Dream big, work hard, achieve your goals - My DCM '19 Journey

Wow where has the time gone??? A bit of catching up here so I'll make this as brief as possible for me👀

Tues 2nd May - 8*90secs@5:50-6 off 75sec jog

Weds 3rd - Easy miles

Thurs 4th - 10*10 sec short sharp hills with full rec

Out to the park for these, love the buzz of them!

Fri 5th - 6*3mins @5kpace off 75secs

Was great to see the path has been continued all the way around Fettercairn park making it a really nice running loop☺️

Sat 6th - Easy miles

Sun 7th - Rest (arrived in Benalmadena)

Mon 8th - Easy miles finding my way around

Tues 9th - Supposed to be 4*1mile@5k pace off 400

I didn't drink too much the day before knowing this was a tough session. Got up early so I could do this on the strip further down with few people about that early. 1st mile was ok but I knew there was no way in hell this session was happening. In the end I just went for damage limitation, I did what I could & ju 22st didn't dwell on it!

Weds 10th - Easy miles

Thurs 11th - 8*45sec hills @6min miles, jog rec

Found a decent enough spot for these & got them done, very warm & very strange looks from people walking by😅

Fri 12th - Rest (Flying home)

Sat 13th - 45mins inc 20mins@6:55/7

Sun 14th - Easy miles

Mon 15th - More easy miles

Tues 16th - 3*400@6:12/18,3*400@5:55/6 with 200 recs

Weds 17th - Easy miles

Thurs 18th - A little birthday run😊

Friday 19th - Leixlip 5K - 20:02

So this was the race my block was geared towards, being honest I wasn't feeling overly confident especially after the failed session & being away eating & drinking a lot more than usual. Met up with S, C, C & J, always lovely to have great company at races, also bumped into D who was with his daughter. C was going for his PB attempt with C pacing him & J was also going for a PB. S said he would pace me as it had been uncertain during the week due to different factors. I knew after the 1st K that a PB was completely out of the question, my breathing was awful, I honestly don't know how I held on breathing that way! I tried my best for a sub 20, I felt bad for S trying his best to push me & as always always appreciate his help - but it wasn't to be - disappointed? - Yes, end of the world - No.

Was thrilled for C & J both getting PB's, only one thing for it, off to the pub for a pint or two or three😀

Sat 20th - Easy

Sun 21st - Some nice easy miles in the Park.

Base building for Amsterdam☺️

Mon 22nd - EIM 8*400's

Back doing some EIM stuff which I love!

Tues 23rd - EIM 4*1k

Weds 24th - EIM 15*200's

Thurs 25th - 10 easy, 50@8min miles with 30 sec surge every 6 mins, 10 easy

Fri 26th - EIM 4*1k

Sat 27th - Rest (Flying to Lanzarote)

Sun 28th - 20easy, 60@8min miles with 30 sec surge every 6 mins, 20 easy

Mon 29th - EIM 10*400's

Tues 30th - EIM 4*1k

Weds 31st - EIM 15*200's

Thurs 1st June - EIM 4*1k

Fri 2nd - Was supposed to run but woke during the night with cramps in my legs, they were so bloody sore & I could still feel the effects the next day so I decided not to run, 1st time in a long time I've made a call not to run at all.

Sat 3rd - 10 easy, 35 fast with surge every 6mins, 15 easy

Sun 4th - Rest

Mon 5th - EIM 10*400's

Tues 6th - EIM 5*1k

Weds 7th - EIM 15*200's

Thurs 8th - EIM 3*2k

Fri 9th - Rest

Sat 10th - EIM 5*1K

Sun 11th - 14miles Easy - 1st longest run in a long time!

Met S for this & ran along the Canal from Leixlip, a beautiful route, I always love looking at the greenery here after being away, some of the wild flowers were so beautiful & the dragon flies a gorgeous blue colour, safe to say I will defo run this route again😊

So after a couple of holidays & an extremely stressful time with my oldest Daughter being admitted to Hospital for the week before we went away with extreme headaches & vomiting, after scans, lumbar puncture & xrays they thankfully ruled out anything serious & she was literally discharged the day before we flew away(it was a family holiday) they are still investigating her but they managed to help her control the pain so let her fly out with us, what a relief it was to us all💛

Even though I should feel relaxed, I feel & have felt a bit off for a few weeks, I'm also trying different HRT treatments which I know is playing a bit part in it all so I feel a bit zonked if I'm being honest. I have Dunshaughlin 10k this week & I'm not 100% sure how I'm gonna approach it, not sure I'm in the give it a PB attempt mind frame at all so for now I'll just continue the weeks training & make a decision towards the end of week!

Thankfully I am really enjoying this phase of my training & really looking forward to putting in a good block for Amsterdam😁

If you have lasted until now, bless you & cheers for reading🙃🤣

Thanks everyone, my post looks like it was a pity party for myself but that wasn't my intention, just want to get back logging honestly like I have previously. I enjoy reading over certain blocks of training to see what I was doing both running & with personal stuff, always good to gauge where the mind was at😊

We all have life stuff going on, some good some bad but as hobby runners it all takes it's toll on us one way or another! Glad to say my daughter seems to be doing well but will be attending a specialist until they know for sure what it was/is.

Onwards & upwards & in the words of Christy RIP

🎶Love is all we need (love is all we need) Everybody's heard the Beatles' song

But I'd rather listen to the Rolling Stones...Anyday

Love is all we need💛

Thanks a mill💛

Sat 24th - EIM 5*1k

I was feeling quite seedy when I woke up after Dermot, I swore blind I was going straight home after but that kinda didn't happen & I ended up in Molloys🙈 It was a great night & Dermot was brilliant. Had to be up early for this run as I was heading to the 90's disco with a gang of mates. Set off not really sure how this would go, the 1st 3 reps I did on my usual route then headed to the park, the effort was defo there and the drink from the previous night was making itself known, felt a tiny bit sick but thankfully it sunsided, was very happy to have these done!

Sun 25th - 14.5 miles with a surge every mile

Lesson learnt from Friday night???? Nope but thankfully I did drink some water inbetween the pints & finished up a good bit earlier than the Friday night, was a great day but not somewhere I'd be interested in going again. I'm no shrinking violet but jaysus I have never seen so many jaws swinging in one place!! Glad to say the booze is more than enough for me🤣

Set my alarm hoping to head into the park to meet up with the Irishman running abroad group but wasn't sure how I'd feel. Once up & I had eaten I felt grand so off I went. They were doing 18k so I said I'd join them then keep going. The miles flew by, more or less around the perimeter of the park. I did my surge every mile then the group naturally caught up. Was lovely chatting to some new people, hopefully my long runs will mostly be with company, its just so much better 😊

Tue 27th June - EIM 10*200's - 4.57miles - 8:53/mi avg - 40mins 39secs

Went over to the "track" for this after work. Even though it was overcast it was quite muggy so I was sweating after my warm up! The instructions for these were to do them at the faster pace. The pace range for my 200's is 5:30-6:10min/mi. Off I went into the 1st rep, have to say I enjoy how zippy these feel & how my form always feels so much better. I concentrate on trying to lift my knees a little higher, landing evenly underfoot & swinging my arms, I have found when I'm getting tired in longer runs reminding myself of these things really helps. The reps flew by & by the end of it I was absolutely soaked in sweat but feeling good. My reps were as follows;

43, 41, 42, 41, 40, 42, 42, 42, 42, 41

I have found I generally meet the same people(a few times as I loop them) in the evenings mainly out walking. Getting a lot of friendly/sympathetic smiles as I pass by for the 4th time😅 There's one little boy who melts my heart. He's in a wheel chair & does be brought around by his young career. He's about 7 or 8 I'd say but his face always lights up as I run by & I just give him a little wave & smile. Makes you realise it's easy to take so much for granted💛

Weds 28th June - EIM 8*400's - 6.29miles - 8:40/mi avg - 54mins 32secs

This was my usual wfh lunch time run. Set off & the sun was popping out of the clouds, much nicer than the morning had been. The park was fairly empty & uneventful today so not much to report😉The wind felt strong enough on parts of the loop but really nice on others! The reps were good, I was to keep these easy so I never pushed too hard just kept the efforts & form correct. The reps were as follows;

1:39, 1:40, 1:41, 1:38, 1:40, 1:39, 1:39, 1:39

Was listening to mainly Queen & Elton on my run today, always love when Don't stop me now comes on, I'm kinda hoping these lyrics will be somewhat relevant to me Friday night😜

"I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky

Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity

I'm a racing car passing by

Like Lady Godiva

I'm gonna go, go, go

There's no stopping me

I'm burning through the sky Yeah!

Two hundred degrees

That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit

I'm traveling at the speed of light..."

Well it would help with the sweating in this heat👀🤣🤣🤣

The chafing would be the least of my worries, could only imagine the tales I'd have to tell in my local park🤣🤣🤣

Thanks a mill E, always here with some lovely words of encouragement, I'm hoping to have another craic at sub 20, not overly worried about it after my last race as in if it doesn't happen then I just need to suck it up & get on with my marathon plan which is my priority 🤗

So yes hopefully I can channel some of that Lady Godiva attitude, either way this song will now make me laugh when I hear it🤣🤣

Thurs 29th June - Little shakeout & strides - 2.94miles - 9:23/mi avg - 27mins 38secs

Nice little plod with some strides at the end in prep for the race tomorrow.

Fri 30th June - St Cocas 5k - 19:56 - Woo hoo😁

"Courage starts with showing up & letting ourselves be seen"

So anyone that reads my log or runs with me knows going sub 20 again has been a bit of a dark cloud hanging over me, not for anyone other than myself! A 20min 5k at the end of the day is just an arbitrary number, I ran 20:02 a couple of weeks ago & felt so disappointed with it, everyone at home couldn't believe the difference in my mood considering it was only 6 seconds in the difference. Of course it sounds nuts to them but that's why I log here because you all get it😂 This was my last attempt at a 5k, my goal now is 100% my marathon, so it has filled me full of confidence to have been able to go sub 20, not that it really makes any difference to my training times etc but it made me feel so proud to know I could dig so deep mentally & physically to get it!

I set off after a long day in work, questioning why the hell I had booked a Friday evening race. The radio was blaring & I was feeling in good form, nerves were controlling themselves thankfully then Don't stop me now came on the radio & I proper laughed out loud thinking about the Lady Godiva comments on my log previously. Arrived in good time & parked in on the track. Started my warm up around the track & spotted @Murph_D , @skyblue46 & @MisterJinx , a quick wave & smile & I continued on with my warm up. @scotindublin had offered to pace me & I gladly accepted, I headed to the start line & took my place with him. It was very congested so C told me to stand as close as possible. This is when D joined us & there were a couple of C's friends from Donore beside us, also aiming for 20mins.

1 - 3K

After being asked to move back a couple of times we were off, god this has to have been the most congested start to a race I have ever been in. We headed up the road then a sharp right which C had warned me about, it was very easy to see how people could trip or have their heels clipped at this stage. Over a small bridge then a left turn into a lovely leafy path. KM 1 beeped at 3:58 spot on!

Happy with the effort so far & the fact I had 3 Donore men guiding me, felt like Kipchoge at this stage🤣The lovely leafy path & smooth surface continued on, I never really looked at my watch & just trusted my pacer which felt great, the freedom was so nice. KM 2 beeped at 3:58 happy days! C gave me a thumbs up at this stage & I felt quite good.

The 3rd k felt like quite a drag & I could feel myself slowing, I knew the pace was slowing so I glanced at my watch & seen 4:02, sh!t, c'mon Elaine don't start letting the demons creep in, so I made a small increase in my speed, not much but benefited me in the 4th K. KM 3 beeped at 4:02 time to knuckle down!

4 - 5K

This is where the graft comes in, the mental resilience, anyone racing a 5k knows this is when the real hurt begins & what separates you from your goal time is yourself, the voices in your head telling you to stop, telling you this is too much pain, telling you no one will mind if you don't hit your target, telling you that you are simply NOT able to run this time again, telling you why should this race be any different to any of your numerous attempt? It was time to shut that voice down & prove once & for all I COULD do this. I was really hurting here, I do remember thinking I really need to stop, in fact I said it out loud to C, I can't do this I some how manged to say whilst trying to breath, You can do this, you will do this came C's reply. KM 4 beeped at 3:56 WOW!

This was it time to really fookin work hard & bring this home, there's no possible chance I could quit in the last km, that would just be insane(even though that's what I was thinking) I was struggling, couldn't breath properly, at one stage C turned to me & said breathe through your nose, I knew my breathing was erratic, he actually said it a few times, felt like when I was in labour with the kids, only this was worse🤣 I remember feeling so tense so wanted to try do something to help with it & with the feeling I had that I was slowing down so I tried to imagine I was doing my 200 & 400 reps which I had just been talking about on my log, this really helped, I felt like I was moving more efficiently, still tough but a good help! C knew I was really struggling so he said a few things to keep me motivated😏 here's just an example of a few... just get to the next lamppost - there were a lot of lampposts 😉 Only 2 mins of pain left Elaine, only 500mtrs to go Elaine - we run a bit further & he repeats the exact same things, STILL only 2 mins left & 500 even though we weren't in the same spot he originally said it! I swore so much in my head, I really wanted to shout these profanities at him or strangle him but lucky for him I could hardly breathe never mind shout🤣 I had been looking at my watch more fearing I had missed my target, C just turned & said stop looking at the watch, trust me! That was enough for me, we passed a housing estate & C said I promise you that you will see the finish line soon, I did, this was it Elaine, your time to shine, trust C, dig deep, you can fookin do this woman!! I don't remember much other than putting my head down & pushing my little arms & legs as fast as they could possibly go! Over the line & I genuinely wasn't sure if I'd done it, I knew if I did then it was very close, Looked at C with a big grin on his face, looked at my watch & it said 19:56, I was ecstatic!! Ran straight to C & gave him a huge hug grinning from ear to ear, he was thrilled for me. It was such an amazing feeling, even though there was only 6 secs between this result & Leixlip this felt a million miles away performance wise. I guess that's just how racing goes for us all, some good, some bad but all learning experiences as was proven by a mixed bag of results for some fellow boardsies.

There was a lot of hugs & chat after the race with S, C, D, P & V then @AuldmanKing spotted us & came over with a big grin on his face saying are we doing hugs here? So it was one big boardsie group hug🤗😂 This made me laugh, it's so great to be part of such a great community with such nice people, really makes my race experience so much better💛

Sat 1st July - Easy miles - 6.74miles - 9:23/mi avg -1hr 3mins

A lovely easy run still beaming😁

Sun 2nd July - Long Run - 11.90miles - 8:42/mi avg - 1 hr 43mins

I met up with D for this run. A lovely morning around the PP with smashing company, lots of different topics of discussions, all very interesting & some funny, but really enjoyable - this is what makes long runs so much better, the miles simply fly by😀 This run was the perfect finish to the perfect running week💛

Tomorrow starts my Amsterdam marathon block, I am so excited to get stuck into this plan & have S to thank for again having the patience of a saint & continuing to mentor me! Here's to working extremely hard & achieving another target goal😉