Never say never

ThebitterLemon

Stick with it MrsMc, you're obviously dogged and determined (sure haven't you stuck with AULDBOT this long). I've had many days like that but when a good day rolls around its all the better.

Chalk it down as an experience, you've had an excellent training cycle and can build on that and smash it the next time.

Keep it going and well done for getting around when lots might have taken the easier option and dropped out.

TbL

Ososlo

Ah balls. Tough to take when you've had such a great training block, but you've a great attitude as evidenced above. We all know you're capable of much better than that and you would have done the business without the issues today.
Have a good rest and I look forward to seeing you attack your next race with a vengeance. That epic training block will stand to you no matter what distance you decide to tackle next. Well done on toughening it out, A.

Firedance

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Stick with it MrsMc, you're obviously dogged and determined (sure haven't you stuck with AULDBOT this long). I've had many days like that but when a good day rolls around its all the better.

Chalk it down as an experience, you've had an excellent training cycle and can build on that and smash it the next time.

Keep it going and well done for getting around when lots might have taken the easier option and dropped out.

TbL

Massive +1 to this especially the last bit, your immediate response when I asked you if you wanted to carry on was YES, huge kudos to you for that, despite feeling unwell and watching your target slip by you dug deep and you carried on when it would have been so easy to stop right there. So well done today for having courage and strength that not everyone has.

Bring on the next round of goals and achievements

RedRunner

Sorry things didn't work out as planned A but would echo all that was said above about toughing it out to the finish. Well done.

spaceylou

Sorry to hear things didn't go according to plan, well done on finishing, hope you are feeling better today. Onward!

denis b

That is the sort of resilience that will earn you plenty of paydays in the future A. You know that. Your enthusiasm will carry you on to your next adventure but look after yourself for a while. Funny thing is that when you passed me by you actually looked quite serene as though you were enjoying the atmosphere. Not a bad place to be in life.

Mrs Mc

denis b wrote: »

That is the sort of resilience that will earn you plenty of paydays in the future A. You know that. Your enthusiasm will carry you on to your next adventure but look after yourself for a while. Funny thing is that when you passed me by you actually looked quite serene as though you were enjoying the atmosphere. Not a bad place to be in life.

Dying inside Denis !!! Firedance was around the corner and the tears started then !

tang1

Hard luck A, kudos for dogging it out, shows real guts & determination. There will be better days as others have said & as you said only the best runners have bad days at the office. Recover and recharge the batteries and get FBOT1 to do the housework for next week!!!

yaboya1

As I said to you yesterday Anne, at least you only had to travel across the Liffey for your bad day. I crossed the Atlantic (twice) for mine.

Completely agree with TbL. Days like yesterday make the good ones all the sweeter. I know if I ever run a marathon pb again it will definitely be the most enjoyable after recent experiences.

Kennyg71

Recover well A, a whole year to get ready again:D

Mrs Mc

Sunday 30th October DCM day

Official time 4.48.50 :mad::mad:

So the day had finally arrived, it had been a long week with reduced mileage and reduced days of running, lots of taper madness and niggles and pains, ultimately reaching this epic day. I was so excited particularly after attending the expo on Friday at lunch time and experiencing the buzz around the RDS it was electric. By Friday I had my bag packed my to do list done up, the hay was in the barn, as they say around these parts and I was buzzing to go.:D:D

Training

The training had gone very well, following weeks of base building from the beginning of the year I had followed the Dave Carrie plan from Irish Runner magazine which I had followed last year. The plan had suited me last year so decided to stick with what worked but choosing the higher end of the mileage choices this year. It was 5 days of running for 18 weeks with a mixture of intervals, strides and easy runs, running 5 days a week.

Pre race

So the morning of the marathon set the alarm for 6am. Had the usual pre long run breakfast of porridge and a cup of tea. Did some stretching and went through the last few items on the to do list. Took some nurofen as the leg was still very niggly. FBOT had to be in town at 7.30 am which was a bit early for me, so wished him well and sent him off for his pacing duties, so it was time to repay the years of Mammy’s taxi and got older Mc Jnr to drop me and 3 friends into town at 7.20. We had booked a day pass into a gym in town, so left off our bags in the lockers used the facilities 4 or 5 times before we headed to the baggage area for the start of our race wishing each other well as we went to our different waves. I was feeling confident and capable of the 4.20 goal. The plan was to start a bit behind the 4.20 pacers and keep my pace steady at 9.55 and to gradually move forward to the pacing group if I felt strong enough towards the Walkinstown Roundabout and then if I continued to feel strong to move forward around Ballsbridge into the finish. Well that was the plan!!

The Race

I had broken the race down into 4 parts, 6 miles, 12 miles, 18 miles and then the final miles to the finish line. There was a lot of congestion initially but we had started and it was so exciting. We headed towards the Quays through Leeson Street and some of the St Anne’s crew were at the bridge as we crossed the Liffey here already screaming when they saw me, threw the arms up in the air when I saw them, it had started I was running the marathon again woh woh.:D Was feeling very comfortable and enjoying the atmosphere. As we headed into Stoneybatter a lot of the Raheny Shamrock's crew were stewarding the course so it was lovely seeing so many familiar faces along the route and it was a great distraction too as the miles ticked away. As I turned onto the North Circular Road got a shout out from AQuinn didn’t see her at first but I heard her then!! Still feeling strong heading into the park and the pace was steady up Chesterfield Ave. Took my first gel at 6 miles. Pace 10.02, 9.40, 9.53, 9.40, 9.49, 9.48.

Onto the 2nd part of the run. Next few miles were great, on through the wall of support at Myos pub and back into the park, did a quick check of the pace band and I was bang on time, happy days was having a great run. It was as I was approaching the Chapelizod Gate that my stomach started to cramp. :eek: Tried to push the thoughts out of my head as I was having a lot of trouble with gels during my long runs and hadn’t quiet gotten my fuelling sorted before the race. I knew that the St Anne’s Park Run crew were going to be at the Gate so I concentrated on seeing them. Again they were there roaring and shouting they were just super. Another friend was also along here and it was this support that helped. My sister in law was just off the Chapelizod Bridge another shout out from her. Decided I would just need to stop at the toilet if I was quick enough I wouldn’t lose too much time and it would stop it messing with my head so as I turned into Kilmainham I darted into a portaloo. Took an Imodium fast melt and off I went running again glad I had made the stop and now had nothing to mess with my head. The pacing balloons were still in my sight. FBOT had told me that if I needed to use the toilet that I shouldn’t try and catch the pacers just to gradually work up to them again over the miles ahead so that was my plan. I had only lost about a minute by stopping at the loo, and with the downhill in the park I had made up some time, so I wasn’t too stressed at this stage. Paces for miles 7 to 12, 9.58, 9.31, 9.39, 9.42, 10.05, 11.04

Now onto the 3rd part of the course and up through Dolphins Barn, crowd support was great along here and I was back on pace again. The next two miles were up Crumlin Road and a drag on the road and my stomach started to cramp again and I started to feel unwell. There was due to be a toilet at mile 16 but I started to feel that I couldn’t wait another while and I saw someone coming out of a Mc Donald's on the route ahead, so in I ran, was actually surprised how many runners had jumped into the toilet here. Got a toilet straight away took another Imodium fast melt and then started to worry about getting dehydrated. I had taken a dioralyte that morning which gave me some comfort. I asked one of the staff if I could have a drink of water which he very kindly gave me, while I felt like roaring at him to hurry up I couldn’t really as he was being so good getting water for me !!. I came out of Mc Donald's knowing I had lost a good bit of time and looked to the right to see if I could even see the pacing balloons and saw the 4.30 balloons heading off into the distance. :mad::mad: Got some support from people standing on the road and as I ran out onto the road a fellow runner asked me was I okay. She was so good and gave me some salt to take, in case I had lost any. Runners on the course are just so good about minding each other and making sure everyone is okay. There is a real feeling of we are all in this together. Now it was time to re-evaluate targets. Plan B was a pb, but with the 4.30 balloons already gone past and me starting ahead of them this was going to be difficult. But I didn’t write it off and continued on. Mile 17 and 18 were slow and I couldn’t get back into pace. Miles 13 to 18 - 9.45, 10.25, 10.27, 12.44, 10.58, 10.56.

4th part of the course had to stop again. By now it was plan c finish the run. Took my time going to the toilet this time, took a bottle of water and walked for a little bit. The race had gone to sh*te now and I was just disgusted. As I headed into Milltown got a shout out of Denis B and as I rounded the corner Firedance and Nop were here waiting for their novices and I got a big cheer from them. I needed to see someone I knew and went over to Firedance and got a hug and the tears started. AM was great she told me it was okay they had been following my pace and knew something had happened, she asked me was I injured and I told her about my upset stomach. Then she asked me did I want to finish and I said yes. So she said the pressure is off now, just take your time and run the rest of the race and finish it. Nop gave me a bottle of water as I was starting to feel very thirsty at this stage. I got a hug and off I went again. Took me a few mins to catch my breath and not burst out crying again and I decided just finish the thing. Plan C was now the goal.

The crowd were amazing and they just shout you on and encourage you to the end of the line. I did some walking but when I approached Heartbreak Hill I remember reading Yaboya’s post say “boll*ck to you Heartbreak Hill “ and I started running up it and got into a stride again knowing that once I got through this and onto Foster Ave I would be nearly home. The crowd carried me through these last few files. My cousin was on the UCD flyover and seeing how much I was struggling she and her son ran with me for a while telling me how great I was. I asked her to ring my sister and let my family know I was okay and where I was as I knew they would be worried about me. I hadn’t had any gel since 6 miles so I decided I would take a wine gum here. Miles 19 to 24 13.42, 10.55, 12.05, 13.40, 11.34, 11.46 oh my God awful splits.

Final part of the race. Down Nutley Lane into Ballsbridge and it was here the 4.40 pacers passed me. Next thing I see FBOT on his bike on the path I was never happier to see him, the tears came again as I went over to get a hug and he told me to keep it going, I was nearly there, the kids were up ahead and there was loads of support ahead, I was nearly there. So off I went and he cycled along beside me encouraging me on. The support along here was brilliant. My mother and father in law were at the 25 mile mark got a shout out from them then some of the St Anne's PR girls were further up and they roared me on, some more friends then shouting me on and I could hear the finish. All I wanted to see then was my mam and my kids. Next thing I know Mc Jnr is running towards me, she gives me a big hug and runs me into the last 400 meters with my family roaring at the side, they shouted me onto the end and I ran the last bit myself. I crossed the finish line making sure I threw my arms in the air after all I had run another marathon, and the tears came. It was so hard, I cried that I had finished and I cried that I’d had such a crap day after all my hard work and I cried happy that it was over. Mile 25,26 11.53, 11.31
Official finish time 4.48.50
Goal time 4.20
PB 4.31.23

On the plus side I broke the 1000 miles in my first 3 miles of the marathon.

YTD miles 1024.4

While I had a bad day at the office the positives I am taking from this, I did a marathon, I still have 4.20 in me after all the training, while it was a difficult day the atmosphere along the route of the marathon is amazing and there were parts of it I really enjoyed and the support from all my friends, family and the St Annes PR crew was amazing and it was great to catch up with them all in Mc Grattans afterwards.

So what’s next for me ???? Sit on my backside and recover take it handy for a few weeks and we will see. Are my marathon days over, I don’t think so, so it can’t have been all bad

A big shout out to my hubby FBOT who I have driven slowly mad over the past 18 weeks with questions about the plan and moaning about every ache and pain I have and seeking input from him on every possible running scenario and race question I have. He has been a huge support throughout and to appear on his bike after doing his 3.30 pacing gig yesterday just when I needed him I just couldn't believe it. Serious brownie points (he must be going to tell me he has entered an international marathon somewhere !!:D:D)


Apologies for the long report folks it was an epic day.

jake1970

Sorry to hear that you had a bad day A but it is great to see that you are taking the positives from yesterday and that there will be more marathons in the future.
By the way FBOT would have met you sooner only for I held him up when I met him at the baggage area.......Sorry!!!!!:o

diego_b

Super detailed report A, feel bad for you not getting the time you'd trained long and hard for. You showed real mettle to keep it going though, I suspect whatever has been causing the stomach issues that you've mentioned on your log in recent weeks and then on DCM day was a serious factor here. Hopefully it's something you can discover the route of/solution for and it might be a case of adapting your fueling for these kind of events. Recover well!

nop98

Tough day at the office, A - well done for toughening it out. FWIW, we had indeed noticed your times on the tracker-app and knew something was wrong. I actually thought you looked well (certainly compared to others) - an upset stomach can flatten the best of them. As you say, you have a sub-4:20 in your system somewhere, I really hope you get it at some stage..!

Glad you managed to use yaboya's description for "Heartbreak Hill", I finally met him in person yesterday and complimented him on the description - it should be mandatory reading for everybody attempting Dublin. I am sure some of the novices this year benefited it from it, too.

hot buttered scones

First of all the hard work isn't wasted. All that hard training will stand to you going forward even if the day didn't go as planned, although its probably hard to see it like that now. Secondly to have the mental strength and toughness to carry on and finish under the circumstances is remarkable in itself so well done for that. That will also stand to you in the future. Finally I'm sorry that you didn't hit your goal and more so that you had such a hard day, but you finished and now you have two marathons under your belt - could you have envisioned that when you started on your path as a novice last year? Recover well and I look forward to reading about your next target.

spaceylou

Sorry to hear it didn't go to plan yesterday, well done for sticking with it and finishing.

Younganne

Brilliant report, tears here reading it. Fair play for going the full distance many would have given up. You'll be back to show the marathon beast it did not and will not beat you. Sorry I missed you in McGrattons, looking forward to meeting you soon.

chickey2

Sorry it didn't go to plan for you. The training certainly won't go to waste. I must have just missed you in mcgrattans.

AuldManKing

that's a great report - one for you to read over in 12 months time, when you've cracked a 4:15 marathon with plenty left in the tank. The determination is a fantastic asset and not to be wasted - others may have quit with the stomach issues.

Mrs Mc

Thanks for all the encouraging words folks it really means a lot, I suppose the benefit of these logs are when you are feeling like you didn't achieve your goals, you have input from all you experienced runners to help show that actually you did good by even finishing. It means a lot thanks so much. Its funny being in work today and talking to non-runners, no one asks you your time and they are all in awe at you doing the marathon felt like an Olympian. :D My desk was covered in balloons and a box of celebrations left on my desk. One of my work colleagues also did the marathon so we got a lot of slagging today going down the stairs !! Have spent the evening looking at the videos of everyone, great to see, got a bit emotional watching my own Still walking like a pensioner :D

laura_ac3

Sorry to hear it was a tough day at the office. Not much to be done in situations like that. You know you're capable of more so plenty of positives to draw on again. Take time to enjoy running for running sake for a while and recharge the mental and physical batteries. See you at parkrun soon.

Duanington

Not to worry A - we all have days where it just doesn't go to plan, for whatever reason. The problem with the marathon is that if you have one of those days over a race that is 26.2 miles long.....it becomes a different kettle of fish altogether.

While the race didn't go to plan timewise;

- you have some really impressive training banked ...that isn't going anywhere.
- you toughed it out and finished the race, it doesn't matter what pace people are moving at, when the wheels start to come off....the mental and physical torture is the same. I was running with a sub 2.20 guy last night who had a tough experience at a marathon recently, he was in the same boat as you, goal A gone, goal B gone, all that was left to do was grind out a finish. It will stand to you, big time.
- you'll be that bit stronger now , both mentally and physically having endured that experience.

Onwards and upwards, lots of new targets to look at and achieve.

tang1

Duanington wrote: »

I was running with a sub 2.20 guy last night.

Thought TbL said he was in Ballyhoura with the Lemons!!!

Duanington

tang1 wrote: »

Thought TbL said he was in Ballyhoura with the Lemons!!!

Sorry - sub 2.20 marathon runner, not sub 2.20 400m guy....

( I should also make it clear that he was doing the talking, I was giving one word answers while trying to breath)

This Fat Girl Runs

Fair play to you for keeping going and chasing the C goal. You honestly looked really strong out there when I saw you! I agree with everyone else, that the hard work you put in wasn't wasted at all; a 1000 miles in the legs doesn't get wiped out in one day. It's unfortunate that you had to work at running through the stomach problems instead of working at running your A goal. But you persisted and did it and you'll be a stronger runner for it. Well done!

racheljev

Fair play to you for sticking it out, I know from personal experience how hard it is to keep going when the stomach starts it's nonsense. I've completed 9 marathons as of Sunday and in each of the 9, I've had gi issues. 5 DCM's, 5 times throwing up on Roebuck/Clonskeagh Road The miles in your legs will stand to you, and the horrible tummy memories will fade in enough time for you to register for marathon number 3 Congrats on getting to the finish line.

Maximus Alexander

Sorry it didn't go to plan, but from a brother in arms who also had a tough day at the office, well done for getting to the finish line. Glad it hasn't sapped your enthusiasm!

The Muppet

Just catching up here . Sorry things didn't go to plan on the day . I hope the recovery is going well. I'm sure you'll be back to get you 4.20 next year.

aquinn

Hello/hi,

How are you getting on?

How are you feeling now, head and body ok?

I've just read your race report and the last section had me near bubbling. Well done on still regarding it as an epic day. That's really admirable.

Stomach issues on a normal day are desperate enough, to have it happen on a marathon day is absolutely awful but well done.

Congratulations on finishing as a result.

Mrs Mc

aquinn wrote: »

Hello/hi,

How are you getting on?

How are you feeling now, head and body ok?

I've just read your race report and the last section had me near bubbling. Well done on still regarding it as an epic day. That's really admirable.

Stomach issues on a normal day are desperate enough, to have it happen on a marathon day is absolutely awful but well done.

Congratulations on finishing as a result.

Thanks Aoife yes in hindsight I'm happy to have finished it didn't go according to plan and it's disappointing when all the effort has been put in. But we can't win em all and it was a great day and an achievement to finish.

Recovery hasn't been good the issues I was having with my leg 2 weeks before DCM kicked in shortly after crossing the line and I was in a lot of discomfort afterwards. Went for sports massage last week and she thought there might have been a small tear but was reluctant to send me for MRI just yet. Went to her again last night and I actually feel no pain today so I'm hopeful it was just a strain or inflammation. I've exercise to do for the week and I'm booked in again next week in case there is no improvement. It is only 2 and half weeks so I have to remember that. Really missing running this week I can do low impact exercise like swimming or cycling but no running for another week. Feeling a bit better as the leg starts to improve. Hope recovery is going well for you I have great respect for your positivity and I'm only out a short time and finding it hard !!!