I had paperwork waiting so had to stop.

No running or exercise till today. I had planned doing 11 miles as part of my training for Cork but ended up doing 8.53 instead. I didnt manage to get out until 12.45 and by then it was pretty hot already. I thought this was possibly a positive thing as warm weather training for Cork in case its a scorcher like years gone by (last year excluded obviously:)). But then from about 2 miles in all I could think about was water. I had left a bottle back in my car and couldnt wait to get back for some. I was all I could think about water...water...water As I came to my car at 6 miles I thought I would just stop and have a drink and a gel and then carry on but instead I gulped back the full bottle, hopped in the car and came home. I had a splitting headache and just couldnt face another 5 miles.
At home I got on the treadmill and did another 2.5 miles to make myself feel better. In total :)8.53 miles in 1:32 something. Im ok with that, not a good run but not a total disaster. I have plenty of time to prepare for Cork.

Summary:
Total this week: 13.19 miles, 2 runs
Total this month: 42.65 miles, 7 runs
Total this year: 195.61 miles, 38 runs

littlebug

Fair play for getting the extra 2.5 miles in B8. I'm not sure that I would have

I'm like you I think, in that thoughts of another marathon are most definitely there but I'm taking it week by week at the minute and will just notch up the distances as I go and if injury sets in along the way I'll move back a step and take that as my limit for now. I refuse to even think about marathon seriously until I have a half marathon I'm happy with under my belt.

Bally8

Ok so I'm back. I had a ball in Las Vegas. Wow its amazing there. So much to see and do. I much preferred it to New York. Hope to win the lotto soon and go back again. We did so much walking, my feet were so sore and I had blisters on top of blisters. My calves ached and on the last day I thought I felt my achilles niggle so I was worried in case I had done some damage to myself. Even walking from our hotel room to the street was a 10 minute journey. Fab week though- had our vows renewed by Elvis himself!

Yesterday I did a 22 minute run on the treadmill just to see how the body was holding up after 11 days of no running and total over-eating. Everything felt fine except for a slight niggle in my right heel and the over-whelmning urge to puke. Covered 2.18 miles and sweat buckets.

Today I decided to do the same again just to ease myself back into it before my planned 10 miler on Monday. Felt good so I did 42 minutes in the end and covered 4.11 miles. Real reason I ran today was to reach my goal of 200 miles by the end of April. My total is 201.9 - happy with that.


I was very saddened to hear the news of Eddie's death while I was away. I never met him but had kept track of his log and like a lot of posters on here I feel we are all part of a community. Life is so short and we waste too much time procrastinating and worrying over the little things. So my new aim is to run more and worry less. I think that would have a great affect on my life.

Its my one year wedding anniversary today so going out to dinner later with the hubby. Its also my birthday tomorrow so I am waiting till Monday to get back on track with my diet. Then its all guns blazing in prep for Cork where I hope to be at least 7lbs lighter on the start line.