Not Waned Yet!

Phil and I stuck with it and ran another 3 miles yesterday and today.

Yesterday my head didn't feel the best after being sat in a stuffy office for 9 hours so I honestly didn't think I was up for running, but once I got out in the fresh air my head was clear in no time.

We did the same run as the previous day; running to the local park, running two laps of it and then back home again. 

I was a bit slower than the day before as I was a bit breathless so I tried cadence breathing, as I had never tried it before, breathing in for three steps and breathing out for two. I found it helpedmy breathing quite a bit so I was actually able to run the last part of the route faster and even overtook Phil! I don't think he minded though as I think he was just happy to see me putting in the effort he knows I am well capable of.

He gets frustrated with me at times as he is faster than I am so he is never running to his full potential, and also he also knows that when I think too much, thinking negative thoughts, I am not running to my full potential. I am determined to prove to myself and to him though that I can get those thoughts out of my head and just run and dig deeper as and when I need to.

Time 27:26

Pace 9.08

Today I didn't want to run as my legs were feeling a bit lethargic, and Phil was the same too, but we were already changed and had parked the car so all we needed to do was to drag ourselves to our starting point and so we did.

We did the same run again; to the park, two laps and back.

My legs eased up pretty quickly and I was doing cadence breathing again so I was able to speed up towards to end as I had done yesterday, in which case I will most definitely be continuing with the cadence breathing! 

Not only does the cadence breathing help my breathing, but I think it distracts me too while I am counting my steps. 

Time 28:10

Pace 9.23

We are back out again for ANOTHER three miles tomorrow and then maybe a day off on Friday.

Or not.

Consistency is the key!

More Three Milers

Since my last post Phil & I got a new mattress so our intentions of running on Saturday morning went right out the window. We were practically comatosed so we didn't wake up until midday. By that point we then had to go out and after that it was pretty much a lost cause.

So that was Saturday.

Sunday, however, we set the alarm, got up, got dressed and got out of the door before we could find an excuse not to.

We went for a 3 mile run again. We ran the long way to the local park, ran a lap and half, and ran back home.

Time 27:04

Pace 9.01

It felt good running in the park again. Especially at this time of year as it is very picturesque and the air is crisp. My favourite running weather. 

We went back again for today's run. Another 3 miles. We ran the shorter route there, ran two laps and back home.

Time 26:51

Pace 8.57

I felt like I put in the effort on both runs. I have lost a lot of my fitness so both runs felt tough. Tough on my lungs though, not my legs. 

It's pretty frustrating as I know how much I am capable of but it feels good to get back out there.

We just have to stick with it and not get side tracked. 

Consistency is the key!

Tonights Run

Tonight Phil and I eased ourselves back in with a 3 mile run. 

I know it's not a lot but we have been lazy so we have to start somewhere and I would rather run a half decent 3 miler and feel a bit good about myself than a snails pace 6 miler and feel crap about myself.

It's all in the mind. Or it's all in my mind anyway.

We did one of my favourite 3 miles routes. I call it the "Three Stager". I call it this because I break it into 3 stages; the first stage is about a mile and a half of inclines, the second stage is about half a mile on a straight road with a slight incline, and the third stage is an easy mile... ALL DOWN HILL.

I like the "Three Stager" as it works well with my mind over matter state. The first stage being the tougher of the three and then it's easy peasy from there onwards.

Time 27:36

Pace 9.12

The plan is to run the Three Stager for the rest of the week and then get started on a training programme from Monday in order to give us some structure.

We're hoping to run Belfast again so that gives us a good six months to get fit and get good.

I must say, I am glad to be back.

I'm Back!

Bless me Father for I have sinned.... it's been almost 2 years since my last post.

I last posted in December 2006 after I ran the Dublin Port Tunnel 10k. Since then I have ran 5 more races including the Belfast City Marathon 2008 and the Liverpool Half Marathon 2008 (which is my all time favourite race).

The first of these two was the Liverpool Half Marathon, or "The Long And Winding Road" as they call it. This is my all time favourite race for two reasons; it's held in my home town and my fiance and I/ my running partner ran a good time, which felt deserved after working hard.

It was also on the day after my birthday.

The Belfast City Marathon was another good race but to be honest we had let our training slip since Liverpool so our time wasn't as good as it could have been. If we had of kept to schedule we could have ran a sub 4 hour marathon, but we didn't and so we only ran a 4:08.

I blame myself for this to be honest as I probably had a sub 4 hour in me but I have a habit of putting mind over matter and not believing in myself. Phil, on the other hand, just puts one foot in front of the other and runs.

Anyway, I won't dwell on what could have been. It was a tough race to be fair.

Since Belfast , due to sheer laziness, we haven't ran any other races, and since we had no races to aim for, no races to motivate us, our running has suffered greatly.  

So here I am, back again to run and back again to Blog.

My aim, a sub 4 hour marathon. So here goes!

Port Tunnel 10K

Last Sunday I ran ran my first race since running the marathon. I ran the Dublin Port Tunnel 10k & I loved it!

It was much different to other races I have participated in (all 2 of them. Ha) as this race was in a tunnel.... and what an experience!

Phil & I entered as this was most likely the only time a race through that tunnel will occur. I had heard of other people running/ walking through the Mersey Tunnel before that opened in my home town many many years ago & thought I would quite like to be able to tell my story years from now too. Something to tell the Grand kids I thought! Plus, as an added bonus I also wanted another medal :o)
However, the closer it came to race day, the less excited about it I was. I started to think logically...... how cold would I be standing around for an hour at the starting line in mid December....... how hot would the tunnel be...... would there be ventilation....... would there be loads of walkers lined up near the front getting in the way??? The more I thought the less I wanted to do it, but at the end of the day I thought well I'd have just wasted €25 & the chance for someone else to do it that couldn't get a place, so Phil & I reluctantly set off On Sunday morning to run the race.

We parked by Fair view Park & walked up towards the tunnel, arriving at about 10am. The race was not due to start until 11am but the organisers had stated that for health & safety reasons the starting line would be closed at 10.15am. By time we got there there was already about 5 or 6 thousand there, but they were all quite spaced out so Phil & I were able to get up to about half way of the queue for the start. Everyone soon started to pack in though.
Standing around for an hour wasn't much fun as the weather was Ireland's finest but with everyone packed in tightly we were sheltered from the wind. The commentator cheered up the winter morning too by starting a Mexican wave from the back of the queue to the front.

Soon enough though it was 11am, the starting pistol was fired & we were off. There was a bit of a shuffle to begin with but everyone seems to find their pace quick enough & spread out. It took us a little over 2 minutes to reach the starting line which was good going for 10,000 runners/ walkers all heading for a tunnel.

Once inside the tunnel it was a whole new experience.

I quickly realised the echoed sound of feet stamping down on the ground. It sounded an army of soldiers marching I thought. Everyone else seemed to notice the echo too as then came the cheers & the chants that travelled the lenghtof the tunnel. One guy started an Oggy Oggy Oggy chant which was a lot of fun as everyone was joining in. Everyone seemed to be really enjoying the experience & the novelty of it.

But not for too much longer.......

Phil & I started pretty much at the top of the hill so we didn't have a big incline to welcome us into the race, (unfortunately for the runners & walkers further back in the queue to start, they were staring at that hill until 11am when they then had to climb it) so had a fairly easy start. As did a few others as there were hoards of people sprinting past Phil & I & we had to be careful not to get too caught up in it ourselves as we knew that what goes down...... must go up!

No sooner had the tunnel declined when we were faced with an incline for the second half of the Northbound tunnel. This is when we all started to sweat & fight for fresh air. Not that we were out of breath from our level of fitness, but out of breath as there was simply no air inside the tunnel. The time seemed to drag too & even more so when I noticed a window into the other tunnel & caught sight of runners on their way back to the finish!

After what seemed like forever we eventually seen the light at the end of the tunnel & everyone let out a cheer. We all stepped out into the open air & opened our lungs to the fresh winter air. Only for a minute though as we were soon on our way back through the other tunnel.
Still warm from the first tunnel, layers were discarded (2 from myself) & the sweat was dripping off everybody. It was like a sauna! Some fella even collapsed & so an ambulance was rushed through for him.

After half of tunnel running down hill we were nearer to the finish but not before one last hill. Now I don't know if I was just far too hot by this point or if the hill was actually bigger but it very nearly finished me off. Phil however must have sucked up the only bit of air left between all 10,000 of us & was off like a shot. I reluctantly followed. It was worth it though as soon enough we saw another light at the end of another tunnel & then the finish line.... in 58 minutes, 28 seconds (less the 2 minutes 11 seconds to start).

As you can probably tell from my somewhat dramatic entry today, it was a toughie & I don't think I will be running through any more tunnels anytime soon, but with the atmosphere of the runners & a good run in general, I was very pleased that we stuck with the race after all.
I really enjoyed being part of that secret world of runners again AND I got another medal too to add to my now mini collection :o)

Speeding it up

The last time I updated my blog I said Phil & I were starting our marathon training by the end of November, well that was the plan at least. Unfortunately we have been a little lazy as we are still only running for fun at the moment.

We have kept our runs short & sporadic, although lately we have began to pick our lazy butts off the couch & pick up the pace a bit more. We have started training at a 9 minute mile.
Now I don't know how this is going to fair out to be honest as I am still quite new to running having only took it up last January, but if I want to beat my Dublin Marathon time then I do need to step it up a notch.
I am not saying that I will run Edinburgh 9 minutes per every mile (I would have to be Superman to knock nearly an hour off my time), but I am hoping that if I train at that pace & run as many miles as I can at that pace, then if, during the marathon, I need to slow down, stretch, tie my shoe laces or pee, then I know I will have saved time for myself.
That is one thing Phil & I never took into consideration with Dublin you see. We trained at a 10 minute mile every step of the way. We figured if we kept to it then we'd get in at 4:20 though realistically we assumed 4:30........ 20 minutes later we eventually crossed the finish line.

Though our training runs went as high as 21 miles, we always kept to our pace & finished at approximately the time we estimated. But what we never did on the training runs was keep the time going if a) we needed to pee, b) we got stopped at traffic lights & c) if we needed to stretch. (I know there are no traffic lights to worry about when running a marathon but during long runs they do come in useful if you need to stretch or take a breather). We assumed as we were not moving forward then neither should the time. I have now learned this is not the case & when training for a marathon, or any race, I should now always make time for any possible eventualities.
Our first marathon taught us a lot actually. There are many factors that I have taken into account that I will need to consider in my next marathon. I think that is what your first marathon is all about though. It is a learning curve. You learn about the type of marathon runner you are & what training is required.
And above all else, it's a marathon to enjoy.

With all this in mind we are now ready to start our training. We have a training plan that we are 99% certain we are going to train by.

But before that Phil & I are having a bit of fun this Sunday running the Port Tunnel 10k in Dublin.
I say fun as there will be 10,000 running/ walking through a tunnel so I can not imagine the pace being very fast. That is ok by me though as I just want to enjoy the experience of it & soak up the atmosphere around me. I will let you know how it goes anyway!

Liam, we might see you there though it will be like looking for a needle in a hay stack! We are bib numbers 2112 & 2111 just in case you can spot us.

Is it time for a name change?!

As of yesterday, Phil & I are now entrants into the Edinburgh Marathon 2007.
(I did tell you we caught the marathon bug & even 2 weeks after our first Marathon I still believe it).

We chose Edinburgh for a few reasons:

• Although we want to run Dublin next year, we can't wait a whole 12 months so decided on another marathon in between.
• As tempting as the Paris Marathon is, we are only new to marathon running & decided we would feel more at home running in either the UK or Ireland.
• Neither of us have been there before

The marathon is on 27th May so we better get cracking the whip if we want to shave a good chunk of time from our first marathon.

Both of us are back running this evening, though we did run separately on Saturday. Our first run for both of us since running 26.2 2 weeks & 1 day ago.

I ran with my friend Heidi who has gotten into running in the gym & wanted a chance to run outdoors (she won't run outdoors on her own) so we went to the Phoenix Park for a leisurely 3 miles. To be honest, I expected after a week and a half off that I would have lost all the fitness I had & not even be able to run 3 minutes, let alone miles (I don't know why I thought this because it's a bit out there as far as thoughts go), but to my surprise, I ran with no problems at all. My legs were surprisingly supple & my lungs weren't like my Granddad's after all. Overall, it wasn't as scary as I had been telling myself. I felt great afterwards too AND I am now even more looking forward to training for & conquering my next marathon.

Now I know I said Phil & I are training tonight, but that is not part of our marathon training. For the next 2 weeks, training will be casual & then from then up until May 27th, we'll be working hard, and harder than ever. We will be training from a schedule to suit our expectations, though for now that is still under construction. I will, however, post our schedule when it is complete as I would welcome any hints or tips that you may want to suggest.

Wish us luck on our new marathon journey!

Ps.... with the Dublin City Marathon 2006 over now.... do I need a blog name change?!