Week 14/18 - Ladies Mini-Marathon

Ran in the Women's mini-marathon Sunday 27th. It's very much a fun run/walk attended by lots of buddies in matching charity t-shirts. My running-mate got injured in a match a few days before so I headed down alone and felt very much like 'billy-no-mates'. Managed to squash towards the front of the crowd to get near-ish to the 'real' runners but still overtook a buggy a few seconds into the race.

I'm used to seeing mile markers but as this was more of an event the signs appeared at '2 + 1/4 to go', '1 + 3/4 to go' - it was like something from Harry Potter. Very strange and kinda condescending to runners. 'Get over yourself' I thought to myself when thinking this - for the majority of participants it was a fun day out.

Having gotten used to the style of Ballycotton & BHAA this was a very strange run & definitely not a mini-marathon... At least I got my miles in!

Week 14/18 - 38 miles with 20 mile long run

I'm just in from my 20 mile run and well, it felt like a marathon today!!! In order to be able to run the Cork mini-marathon (???) on Sunday I brought my training forward by a day and because of Cork > Cobh next week I upped the mileage two weeks in a row. As a result I think I overtrained a tad and that was obvious today.

The 6 miles into town went well enough though getting stuck at traffic lights at various intervals along the quays added about a minute.

The Marina was gorgeous as usual and then I continued on up to Blackrock Castle. Have you seen some of the houses up there??!!! Wow. Went to the cinema last night instead of driving this new route and well, I took a wrong turn. Fortunately Team Eileen (Dad) was at hand to set me straight so I reckon I only cut off 0.2m - still it messed with my head and with an already under-rested body I was running about half a minute slower than my normal pace - not good.

Having Dad drive ahead at the new turns and then be there to hand out water or sugary stuff every 3 miles made all the difference. It really kept me going. Woohoo for Team Twomey!! Did an extra piece around the Lough to make up for the earlier shortcut and felt good enough heading out Magazine Road to the Model Farm Road. They're redoing the pavement after Mount Mercy and it's really rough under foot so I moved out onto the road and tormented a few motorists...

Coming into Ballincollig village I thought over and over 'You've just run 20 miles. 20 miles!!!' and I felt like I justified all the sponsorship and support everyone has given me recently. Despite it being one of my toughest runs yet I'm delighted that this big one has been achieved. I'm off for a well-deserved pedicure now!!

Week 14/18 - Fundraising commences

Fundraising starts today - I set up a webpage on mycharity.ie to faciliate sponsorship for friends and family overseas but it's handy for locals too, like me who aren't too cash focused (!!).

I decided to run on half of Marymount Hospice as they are in the process of building a new hospital just off the link road towards Ballincollig.

The new project, which will be built by Curraheen Hospital Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary of St. Patrick’s Hospital (Cork) Ltd. will include a 44-bed hospice providing a comprehensive specialist palliative care programme, (to include an in-patient unit, a base for community services, a day care unit and an education centre) and a 75-bed hospital for the care of older people providing continuing and respite care services. This facility will replace the existing 24 beds in Marymount Hospice and the 64 beds at St. Patrick’s Hospital.

The full cost of the project is estimated at between €52m and €55m. The Health Service Executive is committed to providing €17.5m, and the Atlantic Philanthropies, a Bermuda based philanthropic organization established by Mr. Chuck Feeney, are contributing a further €10m. The balance of the funding will come from the proceeds of the sale of the Wellington Road property, and local fundraising.

You can sponsor me using http://www.mycharity.ie/event/eileen_twomeys_event/

Thanking everyone in advance for their encouragement and donations. It's another opportunity to sing 'Come On Eileen' to me and see me grimace!!

Week 13/18 - 33 miles incl 18 mile long

As I was in Dublin on Saturday I did my long run on Sunday instead and having fallen into bed the night before it was tough getting up early enough to have time to digest my porridge. Started with the usual route of the straight road and then diverted to run along the north quays. The sun shone down and it was good to be alive!! Water stop #1 by the Idle Hour - Dad was in position and I was perfectly on time at 50 minutes for 6.2 miles. I continued along the marina which at 10:30 on a Sunday was very busy with fellow runners, walkers and cyclists. Blackrock Rd wasn't a great route as the footpaths were narrow, very up-and-down and the road itself was narrow too. Nice downhill though. Was feeling great and running good too - no sign of knee ache. The uphill from Victoria Cross was the only bit of struggle encountered and was glad to see Team Eileen again at the 15 mile mark at the turn in to Raheen (Water stop #4). Felt like I'd had enough of the Energise stuff at that point so shouted ahead to Dad to get water rather than the sugary stuff. He had to run forward to the car for it and it was funny running along behind him!! Arrived home to the 18 mile mark feeling pretty good and with a time of 2:30 I'm still averaging 8:20 miles a minute.

Dublin here I come!!

Week 13/18 - Chi Running with Catherina McKiernan

Headed up to Dublin this Saturday for a one-day course on Chi Running with Catherina McKiernan.

ChiRunning combines the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running.

I was hoping for tips on running better and faster but I was surprised when she replayed a video of me running & I was doing loads wrong!!

Here's some of the main points I took away from the day:

1. Lean - gravity should pull you forward so you should lean slightly forward from the ankles up as you run

2. Heel strike is bad - you should be landing on the ball of your foot - leaning will minimise this

3. Hands should be at waist level, move the elbows (don't pump)

4. Posture is all important - lengthen neck and keep full body aligned in a straight line

5. Relax your entire body, it's particularly important to keep your lower legs loose

6. Stretching should be done about 5-6 hours after finishing the run; no need to stretch before

7. Smile

8. Train in bare feet, eat loads of bananas and drink unpasteurised milk (ugh!!!!)

9. After run, drain legs by lying with back on floor and legs up against wall

10. Hot and Cold Showers, particularly on the legs

Week 12/18 - 31 miles incl. Dingle Half Marathon

Oh my gawd, what a gorgeous race Dingle Half Marathon was!!! I was going along so nicely I felt almost disappointed to take a left towards the finish line at the 13 mile mark...

It was a glorious day from start to finish and the event was brilliantly organised. I loved the fact that there was no traffic on the road and of course, the scenery was spectacular. It took me about a mile of overtaking to get to the runners at my own pace and then I settled into it. Lovely, lovely run - there I was in beautiful Kerry on one of the sunniest days of the year - I was healthy, fit and loving life. I felt invincible around the 10 mile mark just after the view across to the Blaskets at Slea Head. It felt good to be alive!!!

Like I said, I almost didn't want to stop at the half marathon mark. It put me in good stead mind-wise for Dublin - no knee pain, good breathing, good steady pace... Finished 1:44:07 so eight minute miles and felt that I could have done it faster. Finished in position 21 amongst the ladies, 18th based on chip time.

Not bad for a beginner!!

Week 11/18 - 32 miles with 16 mile long run today

Hurrah!!! I ran 16 miles in 2:15 and despite the blip midweek I now feel confident that I'm well on my way to being able to run 26.2 miles on 26th October.

I chose a slightly different route this time which took in the Lee Road. I've seen lots of runners there in the past but with no footpath for most of it and cars tearing along I was glad of my bright pink vest! 'Team Eileen' was in position with liquids at 6, 9, 12 mark which was a real mental boost. Going down the Straight Road, coming up to 10 miles, a carful of thirty-something males on their way to Killarney tooted and shouted out the car to me. It put a smile on my face until I faced into the worst incline of Model Farm Road, which I'm now starting to think isn't bad at all.

Knee didn't act up so am very happy and motivated again - I deserve a big bowl of pasta now...

Week 11/18 - Midweek Mindset

Did my midweek 8 mile last night, out the Straight Road and back to Ballincollig. Before I even left the apartment I was struggling to feel motivated. I've hit a point this week where I'm resenting the amount of time this training is taking up. Am exhausted from fitting social outings around the training and then not having any 'me' time at all.

Last night I was going well until about the 3 mile mark and then my right leg started to hurt - usual problem of knee feeling hot and then pain moving up and down the leg. Pushed on but then my mind started asking why not walk for a while, or just do a shorter run tonight or take the rest of the night off and finish right now... Struggled on, trying to think positive. It worked but I plodded home feeling completely frustrated and was in bed by nine, totally fed up.

Going to relax today and face the 16-miler in the morning...