Running with the birds or for the birds?

career_move

digger2d2 wrote: »

Did you fart when you were typing that? :pac::D;)

What I do in the privacy of my home is my own business :D

Oryx

Lovely to meet you on the day and congrats on a great result (which you make sound far too easy).

Ferris B

Great report, super run and fantastic result. It was a great help to me to be on the '4:15 bus'. Best of luck with the remainder of your training for Barcelona.

What bus will you be driving in Berlin...might hitch a lift;)

Cleanman

Great result and super report MS.

Coming second is no mean achievement considering you were "only" running at LSR pace!

pgmcpq

Wish my "training runs" resulted in a podium finish . Congrats !

Killerz

Great race report as always and big congrats on your podium placing! I knew when I saw you and the gang ahead of me that ye would give me a big shout out and boost when I passed and I wasn't disappointed! I'm sorry I blinded you with my pink tee!

KielyUnusual

When's the last time you finished a race and you weren't on the podium :-).

Hearty congratulation!

All roads point to Barcelona

Marthastew

Aimman wrote: »

Well done on a great race! Sadly I missed out on all the cakes.

Oh No! I definitely owe you cake, especially since Ally is always so good to us, next time!

Oryx wrote: »

Lovely to meet you on the day and congrats on a great result (which you make sound far too easy).

Congrats to you!! 5th lady (could have caught 4th?) and an honourable mention on athletics Ireland website. Next year we will have to get dory to join us, she would love it!

Ferris B wrote: »

Great report, super run and fantastic result. It was a great help to me to be on the '4:15 bus'. Best of luck with the remainder of your training for Barcelona.

What bus will you be driving in Berlin...might hitch a lift;)

Looks like we ill have lots of passengers on the bus in Berlin! It's going to be great fun, a big crowd going from here and our club also, Berlin is the new London;)

pgmcpq wrote: »

Wish my "training runs" resulted in a podium finish . Congrats !

How is the house renovation, job etc. going on? Or is the weather making everything impossible?

KielyUnusual wrote: »

When's the last time you finished a race and you weren't on the podium :-).

Hearty congratulation!

All roads point to Barcelona

Thanks so much M, All quiet from you at the moment? Is that because you are very busy making toast with your Raheny toaster?;)

KielyUnusual

Marthastew wrote: »

Thanks so much M, All quiet from you at the moment? Is that because you are very busy making toast with your Raheny toaster?;)

I shamelessly swapped the toaster for a kettle. We're big fans of the tea in my house. We've nearly burned the element out of this one too:D.

I aggravated an injury at Raheny so have been out for the last few weeks. Was back at the club on Tuesday and bumped in to your better half on a run home from work today so I'm on the comeback trail. I hope to be in good shape for Ballycotton in a few weeks. Really looking forward to it now.

RayCun

I was getting one of our relay teams ready yesterday next to a team from Crusaders, and their coach was singing "Happy" to herself, so I laughed and said she must know you

Marthastew

RayCun wrote: »

I was getting one of our relay teams ready yesterday next to a team from Crusaders, and their coach was singing "Happy" to herself, so I laughed and said she must know you

When joining Crusaders it is mandatory to learn to sing that song:D

Well done Pearse Bros, a great weekend's racing for you:)

Marthastew

Monday February 17th
Rest
The plan called for 6/7 easy miles but I woke with a head cold, tired and grumpy with the stark realisation that red wine and junk food aren’t top on the list of recovery foods for very good reason;) I did the sensible thing and abandoned the run, drank lots of hot water with lemon and luckily for me I had booked in for a rub-down with Ecoli. It’s finally time for me to come clean and let you all know the reason his training has been slipping lately, nothing to do with his broken, whistling nose;) but purely because he’s had to spend so much time getting my weary legs back into shape:D I’m pretty sure the only reason he hasn’t deleted me from his client list is because I occasionally bring him cake:D
Tuesday February 18th
Dip in the 40 Foot
45 minute Hot Ashtanga Yoga
10 miles easy w/ 10 X 20 sec strides
10.10 miles overall avg pace 8.21
Head cold feeling much better I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and enjoy a much needed dip in the 40 Foot, glorious sunshiny day:) Hot yoga afterwards warmed me up nicely. The boys are off school this week so I have to fit in my running when I can. Finally at 3pm I got out for a run. I didn’t think I’d be in good shape as it was later in the day and my head cold is still lingering but I was so pleasantly surprised. The fact that it was a fabulous Spring day probably helped and I’m sure all Ecoli’s hard work definitely had apart to play in this lovely enjoyable run, I had to remind myself to keep the pace easy and I was full of energy.

Wednesday February 19th 8.36 easy miles w 10 X 30 sec strides, overall pace 8.40.
More stretching and rolling
Spring again! I ran 6 miles up around Killiney and enjoyed the wonderful views and then popped back to the house to grab Junior and drag him out for a run. He’s so cute, I told him to pop up and get dressed (the joys of mid-term, you can stay in your jammies all day if you like) and he appeared down the stairs in his club vest:D We had a fab run down to the 40 Foot and back home. Days like this remind me why I love running so much:D

Thursday February 20th
Planned 4 X 4X1K w 90 sec/ 5min active recovery
Actual 4 X 1K + 6 X 1mile @ “who knows what pace”
More stretching and rolling
I was actually looking forward to this session when I saw it on the plan at the beginning of the week, I didn’t manage to get out till 3pm to do this (the joys of mid-term;)) the wind had picked up but it was sunny and warm. A nice easy warm-up to the 1 mile path at Deansgrange and I was raring to go. I had the Garmin programmed with 4 X1K w 90sec/5min and I was planning on repeating the workout 4 times (for some reason it wouldn't let me programme that session times 4 to make it one complete workout) Started out and felt strong, worked hard and the first K was 4.10 I think, kept plugging away, good strong pace and was delighted to come to the end of the first set of 4K feeling strong, jogging along for recovery I hit reset and my Garmin froze!! I tried everything (it's still stuck on the same page even now) It did the same right before Raheny so I had to run without it (which I would have done anyway) So, I was left with a choice, scrap the workout and head home or try and do a workout... the boys are off school this week so it's hard enough to try and schedule running so I opted to do a session. I decided on adding 6 X 1mile as that's what the path is, there's no way I could have attempted the session otherwise. I took about 40/60 seconds recovery between each mile and I worked very, very hard. obviously the frustrating thing is I've no idea if I was working hard enough, it certainly felt like I was, I even felt sick at the end of the last mile. I hope I did the right thing, I suppose that's what they had to do in the old days before Garmins!
Friday February 21st
10.01 miles @ 9.14 pace
45 minute Rip 60 class
I was tired starting out on this run and it was windy but the sun was shining and the rainbow was back so I settled in with a marathontalk podcast and just took it very easy and ignored the pace. I was laughing out loud when I heard the term “sit-down shower”:D from the rate-your-run section where the guy was so wrecked after his LSR he had to sit down in the shower! The session yesterday on the back of Saturday obviously tired me out. As usual once I hit 5 miles I perked up again (although I did turn round and the wind was at my back occasionally) I arrived back to the gym and jumped into a very much needed class. I really enjoyed the class and my legs felt great after it.


Saturday February 22nd
5.40 easy miles including Marlay Parkrun
5 easy miles on the plan for me ahead of an LSR on Sunday and with Community Games training starting up next month I asked junior if he fancied a nice easy run in the park. Cold and blustery but no rain and lots of smiling faces when I did an easy 1.5 miles before junior joined me for the warm-up. We met some clubmates (but missed cleanman, ecoli and quirky:() and before long it was time to start.
We started a good few rows back, maybe too far back but I didn’t want junior to tear off and I was supposed to be taking it easy. he said he’d be happy with 8.30 pace and I had to keep telling him to slow a little (8.04 pace for first mile) , it was nice overtaking so many people and by the time we got round to the hill just after 2K he was settling in. I told him to take it handy but pick people off to overtake if he felt like it, he went tearing up the hill and I was thinking I’d be happy to leave him off but I didn’t want him to speed up too early so I stuck with him and told him to take it easy for a bit more. 8.04 for the 2nd mile and he had his sights on a young guy up ahead so I told him to pick it up gradually, the poor young guy stopped to walk and then when junior overtook him he started running again. Junior went tearing past him, the 4K marker gave junior the boost he needed and I couldn’t keep up with him! The young guy stopped again and as I passed I patted him on the back and told him “not long to go” and he smiled and started running again. Junior finished 16 seconds ahead of me and my last mile was 6.40 so he really picked it up for strong finish, overtaking lots of people right up to the end, he was delighted to be back running. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay to help out and after a nice easy mile cool-down we headed off to junior’s hurling match.

Sunday February 23rd
LSR: 20.11 miles including 10 X 2mins hard/2mins easy, overall avg pace 8.12 min/mile
6.44, 6.56, 6.55, 6.56, 6.53, 6.24, 6.58, 6.56, 6.40, 6.44
More stretching and rolling
I was up early for rugby matches etc. and made it home just in time to join Meno and Mr Stew for this run. None of us were exactly feeling the love heading out after busy weeks but we settled in to sunshine and wind (but no rain) The plan called for 20 miles with a little bit of speedy stuff after 10 miles. We wanted to avoid footpaths etc. for the intervals so we popped into Irishtown park after 7 miles and did laps of 2 mins on/2mins off. This worked really well and Mr S and I were delighted to have meno to chase and keep the pace up a little. It felt hard but I felt in control, although I was happy when we finished the last rep. we grabbed a nice bottle of Powerade and headed home along the coast. Still blustery and windy but we were doing fine and occasionally the wind would be at our backs. When we got to Dun Laoire Mr S and I were feeling strong so we decided to pick it up a little, I’m pretty sure Meno yelled some abuse at us as we headed off but he had been yelling abuse the whole run so we didn’t notice;);) We were delighted to finish feeling strong on a 7.40 mile, next stop Barcelona:D.


Total miles for the week 67.91
I’m feeling tired but confident and keeping fingers and toes crossed for the next few weeks.

menoscemo

Marthastew wrote: »

I’m pretty sure Meno yelled some abuse at us as we headed off but he had been yelling abuse the whole run so we didn’t notice;);) We were delighted to finish feeling strong on a 7.40 mile, next stop Barcelona:D.

For once, not as much abuse as you had been yelling :P;)

jcsmum

A great weekly read as per usual.

Dory Dory

Hey, O!! Well done on your Donadea podium training run!! Did you get to keep the tiara? Did they let you make your "I'd like to thank all the little people" speech as you passed the scepter to cl? Did you throw up on anyone??

I'm definitely considering Donadea next year - its 5th year - as rumor has it, Anto will be following honeymoon.com's anniversary guidlines for prizes of: wood (traditional), silverware (modern), and airline tickets/cruise (travel). This year the prizes (year 4) would have included flowers, silk and lingerie.

Barcelona.....when do you leave??

Marthastew

Last Tuesday evening Joe was running with our running club in Sean Moore park, he had had a busy day in the office but had eaten well and was in great form when I spoke to him on the phone just before he headed down to Ringsend. At 7.40 I received a call from one of the club coaches, our dear friend James and he told me Joe was unwell and had been taken to Vincent’s in an ambulance. I was very obviously concerned but assumed that since Joe is so strong, fit and healthy it couldn’t be anything too serious. I arrived at A&E to be told that it was indeed very serious; Joe had suffered cardiac arrest and was in a critical condition. James was by my side as we tried to take in all the details. They told us that Joe was alive thanks to our amazing Crusaders running club mates and also the Clanna Gael GAA club; they had performed CPR and used the defibrillator to bring him back after he collapsed. It seems that his heart was pretty determined to stop as the paramedics had also had to shock him again in the ambulance. Like everyone else I was utterly shocked and I honestly kept thinking I would wake up to find I was having a bad dream. The staff in Vincent’s A&E were amazing and I knew they were doing everything they could for him.

Joe was transferred to ICU where they told us his condition was critical and that they were keeping him on a ventilator, sedated and stable, the next 24 hours would be critical. After a couple of hours we were allowed in to see him, I was desperate to hug him, I knew that as soon as I was by his side he would not go anywhere. He looked so strong lying there hooked up to all kinds of monitors and machines and I honestly felt he would indeed pull through. It was only when the nurse asked me would I like a priest (to perform last rites:eek:) that I realised just how serious things were.

Our family and friends were so amazing and I could feel the love and warmth flowing to Joe when I read all the messages. We have always known how fortunate we are to be surrounded by people who love us so much, we didn’t need an incident like this to remind us but nonetheless it did. As most of you will know I am a firm, firm believer in the power of positive thinking and my beliefs were pushed to their limits in those dark hours but I knew in my heart that he would pull through. Of course there were times when my mind took over and wandered into the horrific worst case scenario but I had to be strong for our boys. When I found myself getting upset I resorted to my mantra “Joe is strong and I am strong” We had prayers and love coming from all over the world and with so many people willing Joe to live I felt he would pull through.

I made the decision to only tell family and close friends of Joe’s cardiac arrest; we were so unsure about the outcome I didn’t feel it would be appropriate for it to yet become general knowledge.

After 24 hours on a cooling mat in ICU they began to gradually bring Joe’s temperature back up, they told me they would be stopping the sedation on Thursday morning and Joe would hopefully come back to us. Again they told me things were critical, I was lucky enough to have family by my side all the time in the hospital, they were so strong and supportive as we sat around waiting for some good news. I wasn’t allowed to be with Joe and it was breaking my heart but I knew the staff was doing everything they could for him.

Words can’t describe how overjoyed I was when the ICU nurse came out to tell me that he had regained consciousness and was asking for me. I was eventually allowed in to see him after they warned me that he would be very disoriented due to the medication and the event itself, I told them I didn’t care how he was; he was alive without the aid of machines, anything else was a bonus. He was indeed extremely disoriented and quite naturally he was in shock, he kept saying “How did I have a heart attack? I’m so fit”. Short term memory is non-existent after an event like this so I had to keep re-telling him what had happened but I was so happy to have him talking to me I didn’t care. Our boys were naturally ecstatic when they were allowed in to see their dad and it was only when I watched him hugging them that I realised just how close we had come to losing him.

Runners are indeed a crazy, obsessive bunch of people; one of the first things he said to me was “how the f~~k can I run my PB if I’ve had a heart attack?” and then he followed that with “Well, I suppose I'll just run Barcelona for fun” It's only now that it is finally beginning to sink in for him that it will be a long time before Joe runs again. The fact that Joe survived means we are now fortunate to have the gift of time on our hands.

They performed an angiogram on Joe when he was sedated and they are still a little unsure what caused the cardiac arrest so we need to do lots and lots more tests. One thing they have assured me of is that there was no way of predicting it, if Joe had been for stress tests etc. in the past few weeks he would have been given a clean bill of health and there is no doubt that his fitness pulled him through. Tomorrow we will meet with the cardiologist to assess where we go from here, they have told us it will be a very, very long road to recovery and I’m sure we will have many ups and downs along the way but the most important thing is we are on that road together.
Mr Stew is most definitely back in town:D

ThebitterLemon

Marthastew wrote: »

Last Tuesday evening Joe was running with our running club in Sean Moore park, he had had a busy day in the office but had eaten well and was in great form when I spoke to him on the phone just before he headed down to Ringsend. At 7.40 I received a call from one of the club coaches, our dear friend James and he told me Joe was unwell and had been taken to Vincent’s in an ambulance. I was very obviously concerned but assumed that since Joe is so strong, fit and healthy it couldn’t be anything too serious. I arrived at A&E to be told that it was indeed very serious; Joe had suffered cardiac arrest and was in a critical condition. James was by my side as we tried to take in all the details. They told us that Joe was alive thanks to our amazing Crusaders running club mates and also the Clanna Gael GAA club; they had performed CPR and used the defibrillator to bring him back after he collapsed. It seems that his heart was pretty determined to stop as the paramedics had also had to shock him again in the ambulance. Like everyone else I was utterly shocked and I honestly kept thinking I would wake up to find I was having a bad dream. The staff in Vincent’s A&E were amazing and I knew they were doing everything they could for him.

Joe was transferred to ICU where they told us his condition was critical and that they were keeping him on a ventilator, sedated and stable, the next 24 hours would be critical. After a couple of hours we were allowed in to see him, I was desperate to hug him, I knew that as soon as I was by his side he would not go anywhere. He looked so strong lying there hooked up to all kinds of monitors and machines and I honestly felt he would indeed pull through. It was only when the nurse asked me would I like a priest (to perform last rites:eek:) that I realised just how serious things were.

Our family and friends were so amazing and I could feel the love and warmth flowing to Joe when I read all the messages. We have always known how fortunate we are to be surrounded by people who love us so much, we didn’t need an incident like this to remind us but nonetheless it did. As most of you will know I am a firm, firm believer in the power of positive thinking and my beliefs were pushed to their limits in those dark hours but I knew in my heart that he would pull through. Of course there were times when my mind took over and wandered into the horrific worst case scenario but I had to be strong for our boys. When I found myself getting upset I resorted to my mantra “Joe is strong and I am strong” We had prayers and love coming from all over the world and with so many people willing Joe to live I felt he would pull through.

I made the decision to only tell family and close friends of Joe’s cardiac arrest; we were so unsure about the outcome I didn’t feel it would be appropriate for it to yet become general knowledge.

After 24 hours on a cooling mat in ICU they began to gradually bring Joe’s temperature back up, they told me they would be stopping the sedation on Thursday morning and Joe would hopefully come back to us. Again they told me things were critical, I was lucky enough to have family by my side all the time in the hospital, they were so strong and supportive as we sat around waiting for some good news. I wasn’t allowed to be with Joe and it was breaking my heart but I knew the staff was doing everything they could for him.

Words can’t describe how overjoyed I was when the ICU nurse came out to tell me that he had regained consciousness and was asking for me. I was eventually allowed in to see him after they warned me that he would be very disoriented due to the medication and the event itself, I told them I didn’t care how he was; he was alive without the aid of machines, anything else was a bonus. He was indeed extremely disoriented and quite naturally he was in shock, he kept saying “How did I have a heart attack? I’m so fit”. Short term memory is non-existent after an event like this so I had to keep re-telling him what had happened but I was so happy to have him talking to me I didn’t care. Our boys were naturally ecstatic when they were allowed in to see their dad and it was only when I watched him hugging them that I realised just how close we had come to losing him.

Runners are indeed a crazy, obsessive bunch of people; one of the first things he said to me was “how the f~~k can I run my PB if I’ve had a heart attack?” and then he followed that with “Well, I suppose I'll just run Barcelona for fun” It's only now that it is finally beginning to sink in for him that it will be a long time before Joe runs again. The fact that Joe survived means we are now fortunate to have the gift of time on our hands.

They performed an angiogram on Joe when he was sedated and they are still a little unsure what caused the cardiac arrest so we need to do lots and lots more tests. One thing they have assured me of is that there was no way of predicting it, if Joe had been for stress tests etc. in the past few weeks he would have been given a clean bill of health and there is no doubt that his fitness pulled him through. Tomorrow we will meet with the cardiologist to assess where we go from here, they have told us it will be a very, very long road to recovery and I’m sure we will have many ups and downs along the way but the most important thing is we are on that road together.
Mr Stew is most definitely back in town:D

I don't know what to say, apart from best wishes for a speedy full recovery.

It certainly puts everything else on here in perspective.

TbL

career_move

J$SUS. That must have been a dreadful week for you and the boys.

Best wishes to Joe x

belcarra

So so glad to hear Joe is on the road to recovery! Hopefully he makes a speedy and full recovery!

RayCun

So glad to hear he's okay Olwyn. Hope to see you all soon, on the sidelines cheering on the kids if not in a race. All the best to all of you.

BeepBeep67

Lorraine and my thoughts are with you and Joe, wishing Joe a speedy and full recovery.
Just shout if you need anything.

Alicano

Give yourself and Joe a huge hug from all of us. Wishing him the quickest recovery possible. Lots of love to you both. Is it ok if I loved him asking about his Barca PB!? What a guy Take care Olwyn.x

yaboya1

Hope Joe gets well soon

Alicano wrote: »

Is it ok if I loved him asking about his Barca PB!? What a guy

+1

pistol_75

Glad to hear Joe is on the mend. Must have been an awful shock. Look after yourselves.

P

Murph_D

Olwyn, best wishes for MrStew's recovery - hope you are all OK after that ordeal.

Micilin Muc

Glad to hear he's on the road to recovery. Sounds like a true nightmare.

SamforMayo

Thoughts and prayers for your lovely family and a speedy recovery, look after yourself.

claralara

The last time he was that disoriented we were doing shrooms in the Peoples Park

We are still thinking of you both and the boys of course from the beach here in Corralejo and not wanting to alarm you but do you think it may have had anything to do with exposure to CM's Raheny special?

DigiJem

Pass on my best wishes to Joe, hopefully his recovery will be speedy. Mind yourself too.

Ferris B

What a scary post to read. It's only a couple of weeks since Joe was leading our merry band in a 'Usain Bolt' pose during Donadea. Great to hear he has pulled through and hopefully his recovery will go well. Best wishes to you too.