Elvis goes Up & Over

c07

Good man elvis! Cannot wait to hear all about it!
YOU ROCK!

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

Perhaps the hardest thing for myself is leaving my kids Ethan & Emily ( and I suppose Aine as well ) for eleven days.

Aine doesn't read this does she? :eek:

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Aine doesn't read this does she? :eek:

Na:D

elvis jones

Well day one is at an end with a 7.6k swim in the bag !

We were at the pool at 04:50 and after some photos etc we started off at 05:10, the first km was very hard as i was at the doc yesterday and i have an infection that hasn't reached my chest yet but i'm coughing and splutering !!!

Anyway chest settled down and i was tipping along at my projected pace until about 4k when my calves begun to play up, i struggled through with having to stop and stretch. I kept getting fluids into me but nothing worked. As i reached 5.5k couerdelion finished in a time of 3:14, WOW.

At 6k i had to get out and walk around, along with that i was getting a hypo and feeling sick so i had my full sugar coke with did the trick. i got back in and calves kind of behaved themselves. At 6.3k Wes finished and it was just me he did a time of 3:34.

I had 1300m left and just took it handy. I knew the end was close and i didn't want to make my calves worse.

I got to the end in 4:24, not lightning fast but it was done. I had swam 7.6k in a pool that only 2.5 yrs ago i couldn't swim 10 metres !

A lovely rub down and home to pack. We hit the road in Geraldine our camper van and have just arrived in Bantry !

Here for the night before we head to Mizen in the morning for the 1st of five cycle days. Mizen to Tralee tomorrow and i'm looking forward to that cycle and reliving some of the Lost Sheep !

Facebook exploded with well wishes, i got lots of texts and did some media as well. Its been a long day and almost time for dinner !

I'll try to update each day !

Solobally8

Well done elvis amazing stuff. Hope the chest/cold clears quickly. Looking forward to reading ur daily exploits. Best of luck tomorrow. Enjoy.

pointer28

Well done

c07

Wow, fantastic stuff... Well done you three... Amazing start!
Hope the dose doesn't get any worse elvis!

mossym

well done elvis. looking forward to the rest of the updates

elvis jones

Elvis went Up & Over !

ps reports to follow !

woody1

well done

mossym

well done elvis, look forward to the reports!!

c07

Fantastic elvis.. Good on ye. Another who can't wait for the reports!!

Bambaata

Well done, looking forward to reading all about it.

Oryx

Brilliant stuff. Outstanding. The difference a few short years and a lot of motivation can make.. Well done, I hope its not the last epic adventure you take on. You seem pretty good at them.

red face dave

Well done fantastic achievement

elvis jones

Get yourself a pot tea and a packet of biscuits as I’m doing the cycle in one long post:o

　
Cycle Day one Mizen to Tralee

We stayed overnight in Ballylickey just outside Bantry and were on the road early to get down to Mizen Head. I hadn’t many nerves but I did just want to get on the bike. We reached Mizen just before 10 and cooked some lovely porridge ( eh the only time we cooked ) . I was just tucking in when some locals turned up and wanted to talk to me. A girl who has married in my area in Longford is from Mizen and told her parents about us and what we were going to do. They gave us a donation and I was so touched by it. The ladies in the coffee shop there knew about us as well and gave the lads coffee for free.


Anyway we were off at about 10:30 and I got a real buzz from it. The start was all downhill and we had agreed to stick to about 23 to 25k average pace. We got through Skull and on towards Bantry with one good climb to tackle. I had then and today I still have a chest infection which really hampered my on the climbs. I attacked the 1st climb of the day as I normally would but it almost killed me. I had to stop at the top and recover, it knocked me sideways. From that point on I had to hold back on the climbs and just turn over the legs while being conscious of my breathing.

We got to Ballylickey and pulled over after 51k for some grub. We made sambos ( once again we didn’t do this too often again ) and took about 30 min. My chest was still trying to recover at this stage and I knew on the flats I’d have to push to keep in touch with the lads.

Next was Glengarriff and onto the Caha Pass. I love this climb, it brought me back to the Lost Sheep last year and how much I enjoyed the cycle leg of the event. Once again the lads were ahead of me and I just kept turning over the legs and pushing forward. We got to almost the summit of the climb and the views were just amazing, it was one of the highlights of the 11 days for me if I’m honest. The only negative was the quality of the road on the decent, it was just plain awful and a real bone shaker.


We got to Kenmare at about 90k and stopped for a coffee and refuel. We sat outside a café and enjoyed the views ( females ). Back on the bike and at this stage we were all getting tired. Mols Gap was next and it was a long drag with a tough wind in our face. We stayed together on the climb and tried to draft off each other. We made it to the top again and stopped to refuel with sugar and fluids. Next was the decent down Mols. Until an annoying slow bus got in our way the decent was just plain amazing, switch backs, turns, drops……….in a word WOW.

About 5k outside Tralee my knee begun to give me some pain on and off and this stuck with me until the end of the day. In Tralee we needed food badly, the lads had Supermacs and I had Coke and chocolate ( I needed sugar for my diabetes ). At this stage we were on our knees, we had pushed to hard too early and were feeling it now. I believe we were at 120k ish at Tralee.


It was getting late and beginning to get dark as it was a dark enough day really. We pushed on and my chest was really really feeling it at this stage. Farronfore was the last town before Tralee and we stopped to put on some brighter clothing and jackets.

Finally at 19:40 we hit Tralee after 155k and in my view stops that were too long, that changed as we went on.

Into our hotel, fluids, bath with Epsom salts & a take away pizza into the belly as it was too late to eat out and I was in no state to do it anyway.


　

Cycle Day 2 Tralee to Lisdoonvarna

We were tired the next morning but we knew it was a shorter day and with a re jig of the route we saved 10k. We wanted to be out earlier than the day before and were on the road at 9am with jackets on. The first 7k of day 2 was the lowest point on the cycle for me. It was on the bypass and just uphill with tired , sore and cold legs.

We made it off the bypass and with the wind in our backs upped the pace and begun to smile. We stopped after 22k to refuel and the mood was good. The push was on to get to the Tarbert Ferry and another 20k odd we were there. The morning was looking good so far and we had a good refuel on the campervan on the way over on the ferry.

On the far side in Co Clare the weather looked worse, we knew rain was on the way. Jackets stayed on and the average pace stayed at about 25k with no rain. We push on and decided to stop for lunch in Milltown Malbea. We had a lovely feed there BUT as we sat there the heavens opened and our faces sank. We knew we had 30k odd in that weather.

Off we went again and within 2k I was soaked to the skin. The pace had to drop for safety reasons and visibility was shocking. Add to that my hands and feet begun to get very cold, overall I was miserable. It took something amazing to make me smile and that was the beach in Lahinch, the sight of at least 100 surfers coming onto and off the beach in the pouring rain was the honest top moment on the trip for me. I’ll never forget coming down the hill in Lahinch and seeing that in front of me. Only that it was pouring rain I would have stopped but its something I’ve promised myself I’ll do in 2014.

The final push brought us to our hotel in Lisdoonvarna and the smallest hotel room I’ve ever been in. Total for day two was about 112k
One thing I had to do in Lisdoonvarna was get an inhaler to go with my meds. My chest was in ribbons and getting an inhaler was a must. The chemist in Lisdoonvarna were great and sorted me out no problem.
We dried off and sat in reception looking at some photos in videos before heading for a well deserved feed and off to bed.


　

Cycle Day 3 Lisdoonvarna to Claremorris

On paper day three was the shortest and should have been the easiest, it wasn’t. Once again we tried to be on the road at 9am and off we went in wet shoes as the heating wasn’t on in our hotel the night before.

I had no idea of this cycle as far as Galway but for the first 10k ish it was all climbing through the Burran, it was awful, it was boring, it was tough and I hated it. Little did I know what it was going to lead to……………….a few of Ballyvaghan Bay and Cockscrew Hill. The decent down Corkscrew Hill was Epic, its like something you see them driving on Top Gear in France or Italy. It’s a hidden gem in Ireland !!!!

We reached the bottom and pushed on after a quick energy bar as a refuel. We went on towards Galway and the wind was in our faces a lot of the time which made it tough. Into and out of Oranmore with little to report other than some of the most boring roads i’ve ever been on.

We stopped for lunch in Claregalway and that is where the wheels begun to fall off. I don’t know if it was us being tired, the route being boring or what but the mood dropped with all of us. I think there was about 60k left to do but it never seemed to end. We were on hard shoulders that were in an awful condition and we were shuck to death. The most exciting thing we seen on route were a few cows and signs selling local queens ( just think )

Through Tuam and we were on the final leg of day 3 towards Claremorris. I started having problems with my cleats here and my feet kept slipping out of the pedals. I tightened up my pedals and that seemed to kind of help until the end of the day but they needed to be changed badly.

From Tuam to Claremorris my head was down and I just kept pushing as good as I could until the end as I losing the will to live !!! Finally we seen the sign for the hotel and their was a sigh of relief when we got there. We were greeted by a lot of very happy Mayo fans !

Another night and another hotel. This one was rather nice we got in and unpacked, a nice Epsom salt bath and watched some of the ITU race. We walked down town for dinner and really all we could find was Supermac’s.
Nutrition was a big downfall on the road, we ate very badly. We had great intensions but they didn’t come to pass. Breakfasts most morning was cereal followed by eggs, beans and toast. Lunch was skipped a lot of the time and dinner was a mix of everything but not enough meat and two veg for my liking. We did our best be a lot of the time we were too tired to search for places to eat or the only option we had wasn’t great at all !


　

Cycle Day 4 Claremorris to Ballybofey

This was to be the longest day of the cycle and I was mentally prepared for it. I knew I’d be in the saddle for a long time and that the majority of the day would be like day 3, very boring !

We had hoped to be on the road at 9 but it was 09:30 as someone, cough cough had to change their saddle due to a rather sore bottom ! We got out on the road and the long boring day begun with my cleats playing up from the go. We decided to stop in Sligo and get new ones as it was becoming a real problem.

One thing I found hard were the signposts counting down the distances to various places, knowing how far I had to go to reach places didn’t help me at all.

We pushed on for about 45k before we had our first stop of the day and a quick trip to the bank to withdraw cash for diesel for the campervan !
30k left to Sligo and that was decided for the lunch stop for the day. Before that there was a pit stop at Gary’s Cycles in Sligo to get new cleats and we had a great chat with Gary himself. A lovely guy and gave us some gels for the rest of the day! A quick lunch in Sligo and off we went again.

There was roughly 80k left at this point and we had a strategy of stopping twice more to refuel. We planned to stop next in Bundoran but had an unscheduled stop to look at Benbulben. I’ve driving past it so many times but to get to stop and look at it properly was great, its such an unusual shape and with the sun hitting it was it beautiful.


On to Burdoran and a latte & energy bar ! That stop for 20 min and off we went again with a stop just outside Donegal planned next. One thing that helped was that the hard shoulders were in a much better condition than the day before which allowed more speed and it was easier on the bodies.

Next stop done ( with a bottle of coke into me ) and we had about 30k ish left in the day. I was tired but in a better mental state than the day before maybe because I had prepared myself for the long day.


One thing I knew I’d have to deal with was a long slow climb from Donegal to Ballybofey, I think it’s the Barnemore Gap. It was about a 6k drag which was slow and constant all the way with no wind and I knew once I got to the top it was a nice decent into Ballybofey.

On the decent I hit my fastest speed of the cycle 70.3k ( isn’t that strange in an Ultra Triathlon ) anyway with 2k to go my knee got sore again but the pain eased off once we reached the hotel.

For some reason when we reached our hotel I believed the hardest work was done ( eh it wasn’t ) and I enjoyed my evening watching the football and even had a nice pint ( just one ). I didn’t get an Epsom salts bath as we only had a shower but it was a lovely room and a great hotel overall.


　

Cycle Day 5 Ballybofey to Malin Head

And so we reached our last day on the bike, we were all excited to get going and were out the door on time for once. Fluids were packed, energy bars were stored and wine gums were in the pocket for a short day of just under 100k which we thought we’d eat up…………………..how wrong we were.

We left Ballybofey and the weather was ok for about 2k and then the rain begun, it was in our face until Letterkenny with a lot of climbing on tired legs which didn’t help at all. My chest was still in a bad way and I was finding the going very hard. The average pace with 45 min gone was about 18km an hr this was a mixture of flat and uphill and I thought it was going to be a very long day.

Past Letterkenny and we stopped after about 10k at a service station. Hot fluids were needed and we got some tea into us to warm up along with some chocolate for calories. The rain had eased off and our gear had dried off. Off we went again and all I did at this point was focus on the next pit stop. That was in Muff ( there were many many many jokes ) and on route there I some wax paper caught in my rear derailer aaaahhh !!!!!! There was a nice decent into Muff and of course we needed a pic beside the sign for Muff ( have I mentioned Muff enough ).

Leaving Muff we had roughly 45k left and I was actually feeling good I turned over the leg s on the flat ( over the days I found I was strong on the flat and was able to build up some good speed and keep it there for prolonged periods ) I got about 1k or some ahead of the lads and they caught up at the turn off for Carndonagh. At this turn there was a very nasty steep climb that went on for about 2k. For only the 2nd time on the cycle I had to stop at the top and give my chest time to recover. The legs could keep going but the chest just exploded.

We stopped in Carndonagh and the lads had lunch, I wasn’t hungry so just hag crisps for salt and coke for sugar. I was freezing as we left and I pushed ahead again. I opened up another 1k lead and had to slow down after Mizen village and the last caught up. From here on it was torture and a laugh at the same time. The sign posts said 10k, 8k, 7k, 9k, 8k, 9k in that order as we went on. There was a tough climb with about 6k left and then it was just a count down to the Head itself. The hill to get to the top was the steepest on the whole trip. I had to get off with 30m left and walk as my chest exploded again, lucky I wasn’t the only one and only one of us made it to the top without walking !!!

I reached the top and threw my bike to the ground. I knew this was the end of the "easy" days, I knew I had done something decent in cycling from Mizen to Malin but I couldn’t celebrate as it was nearing 4pm and we had a very long drive to Galway to start running the next morning.

As I stood at Malin Head Richie interviewed Wes and I’ll put up the link here, its one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I moved away from the lads, all I could think of was why I was doing this. I’m doing it for my mother. Just before I left for Up & Over I found out her cancer was back. I was very emotional but tried to hide it. I’m not religious but believe in Karma, I hope by me doing this my mam would get some good Karma………….i hope.

The total for the cycle was 654km.

Our campervan was parked about 3k from the head so we got back to the van, changed, packed up and headed for Galway.

It was a very long drive with a stop for dinner and we didn’t get to Galway until after 10pm. The mood was very low and we decided to start the run at 10:30 the next morning to allow us to try and recover. We got no Epsom salt bath, not enough fluids and if I’m honest my nights sleep wasn’t great.

And so we reach day 7 of out event and the first of five days running……………………………….

　

elvis jones

Time for the run log of Up & Over

Day 1 Oranmore to outside Aughrim

I woke at about 07:30 and for the 1st time in the event I was nervous. Lets face it I’m over weight and pounding my feet in to the ground for hrs day after day was going to be painful. I honestly couldn’t face breakfast and just got some jelly beans and a cereal bar into me. We got the gear into the campervan and drove the short distance to Oranmore. We were due to start at 10:30 and got there at 10am for some photos etc outside Amphibian King ( one of our sponsors ).

Photos done and it was time for the off, I had my strategy in my head which was roughly a 5:30 marathon on day one. My legs left ok but I knew I had a lot of distance left to cover and a quick time was nothing to be proud of as the end line was my main focus.


I took off behind the two lads and settled into my pace. We had the campervan meet us roughly every 6k to refuel and get fluids. I don’t use gels so I used energy sweets and water for the majority of my run. At 20k I was comfortable and was even smiling but then my quads begun to get rather sore ! I slowed the pace slightly and walked for the first time at 29k.


I kept to just move forward and made it to 35k. I met Richie at about 37k who was finding the going hard for stomach reasons. We decided to walk the last 5k and moved slowly towards the end line. We made it there in 05:54 a little slower than we thought but time meant nothing to me if I’m honest, it was another day done !

Another hotel in Loughrea this time with a cold bath followed by a Epsom salt bath and some good refueling in the restaurant and three hrs on the computer getting all together for the public event on the 4th day.

Run day 2 outside Aughrim to Cloghan

I woke that morning not feeling like I’d done a marathon the day before. I got a good breakfast into me and I felt calm after the nerves of the first run. We had a 20k odd drive back to the start line and I just got out of the campervan and started jogging. Eventually the guys past me out but I kept plugging away. I got to the first stop and got water etc into me. I took off again met my 1st hill of the day. The strategy was to walk the hills, I did just that and once I reached the top off I went again.


I reached ballinasloe and another water stop with some energy jelly beans. Just outside Ballinasloe we were turning off for Shannonbridge and this is where the problems for day 2 started.

There were road closures in operation to resurface about 400m of road. In all honestly they could have had traffic lights in operation but no they closed about a 12k stretch of road instead.

At about 15k we got an aid stop with the campervan but because of the road closure and not knowing how long the closure was etc we didn’t get another aid stop until 29k. At this stage the damage was really done for me but I didn’t know it. I got to the van and took on water, flat coke and energy sweets. My pace ( along with the others ) had dropped off by this stage but I was still going.

I got through Shannonbridge while saying hello to some family and got out the road to the GAA pitch at which point I got a hypo and almost fell over. My blood sugars were down badly and I was in a bad way. Problem was that the campervan had gone ahead and was waiting for my 3k up the road. I sat for 10 mins to allow the coke I had taken on in Shannonbridge to get into my system and I somehow made it to the campervan but had to stop twice as I was dizzy. Not getting the fluids and nutrition you need is bad enough but doing it as a diabetic can be deadly.

I got into the campervan and had to sit down. I knew I needed sugar badly and downed over a pint of coke. I knew it would be a while until I was able to walk let alone run so I made the decision to allow Les to drive on to meet up with the lads. He got on, met them and refueled them. He drove on towards the end but there was something in my head. My kids were meeting me at the end line that day and I made Les stop and let me out.

I begun to plod again and did the last 4k where I met my wife and kids. It was sooooooooo good to see them I really missed them. The pain of the swim, cycle and run so far was nothing compared to not kissing Ethan & Emily when I go to bed each night.

Wes was on the ground when I got there and was in bits. Missing the aid stop really got to him and Richie was another 30 min off finishing as well. He admitted later that the road closure really put us in a dangerous situation. Overall I think I only did 37k on day two and have no finishing time.

Looking back I was an idiot to 1. Keep walking to meet the campervan after the hypo and 2. Getting back out to finish that day at all.

I went home that night and went straight into daddy mode, I had to help get the kids fed and to bed before I got to even look at my recovery. I had an Epsom salt bath, gave my quads some self massage and got to bed.

　
　
Run Day 3 Cloghan to Geashill

Day 3 was due to be a "short day" it was only 39k. The pain in my quads had gone my legs were ok considering what I had done over the last 8 days.

If I’m honest day 3 of the run meant nothing to me, it was a gap day that brought me to the public day and home to Portarlington. I decided to walk the majority of it and I told the lads I’d be over 6hrs. I wore a backpack with my own fluids and nutrition so the campervan could focus on them.

Another reason for all this was that I knew my phone wouldn’t stop all day. I think I answered two calls an hrs with numerous texts and e mails along the way about the public event the next morning. The race director, registration manager, route manager etc were all onto me all day.

I did jog about 21k of the day as with all the calls my walking was really slowed down. During this day my main injury of the event begun to show. The muscle on my shin of my right leg begun to give me a lot of pain. I thought it was shin splints but I was told afterwards it wasn’t.

I’d say from 20k onwards I was walk/limp or run/limp. The pain was manageable but I was still worried with the public day coming up.

I reached Tullamore and only had 10k left, I run all of that ( apart from one hill ) and got some nice beeps along the way. It was great to meet a club mate on route as well who pulled in to say hello. It really helped me. I got to the end line in 06:15 and was happy to get to the end.

Back to the hotel and our physio was there to give us a rub down. I had that shin problem, Wes had a foot problem and Richie had a hip problem.
Another lovely bath and a really good dinner in the hotel before getting back to the room to make more calls about the public event.

　
Run Day 4 Geashill to The Curragh

I’d dreamt of this day for over a year, running through Portarlington where myself and Wes live. We had a public day planned with a 7k, 10, half marathon & full marathon. My phone started to ring from 8am with questions about the event as we put the last details in place.

We had breakfast and made our way to the start line. Full runners were arriving and I said hello before taking off early as I had to be at the start of the 7k to start it. I had taken a pain killer and took off thinking I wouldn’t be able to run but my body had other ideas. I begun to run 6 min km and was feeling fresh, I made it 8k to just outside Cloneygowan and waited at the campervan for Richie so we could run into town together and start the event.

We go to the start of the 7k and I said I’ll try to keep pace with them, which amazingly I did ! In fact I was running with one guy and I was going too fast so I made an excuse to drop back to talk to others so he could ease off, I thought he was going to fall over. At this point Richie was having problems with his hip and was struggling. I got to outside Portarlington and changed my tri suit as the one I had on was uncomfortable.

We ran together into Portarlington and got lots of cheers, claps etc. The 7k finished here and I tried to thank everyone. We go the 10k runners together and headed to the start line of the 10k and off we went with them. Wes took off and there wasn’t a hope of my staying anywhere near him.


I stuck with Richie for a time but begun to pull away from him. I had my own problems at about 20k when my painkillers wore off and the shin really slowed me down. At 25k I met the end of the 10k and stopped for a few min to talk to those running the end line and take on fluids/bananas. I had to wait until 26k and meeting up with the campervan again to get more meds. They didn’t kick in until 29k when suddenly the pain left and I begun to speed up. I pasted out two people who had passed me and if I hadn’t to do something the next day I would have caught up a few more.

I felt really strong over the last 10k and crossed the line in 05:28 with all the stops etc I could have easily ran a PB and overall even if we didn’t get the numbers we wanted with the 10k & 7k we were happy it have so many run with us.

A special word to Richie was really struggled that day but stuck with it and come over the line about 30 min after me. His mental strength really impressed me, lesser men would have quit but he kept plugging away.
Wes also fought through the pain to run a 4:04, out of the 3 of us he’s a real runner. He doesn’t give himself enough credit!

I got home and with my wife helping out all day I just got a take away, bath and bed. I had a big day coming up………………………….

　

Run Day 5 Curragh to Camden St

We had agreed the evening before that we needed to be out on the road really. It was day 11 and we were all weary and suffering some sort of injury. Wes’s foot was in a bad way, Richie’s hip & left ankle were at him and my shin was in agony.

Walking was the plan but the distance was 48k. The guys picked me up at 7am and we left the Curragh at 07:40 heading for Dublin.

The guys took off quicker than me as even with pain killers I was still in a lot of discomfort. I limped for the first three km and honestly thought I wouldn’t make it to the end line. I then decided it was one day and that I was going to go through the pain to get to Dublin. I started to jog and kept going until 21k. The guys started walking at 9k and kept walking. I actually pasted them in Naas ( when we realized I left my wallet in a public toilet and Les had to go back and get them ). I was about 5 min waiting for them in Kill when we met up with our next support crew of a van and bike.

From here on it was run/walk up as far as 40k with myself and Richie staying together and Wes going faster walking than Rob Heffernan !!!! We got more painkillers, freeze spray and creams to try and keep us standing up.

As we went along the N7 people who were going up to meet us at the end line went past and give us lots of beeps and shouts !

When we reached the Red Cow my Garmin died and from then on I just treated it as a stroll to the city centre. We had our final pit stop with the crew at about 45k and we got our Irish Autsim flags. We walked down past the National Stadium and down the SCR until we met the turn off for Camden St. I felt a tingle at this point and we decided to start to run.
I looked down and seen about 40 people outside Flannerys and I had to fight the tears. I ran straight to my little lad Ethan who birthday it was and I give him and his sister Emily a big hug. The next few mins are a blur with photos with pints, family, friends and well wishers saying well done.
Within five min I was back to earth with a bang with Ethan asked me to bring him to the toilet. Up & Over was over and I was back to being daddy.

elvis jones

Looking back its weird after all that I feel no sense of achievement. All the months of training and planning and as soon as it was over all I could think of……………what’s next ???? If I’m honest what even I do I just want me mam to be there to see it. She was there at the end line on Sunday and it meant to world to me.

Perhaps I need to step back and give it a few weeks. I do know that in 2014 Up & Over will be back, it will be different but we’ve built up a great audience on social media and want to use it to help raising money for charity.

As I sit here writing this I’ve just found out that Richie has a stress fracture so what he did over the last two days amazes me even more.

So that’s it, 12 months in the planning, 11 days to execute and 1 min to forget about it…………………..but at the same time a lifetime of memories

c07

You are an inspiration elvis. Please god your mum will beat that cursed disease.
What an amazing feat. Well, well done

mossym

well done elvis, that is a hell of a read, and an achievement to be unbelievably proud of. Well done, seriously well done.

elvis jones

Just a quick injury update. I still have a problem with my shin and am off to the physio in the morning i just hope its muscle and not a stress fracture !

mossym

elvis jones wrote: »

Just a quick injury update. I still have a problem with my shin and am off to the physio in the morning i just hope its muscle and not a stress fracture !

hope it turns out okay. are you still considering the tri in lanzarote?

elvis jones

mossym wrote: »

hope it turns out okay. are you still considering the tri in lanzarote?

No the rest of 2013 will be focused on weight loss to make my 2014 event easier on my body. There will be a lot of base training in the form of Hr based runs and HR based turbo sessions !

mossym

pity, was looking forward to having at least one other irish person/boards member taking part. still going on a holiday there or is it all cancelled?

makes sense though, good look with the training.

elvis jones

mossym wrote: »

pity, was looking forward to having at least one other irish person/boards member taking part. still going on a holiday there or is it all cancelled?

makes sense though, good look with the training.

No holiday either ! 2014 is going to be a very busy year and i don't know if i'll even get a holiday next year either !

mossym

elvis jones wrote: »

No holiday either ! 2014 is going to be a very busy year and i don't know if i'll even get a holiday next year either !

hope the training goes well so. can understand the focus this thing takes

elvis jones

I spend yesterday between my physio, Gp & A and E ! I have cellulitis in my lower leg. They were worried it was a blood clot but lucky it wasn't.

On meds for 10 days so no running !

elvis jones

With the week of celebrations etc out of the way its time to get back to normal. I've said it before but my main aim from now until the end of Jan is base training and weight loss.

I have a good idea of what Up & Over will be about in 2014 and i want to drop weight to make it easier and make me faster and have less impact on my body when running.

Food is my vice, i'm not a big drinker or the like. I really need to get my food intake in check as the exercise and training part of the process isn't a problem i know 100% where i'm going with that.

I suppose the plan is to be X kg coming into mid December and then we at that weight again by the end of Jan. I'm not a fool, December and Christmas as tough and weight will go on but if i'm focused i'll get it off again for the end of Jan and the beginning of the next phase of my 2014 training.

I hope to get back into the pool again tomorrow and do a quick session. I want my bronze in the training figures and need about another 18k to get it so i should have it soon.

All going well i'll be back running next Sunday and i plan a 10k next Sunday morning to test the body and if that goes well i'll increase it slowly.

I can't see my cycling much other than the turbo but i have a training plan for that as well.

Up & Over gave my the confidence that i can go long and with that in mind 2014 will start proper with Feb 15 & 16 with the Clonakilty back to back marathons on a Sat and Sun.

Oryx

elvis jones wrote: »

...i can go long....

Are you going long?

elvis jones

Oryx wrote: »

Are you going long?

In a way............but with a twist;)