Running with the birds or for the birds?

menoscemo

pistol_75 wrote: »

Interesting to see which camp Meno-Lara-Stew would be following?

Just as long as I beat all their times I'll be happy

Dory Dory

Prediction: Marthastew goes sub 3:10 before Digger goes 3:10. Care to wager Digger? Pay up in Boston.

Oh, and MS, I notice the little wench who's ranked number one resides here in the States. Want me to take care of her for you??

Marthastew

Firstly, thanks SO MUCH for all the congratulations and well wishes, I really do appreciate it all. I’m also pretty sure that there are plenty of people unfriending me on Facebook as I type since they are bored to tears of me and my 50K;) feel free to unfollow thread if you like, I’ll understand:)
My yoga teacher was so proud of me that she posted on FB something to the effect of me being the fastest woman in the whole wide world:eek: I feel it’s only a matter of time before I’m nominated for pope;)

Anyhooo… thanks:D


Life in the Stew household is continuing on as normal and while I spent the morning at yoga and having mocha-choco-chinos (I also went to lidl;)) you lot have been on here fighting amongst yourselves:D


Mr Stew’s target for Rotterdam is 3.09, I used to think he was crazily optimistic with his goals but he has achieved them all so far. Mine is (and will remain so until after Bohermeen) 3.14, let’s not forget I practically collapsed across the Finish line so I’m not really all that:)

@Dory, lidl is like walmart/target and I do think you should take out that wench who is number 1, she’s young and she’s probably pretty too;)
Although maybe I could just train a lot harder and try and run a 50K faster to move up those rankings?:D

RacoonQueen

and you're young and BEAUTIFUL so you win that one :pac:

jonny99

Well done, 'star':D

HelenAnne

WELL DONE! Just this minute saw you in Fit Mag. Fantastic running, and you look great finishing.

jcsmum

Keeping it real 'champ' - shopping in Lidl.

Marthastew

RacoonQueen wrote: »

and you're young and BEAUTIFUL so you win that one :pac:

the Rice Krispie buns are in the post;)

Marthastew

Thursday February 21st
Recovery 6.31miles @ 9.03 pace

75 minute ashtanaga yoga class
30 minute spinning class


Thursday morning’s run was a reminder that running can be so many different things to people at different times;a therapy run for my pal who had had a tough morning with her kids, when I called for her she was stressed and worried and by the time we finished running around the fabulous hills of Killiney she was back on track again:) We topped off the run with a (much needed for me) yoga class. At the end of the class the instructor sometimes shares good news with everyone… queue round of applause for Marthastew:D I was actually a little mortified but very touched by the response, there aren’t many runners in the morning class and I know they all secretly think I’m a little crazy so it was so nice of them to be so happy for me.
After a mocha-choco-chino I popped into spinning to give the legs another recovery workout.

Friday February 22nd
Session in Kilbogget Park, total of 10 miles ran
45 minute Body Pump Class
I woke up nailed to the bed on Friday morning and my first thought was “when can I go back to bed?” I had a late night Thursday hosting the book club (of course I had to be in a book club:D:D) and although I stuck to my “only one glass of wine” rule, it was quite a big glass cos I poured it myself. Also I managed to cleverly manipulate my no sweets/chocolate for Lent (how in the name of God does Dory do it???) Chocolate biscuits are biscuits not chocolate, mini-eggs are eggs not chocolate…… Sugar overload and a very busy week all caught up with me.
I decided to head up to the session with Maria McCambridge and to cut things short if I didn’t feel up to it. I headed off early to get a few extra warm-up miles in and by the time I had arrived I was feeling good again (possibly the arctic temperature had woken me up;)). Maria told me to take it easy and not to push myself too much. We had 1K, 2K, 1K with 2 mins and 4 mins recovery planned. I liked the idea of this as it meant only 3 efforts. Maria suggested running at Half marathon pace to see how I felt. As usual I ran the first 1K too fast; 4.08, so after the recovery I lowered the pace for the 2K; 8.31 and I finished feeling good so I picked it up for the last 1K, 4.09. I was delighted with the session as I felt strong and my form was good throughout. The run home consists of just over a mile uphill then it’s downhill all the way, so I finished with a nice 7 min mile:D
I headed down to the gym for body pump and got a wonderful surprise; the manager gave me a €100 voucher for the spa to say Congratulations! How nice is that??:D


Saturday February 23rd
Recovery run 5.14 miles @ 8.52 pace
Couldn’t keep my eyes open past 9pm on Friday night so I had a great night’s sleep and woke early feeling well rested. Filled the car with under 10 boys and headed to Liffey Gael’s GAA club near the land of Racoon Queens;) Ran around the pitches for a while and then I left the boys and headed for a really lovely run along some of the Dublin marathon route, happy memories had me upping the pace and I made a conscious effort to keep things easy. Arrived back to see the boys narrowly escape defeat and then brought junior Stew to Tallaght stadium; the land of menos;)

Poor Junior wasn’t too keen as he hasn’t been into the club at all since he is tied up with rugby and GAA so I left a very reluctant boy and told him just to do his best (pushy mum?)I bumped into Jcsmum and jcssister on the way out, both looking very cute and adorable while I looked like I had been dragged through a bush (well, I sort of had, running around a GAA pitch is a little like running through bushes).
Junior’s team were unlucky enough to be disqualified in the relay but my pal’s son’s team got a bronze medal so all was not lost.

Dory Dory

It hit me while I was on my run today that I shared a thistle patch while peeing side by side a soon to be number 2 world ranked ultra babe!! I wonder how much I could get for that story??

Marthastew

Dory Dory wrote: »

It hit me while I was on my run today that I shared a thistle patch while peeing side by side a soon to be number 2 world ranked ultra babe!! I wonder how much I could get for that story??

What you don't know is that I went back and got some of the thistle and I'm saving it for when you hit the headlines in Boston:D:D

PS, I'm a little concerned we need to head over to your log for a shot block intervention;) I'm also VERY proud of you and your super-dooper training.
A new mantra to add to your list....

I'm Dory and I eat hills for breakfast:D

Dory Dory

Two things: 1) is mocha-choco-chino code for some kind of banned substance?....and 2) I do believe that consuming mocha-choco-chino (assuming #1 is not true and it really is a mocha-choco-chino), chocolate biscuits and mini-eggs during Lent after you've pledged to give them up during Lent could have some serious consequences for you in London. I'm lighting a candle and getting the rosary beads out....and maybe the holy water too.

Dory Dory

Marthastew wrote: »

What you don't know is that I went back and got some of the thistle and I'm saving it for when you hit the headlines in Boston:D:D

PS, I'm a little concerned we need to head over to your log for a shot block intervention;) I'm also VERY proud of you and your super-dooper training.
A new mantra to add to your list....

I'm Dory and I eat hills for breakfast:D

Aw, MS....you're the best!! :D:D

digger2d2

Dory Dory wrote: »

Prediction: Marthastew goes sub 3:10 before Digger goes 3:10. Care to wager Digger? Pay up in Boston.

Whilst normally I am an MS promoter, I will wager you ten of your U.S. Dollars DD.... I'd like them crisp and new and delivered on the afternoon of the 15th of April

digger2d2

Marthastew wrote: »

Filled the car with under 10 boys QUOTE]

T-r-y-i-n-g really hard not to make a smart comment :eek::D;)

Dory Dory

digger2d2 wrote: »

Whilst normally I am an MS promoter, I will wager you ten of your U.S. Dollars DD.... I'd like them crisp and new and delivered on the afternoon of the 15th of April

I was thinking more in terms of post-race alcohol, but if you'd rather hand over a tenner to me....your prerogative.

jcsmum

If I had a bit more time to organise it, I would have hidden in the bushes on Saturday and just got Jack to go up to you and ask for your autograph!

We were lucky to escape when we did on Saturday. Did not fancy standing around the track all afternoon in the cold.

And my God that is some recovery you have made since Donadea. You're one tough cookie.

Marthastew

Sunday February 24th
MLR with PMP miles; 14.02 @ overall avg pace 8.02
After a very civilised evening in town with The manager and The Foot (and by civilised I mean Mr S and I were party poopers and headed home early) we woke early and headed in towards town. We were both somewhat dreading this run as we had decided to also try a couple of Half marathon pace miles (and by HMP I mean aspirational HMP as opposed to the one I’m actually capable of). 7 very easy miles in (avg pace 8.50) and we turned around and picked up the pace. Since we are making up our training plan as we go along we hadn’t fully agreed on what we should do with our 7 fast miles. I was ambitiously thinking we should do 2, 3, 2 but we were only settling into PMP after the second mile so we settled on 5 @ PMP and the last 2 at HMP. A much better idea as we likely would have blown the run and finished early in a heap. Splits were 7:20, 7:15, 7:17, 7:16, 7:17 and while it didn’t feel hugely comfortable we managed to yell the odd word of encouragement at each other. The time came for us to up it to HMP and Mr S said he wanted to just do the last mile at HMP and I said I’d try and pick it up and then we hit the small hill and I thought “f*ck that” so the 6th mile was 7.06, disgusted with myself I picked it up for the last mile and we raced each other up the road, 6.51 for the last mile. A great workout considering it was only just a week after Donadea and it has given us lots to think about in terms of Bohermeen (and by that I mean Mr S thinks we can win the race and I think we'll be lucky to get a PB:rolleyes:) .

Total miles for the week 46.31

Marthastew

Monday February 25th
Recovery 7.03 miles @ 9.10 pace
Body pump 45 mins class

Tuesday February 26th
Dip in 40 Foot (brrrrr)
45 minute lower body class
11.14 easy miles @ 8.04 pace
The pace was relatively fast on this run as I was running to and from a charity coffee morning, two of my pals are running London for Crumlin children’s hospital and although the run to Mount Merrion was uphill I was late and was worried all the cake would be gone@ I arrived just in time and decided the more I ate the more I would donate so even though it’s Lent I was thinking of the children:) The run home was sugar fuelled and downhill so I was home before I knew it.

Wednesday February 27th
Progression run, total 5.2 miles @ 7.48 pace
2 @ 8.30, 1 @ 8, 1 @ 7.20, 1 @ 6.50
Thursday February 28th
Cycling 23 miles
Spinning class 30 mins

Friday March 1st session in Kilbogget,
total 5 miles covered
A nice warm-up lots of drills followed by 4 X 400, as we were taking it easy ahead of Sunday. Maria warned us not to go too hard, just to get the legs moving fast and I was happy with the pacing, 90 seconds on the 1st, 3rd and 4th rep, 91 seconds on the 2nd one.
relax and rewind yoga class
Much needed stretching and peace and serenity after a busy week

Saturday March 2nd
Rest
75 minute ashtanaga yoga
My legs were still feeling tight so I managed to fit in another yoga class. Relaxed for the day with the juniors and out for dinner in the evening. My first glass of wine went down way too easy and I had to struggle to keep it at 2 glasses only;) The food was yummy and we ate enough to carb-load for an ultra as opposed to a Half:)

Sunday March 3rd
Bohermeen Spring Half Marathon
89.18 (chip time), 119th finisher, 8th Female, 1st F45 category:D:D
Splits
6:49
6:59
6:48
6:43
6:44
6:42
6:49
6:42
6:48
6:42
6:50
6:55
6:45
6:19 (forgot to hit stop at finish line)
You’ll be glad to know that this is a nice short report, simply because the race seemed like it was over before I knew it. That’s not to say I didn’t suffer and work hard but after Donadea it was nice to be tortured for a shorter amount of time;)
Mr stew and I spotted our car had a flat tyre on Saturday evening so we were lucky enough to hitch a lift down with a pal of mine who is returning to running after a long break due to injury. The usual nerves were kicking in in the car and it was nice to meet up with so many boardsies and club mates at the start as I forgot to be nervous (Thanks for remembering my New York top Anto:))
A nice mile warm-up followed by a few drills and after a slight delay we were off. Mr S and I started just ahead of TRR and the 1.30 pacing group and I dropped back with them as soon as we crossed the line. My plan was to stick with the group and put the head down and work hard. The first few miles actually felt nice and comfortable so I was optimistic that I hadn’t been unrealistic in my goal. Mr Stew ran up ahead of us and I was happy to chat with TRR and some of the group. TRR shared some of his running wisdom (apparently all you need to do to run as fast as him is to be a cocky b*stard and the results will follow;)). I met Beeduybe (congrats on a super run) and Asiminov’s brother (who also ran a great race despite the fact he hasn’t been training much) TRR told me that there were prizes for first 6 females and we tried to work out how many females were up ahead of us. I knew CL was and we could see another female (the one who seemed to distract Digger for a while;)) and I guessed a few more. We arrived at the hill on the first lap and although I was chatting going up it I thought “Jesus”. Just after this we overtook the female and I made sure to stay strong. We caught up with Mr S (about mile 8 I think) and he told me after that he could hear us coming behind him and we sounded like a band of centurions (there weren’t that many of us). I was starting to fade a bit at this stage and although I would never normally take a gel for half distance I decided to take the one I had tucked into my bra (gels are the new implants you know;)) It was SO GROSS, warm and gloopy but I forced it down. I slowed a little to concentrate on the gel and Mr S fell in line with me. He said he didn’t think he had the sub 1.30 in him and although that was exactly how I felt at the time I told him not to think that way and that we were still going for it. After a bit the gel started to kick in and I was now battling with the central governor who was trying to tell me the hill was up ahead and that I’d lose the group on it. I knocked down the central gov by resorting to my yoga and telling myself to concentrate on how I was feeling at that time; not great but not too bad and the pace wasn’t dropping. Before we knew it we were back at the hill, I kept saying to myself “I eat hills for breakfast” and we kept TRR and his band of merry men in our sights. After that Mr S and I took turns overtaking each other, competition is a wonderful thing in the last few miles of a race and I reckon we saved ourselves a few seconds here. Finally we were at the finishing straight and the coach from our club yelled at me that I was 8th female and Mr S and I managed to overtake a Dunboyne runner. I tried so hard to catch Mr S but didn’t have it in me, I got a super yell from Blockic and was SO HAPPY to see the clock say 89.21 as I crossed:D


Fantastic results all round from everyone on here (too many great results to mention), massive congrats to all and thanks to TRR and those who were on the 1.30 bus.


I am over the moon with the result mostly because it proves that with the right mental attitude (and obviously hard work) you can achieve so much. The one thing that Donadea taught me is that it’s worth taking risks and pushing my limits. A week ago Mr S and I did a tempo run which finished at that half marathon pace and I was wrecked, I honestly didn’t think I had that race in me but I spent the last week telling myself I could do it, every time a doubt popped into my head I pushed it out and pictured a finishing clock with 89.XX on it. I’m currently in the process of working out just what I should picture the clock saying in London……

menoscemo

Just popping this in here for your attention
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056894287

jcsmum

What can I say that I haven't said a million times on this log already..... amazing time, amazing achievement, amazing report.....
Delighted for you!

RubyK

You're on fire Marthastew Massive congrats!

Aimman

Brilliant running. Didn't get to see you afterwards. I think by the time I came in, you were washed, refreshed and sitting at home.

Marthastew

Update to keep my numerically challenged brain in line

Total miles last week 42.87
Total miles February 200.17
Total miles this year 449.87

Marthastew

Monday March 4th
rest, cycling 23 miles

Popped down to Enniskerry with some pals, we spent more time in Avoca than we did on the bikes:) Heading down the hill at Bride’s Glen reminded me of one of the reasons I gave up triathlon, I HATE cycling downhill, I’m such a fraidy-cat. I’d cycle uphill all day, downhill has me reciting novenas and remembering how I was rude to the kids and that if I crash they’ll remember me as a horrible mum:eek: The other reason I gave up triathlon is the fact that although I love nothing better than jumping in the sea, I can’t really swim;)

Tuesday March 5th
Dip in 40 Foot (brrrrr)
45 minute lower body class
Recovery 7.19 miles @ 8.41 pace
45 minute Pilates reformer class


Even after the cycle yesterday my legs felt tight and DOMSish for the first 2 miles but they soon warmed up and from then on I had to consciously keep the pace slow. Glorious sunshiny day so of course I headed to Killiney for this. The view was spectacular, the sea was like glass it was so calm. I was rewarded with a “Good on ya girl” from a passer-by as I arrived back in Dun Laoghaire . I was tempted to run longer it was so nice out but I reckoned my legs could do with some proper stretching so I popped into Pilates (After a mocha-choco-chino of course;))

digger2d2

Great run again for yourself and Herr Stewmeister on Sunday, how does it feel to be sub 1:30 HM'ers? When you say a ''dip'' in the 40ft, how long do you typically stay in for?..... Right, I'm off for a Mocha-Choca-Latte-Frappucino myself now

jcsmum

Marthastew wrote: »

Monday March 4th
rest, cycling 23 miles

Izoard

Sub 1.30! Fantastic stuff - gonna be a vintage year....

Dory Dory

Wow. You are just amazing.

(oh, and I am terrified of the downhills on the bike too - I think it has to do with not being in control....and I imagine there is some commentary in that!! )

pgmcpq

Wow, top 10 finish and an AG win .... I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds for you. Many congrats, you've put in amazing work and it's nice to see the rewards follow.