Sat 5 miles...never eating fish again....

Legs were very tired after wed nite,jittery and they felt swollen...kept having to widen my laces in work... normally I fly up and down the stairs,two steps at a time but thur and Friday I could have done with one of those stairlifts for grannies....bought a bucket of Epsom salts from Boots,had a bath Friday and it worked....now I can see why we need two rest days before the long run but my one fear on Friday was that 'how am I going to do this as I haven't ran in two days'...but once the legs got going that disappeared....

Hectic day in work friday so I was going to be adventurous and get something different for my dinner...of course I would have loved a McDonalds or the Burger Shack...anything other than pasta or veg..even the Big Mac with no chips-I would have made that sacrifice! but no I've running tomorrow...so bright idea like a light bulb glowing over my head...fish...it's good for me and haven't had it in ages...off I toddle into the Seafood shop...ask the question ' anything nice?' like a miss know it all...didn't see any battered cod with mushy peas...I see these small pieces with pink bits on the end of them...'what's that?'...scallops...how much?...well 35euros for a kg..do I look like a heifer?!....asked him what would a normal person eat...(if only he knew I was a ' runner'- maybe I should have went in my running pants and have a sweaty head on me!)....3-4 pieces is about right...ok I'll take them...hold on how do I cook them? pan sear them ...I just nod the head and pretend yeah yeah.......I had not a clue how to cook then...off I go home to pan sear my din dins... (don't even know if I've spelled it right! i am educated! )....plop them into the frying pan, turn them and wait...no instructions with them...split them all in half to see if there's any change...none so I decided to burn the arse out of them to make sure... Veg and scallops went down well but the rest of the night didn't...stomach churned and bubbled all nigh...was never so sick in all my life...didn't sleep a wink...learnt two lessons 1) I won't ask 'anything nice for my din dins' when I go shopping 2) never try anything new before my long runs, stick to pasta.....

Nearly didn't go running this smorning...felt crap...tried to force down a couple spoons of porridge... couldn't so had a slice of toast instead...but I knew I had to go, I'd be so disappointed with myself if I didn't ... So I did... Tried to chirp myself up in the car on the way in to running...drugs wouldn't have done the trick... 5 miles...was a bit slower than normal ( how much slower can I go! ) energy levels were low... Brian stayed with us all the way...yapping... and yapping....I gave a few grunts but did talk a bit ( its a start) ... he commented on my ability to talk...smartsrse....after the 2.7 mile to be exact.... It is true what they say ' you never talk about running when you're running ' and ' when your not running all you talk about is running ! ' drank all my drink... I think I had frought coming out of my mouth by the end of it...coming up to the Aquadome Brian informs me I have 50 seconds to make it to the car park and I'll have done the 5 miles in 1 hour to be exact... shite, my legs are about to fall off me, I'm starved and I've frought coming out of my mouth...and I'm sure my hair has turned into a ball of candy floss on top of my head from the wind and sweat....great I have to leg it like a looney tune to beat his clock...Catriona is in front of me running happily along...move bitch!I'm on a mission.....picked up speed... i'd say a granny with arthritis could have run faster...phew made it back ... 1 hour 4 secs he informs me.... Could he not have just lied to me the fecker! That's it, he's banned from talking to me....

Bought myself a running magazine today...and a dairy milk... the magazine said 'that there's a 39% reduction of cardiovascular disease and a 29 % reduction of strokes' ( in relation to chocolate) ....the running magazine has to be right....


Enjoyed today tho....15 miles this week woohoo! 16 miles next week.....

15 weeks to the big day.....

Wed night running 3 miles....tired tonight

Just doing some calculations... (clever aren't I!)including the sat run this week we'll have done 15 miles this week!!! Woohoo never in my like did i think I'd actually run that amount....even with the hills! That bloody hill is now an obsession...it will not beat me...I'm just plain lazy...

Half of the group were missing tonight.....and I still came in last!!! not too far off tho...driving in from Killarney this evening I wasn't in the mood for it tonight...legs were sore after last night and calfs were tight...so I going to have to get some Physio done...To be honest I dread it because it means stripping off and lying there practically naked ...and me wondering..' oh my god I hope there isn't a hole in my knickers!'...only ever been to Physio twice...first time was when I'd a crick in my neck..went in sat down in the waiting room and I couldn't get back up off the seat...he calls me in...I lie down flat on my belly...he hops ontop of me like a sumo wrestler...click...screech....perfect! but I refused to take my top off...told him to work around it! Came out traumatised but no crick...

Second time was when my back went after a car accident in the states...went in not prepared to strip off...stupid really but I'd convinced myself beforehand that I wouldn't have to strip...was jet lagged and delirious from the tiredness...she somehow convinced me to partially strip...bottoms off... Starts stretching me ...the usual..I bought knickers whilst over and they were too tight so Mrs Bouquet comes into action..I made a big slit down the side with a scissors and forget about it!.....I never apologised so much and I cringed with embarrassment....let's say I never returned for a review....but for running I do know I'll have to go...i'd go to the doctor only if I was in dire straits...last legs..I'm booked in for next week so must go knicker shopping....

But my one aim for this challenge is to never miss a night training unless my legs or my arms have falling off for some strange reason...the running group acts as a surrpot network and without it i would not be able to do this...it is a chance in a life time opportunity (eventhough on mon,tues,wed and sat i dont feetl that way)  and i would highly recommend it to anyone but its tough....and i do feck and blind a lot but sher if i didnt i'd be boring! Secretely, i'm beginning to enjoy running....just a tiny tiny bit....

Looking forward to Saturday 5 Miles....not!

Tues night- 4 miler...think I'm turning into a bit of a nuthead...

4 miler - means changing my comfort zone.... I like routine and have to know the route beforehand, otherwise I start act like Fr.jack...hair starts to stand ontop of the head.... I get the wild expressions on my face and the bottom lip gets a bit of a biting....so as usual I dream about the route...round and round I go...i probably pant like a heifer in my sleep because I do the same when running! Will I ever not worry?! Haven't a bloody clue... Valium would probably help...although
I has a cyst in my eye two years ago...went up to Tommy Regan the eye fella....he looks and says ...' we need to remove it'.... How? Flap back the eyelid and scrape it out!....Oh for fecks sake... torture at its highest...crapping myself... He wouldnt knock me out because it's such a small procedure...
well not for me it wasn't! he gave me Valium... Went in on the morning for 'the small procedure' .... was a nervous wreck all week...was getting images of Clockwork orange where yer man used clasps to keep the eye lid open..aaaarrrghhh ...knocked back the valium beforehand...great this will knock the stuffing out of me...waiting...waiting...waiting...I might as well have knocked back a box of tic-tacs....think the eyes were probably popping out of my head by the time I got into him...' ok lie down and relax' ... What the hell am I going to do..your mental head tablets haven't worked!the nurse told me to put the hands underneath my bum...did she think I was going to whack her one or what?! I was so wound up I couldn't go through with it... Think I left them more traumatised than me....and low and behold the cyst went after a couple of weeks... It was meant to be... At least I figured out that Valium did nothing for me! Loola....

The Run: The one thing I have noticed is the my legs are getting stronger and I still have a mental battle every-time I run...it gets a bit dis-heartening when people just pounce along past me...you know those loop ropes cowboys use to catch horses... Well I might surprise Marcus one night and bring one...it would be handy wouldn't it....losing the plot definitely...but so what if I'm last..someone has to be...couldn't get my heifer breathing right until about the three mile mark....then when I got up the hill without stopping may I add...very proud... all the stress just seems to lift! even-though I'm practically crouched over at this stage...I had no Marcus or Brian tonight to feck and blind...I miss that....maybe if I start shouting from afar they might hear me! Today was a bad day for the cravings for diet coke....would have gone into any shop with a balaclava and grabbed a tinny for myself... Headline in the Kerryman newspaper' Born to run member seen legging it with a crate of diet coke-Runner all coked up'......

Did the 4 miles without stopping..

1st Official Training night for the Limerick Marathon! aaahhhh!

Ok, 10 weeks down...of preliminary training... woohoo! Started our initial training on Nov 7th up in the IT Tralee with Marcus (Born To Run Marathon Training Group)...round and round the campus...never really knew that campus but now I do, including all the hilly bits...i do remember one (of many!)bad day of training....it was pouring rain, hailstones and wind... Stopped started that day and was tormented with myself... Brian had to drag me up the hill practically...and it wasnt really a hill...he was trying to tell me take small steps at a time but really in my own mind I was fecking and blinding him...would he ever shag off and leave me alone! (to be blunt!)... I sat in the car and said I was never coming back...but I had a good chat with myself...loola...and I did go back...if this marathon training was going to be easy, everybody would be doing it...slowely but surely,day by day, it gets a little easier....but I have to keep focused obviously...

The one thing that I have figured out is that running has given me routine...and structure...everything I do nowadays is based around running...here is a few examples...

Willl I go to McDonalds on a Friday night and scoff a Big Mac meal and people watch in the car park whilst filling my belly? No I've running tomorrow! and I want to run all the way...

Will I book a nice meal in Bella Bia and order the Brushetta (which kills me but it's worth it!) No, I've running in the morning....

Will I stay up late and watch a DVD or whatever....no I need to go to bed early for running tomorrow....

So I'm turning into a Nun...all I need is the Rosary beads and say ' bless you' more!

Running has good points also...I eat porridge for my breakfast, I always pre make my lunch for work, bring my carbonated bottles of water everywhere with me otherwise I'd be legging it into the shop for the black stuff...but im peeing like a trooper! and I have a proper dinner...but to make all this happen I make sure I do a proper shop for the week and pre plan my dinners...if I didn't have everything planned I'd fall off the wagon...

After the run on sat I felt good... Delighted in fact...went for a 20k cycle Sunday morning at 8.30.....it was bloody bitter cold...stopped in Topaz at the Fat Mile for a long chat with the rest of the group... nearly cried with the pain in my fingers but I had to do this because I feel it helps my breathing etc...not worth it tho!

Ordered a DVD from the states called ' Spirit of the Marathon' .... I'd said I'd watch it when I'd hit my first milestone and the was sat, my 5 miler! So i watched it on sun afternoon...It's more a documentary rather than a film and it follows runners right through to the Chicago Marathon...loved it...I would recommend it to anyone as a boost mentally....but would have loved chocolate, tayto's, and pop corn to accompany me during the vid....anything really! had a chuppa chup lolly instead to keep the ould mouth occupied!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8XSit8XyeM

The Run: Ok was kind of looking forward to running tonight ( mad! Me like running , never!)..... came loaded with my tissue and barley sweets....Had a good blow in the car in preparation! Took off steady... But felt good...I don't talk whilst running...if anyone tries to strike up a conservation all I do is grunt....hit the corner by the aquadome before the dreaded hill...controlled my breathing...head down...talking away to myself to distract me... slowly but surely, and I mean slowly I start to go up, no pants falling down, breathing good.... up and up and up and up and up....Catriona tells me to relax...F&$k off you F$¥ker was my answer to be honest!! but I made it!....panting like a heifer!! result!! ....

This running business is a full time job....

Saturday run - 5 Miler- out come the new pants!

Well, I spent thur night running the 5 mile route in my sleep...so when I went to bed Friday night- I decided feck this I have to come up with another tactic... So the mind starts to drift...z z z z z...z z z z z ran the same route again ..up the hill!.... Seriously since ive starting this training I'm constantly nervous before every run...and am not sleeping properly...maybe its the withdrawal from the Diet Coke woohoo 7 days off the black stuff!

Unfortunately, I sadly had to put my old running pants in the bin on friday....it was a year old, v sad day I must admit.... I had a bad fall off my bike during the summer and it was even on me for that but held up... R.I.P. pants.Had to wear the new ones around the house like a nut head...to break them in..

Route: aquadome, up the blooming hill, past rugby club to top of road, turn right, past playing field into Blennerville,along canal and home

Got up this smorning,ate my rocket fuel porridge, didn't go down too well but I force fed myself like a baby ontop of a high chair with a feeding bib!

Was very nervous... Started at the aquadome, running of course .... Up ' the hill' ... Brian Hayden (other coach) gave me a tip last Wednesday to breath through my nose... so here I go... Had to focus on my breathing and the hill....in out in out.... Shite I need to blow my nose... Ok I'll worry bout it later once nobody looks at my nose dribbling...I got up the hill ...fecking great! Had to control my breathing again.... In out in out... Brian forgot to mention the tiny matter of bringing a blooming tissue to catch the debris! I could feel my nose flapping and it was getting worse! Catriona to the rescue...out comes a tissue like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat! If anyone saw me they'd think I was having a good poke....I swear I wasn't!Had a good few blows....relief...

Kept running, the next obstacle I had to overcome was the slow incline past the rugby club... For the last two 5 milers I've stopped and walked...ok had to focus in out in out ... Blow ... Blow (my nose !)In out in out ... I said once I got to the top that I'd have a break but I took small steps and I kept going and going and going.... Delighted...just needed to get past that mental block about that part of the route....I did it...woohoo...
Kept running and running at geriatric pace .... Sipping, blowing, and in out in out....hit the bend before the football pitch....saw the rest of the group a good bit ahead... Had to catch them.... At this point 2 sheep doggies decided to give us a police escort all the way to the end of the road! Woohoo company at last- event if it was of the animal kind....I'd say they heard the strange noises and felt sorry for me!!

I got closer and closer to the rest of the group- - delighted I'm actually running with people, real people! found the last mile tough along the canal.... Told Marcus to bugger off, I had to focus but alas.... I did it... Didn't stop once... I am now a 5miler runner... But a long way to go to reach 26.2.....

P.S. walked past Der O Sullivans in the afternoon and started salivating at the window!!! Would have loved a bun... But no, feck him for putting them on display... Bought a bag of Johnny O rings instead... Have been T- total so I deserved them!