runningthoughts

neglected

2009-12-07T09:06:00.003Z

I have been neglecting this blog for a long time and lots of things have happened in the meantime. The two most important ones are:

1) I am back in london after 3 years and I am loving it :)

2) I am back in training!

I am not following any plan. I am just started to to build back the mileage and then, when 2010 comes, I'll start training for a spring marathon....whoohooo!!! still haven't decided which one....let's leave it open!

I am living in an area in london that I didn't know and I am enjoying going out there to discover new running routes. there are nice parks around here, but the 'bad' thing is that it is very very hilly and I DO hate hills.

there's one that I call "the hill of death"! yesterday though it seemed to have gotten shorter somehow!

I normally meet the "hill of death" at around mile 3 or 4 of my run and I struggle. it's 800 meters long and the last 300 meters are deadly....it becomes too steep for me to run. so I normally plod on the first 500 meters and then walk the rest. One day I'll run the whole "hill of death"!!!! Today though I felt like I have been making some progress as the first 500m went by much quicker than usual....not that I was faster or anything but I felt less in pain and out of breath and then I thought "oh...it's over, it's already walking time!!"....I guess that's a good sign

this week I went out 3 times out of the planned 4 but yesterday I did some cross training as I walked for 2 hours in Hapmstead heath!! how beautiful is that place!!

wed: 10k
friday: 8k
sunday 12k!!!!
total of 30k, more than 18miles...I am pleased with it!!

juneathon - the end!!

2009-06-30T21:10:00.003+01:00

oh yeah!! today was the last day of juneathon and I completed the challenge with a 5 mile run. I am pleased with how it went, apart from the conference week in which I run only twice :( next year it will be much better :)

so here are my stats:

Juneathon summary

1/30: 3.73 miles (run)
2/30: 5 miles (run)
3/30: 3.12 miles (run)
4/30: 5 miles (run)
5/30: cross-training + free weights (50')
6/30: 2 miles (run)
7/30: 7.5 miles (run)
8/30: 12.6 miles (cycling)
9/30: 1 mile (walk)
10/30: 5 miles (run)
11/30: 5.5 miles (run)
12/30: 1.5 mile (walk)
13/30: 3 miles (run)
14/30: 11 miles (run)
15/30: 1 mile (walk)
16/30: 5 miles (run)
17/30: 5.6 miles (run)
18/30 walk
19/30: walk
20/30: walk
21/30: 4.5 miles (run)
22/30: sit ups
23/30: sit ups
24/30: 5.6 miles (run)
25/30: 5.86 miles (run)
26/30: 4.37miles (run)
27/30: 4.37 miles (run)
28/30: 13.92 miles (cycling)
29/30: 2 miles (walk)
30/30: 5 miles (run)
___________
total run: 92 miles
total cycling: 26.6 miles
total walking: 6 miles (approximately)

running days: 18
cycling days: 2
x-training days: 1
walking days:7
sit-ups days:2

calories burnt: 11,958!!! (not telling you how many cals I ate though!)

juneathon hours: 19

juneathon update

2009-06-25T12:49:00.005+01:00

I have been away for a week and my mileage has dropped substantially despite all my good intentions. I went back to dublin for a 3-day conference and I was staying at friends. It was very difficult to fit in a run between the conf and tentative attempts not to be rude with the people who kindly gave me a roof over my head: how could I have said I am going for a run when the dinenr was ready, or when the conversation was really nice and interesting? so for the days of the conference I just walked like mad everywhere I could. I have no idea of distances and time but all I know is that by the end of the day my feet really hurt.

I managed to go for a run on sunday along the beach in dun laoghaire and that was really really lovely: beautiful landscape and perfect temperature (13c and cloudy): 4.5 miles

On monday I was off to belfast to stay with friends and do some sightseeing. once more, I had a few logistic problems to go for a run so I did situps instead: 2 series of 50 on monday and tuesday. On tuesday the plan was to get up before my hosts and go out so not to disrupt anything they had planned for my visit. but her baby cried all night and when I finally got up it was too late to do anything. Yesterday though I managed to get up before them (the baby had a quiter night) and I run for an hour (5.6 miles) before resuming the sightseeing :)

I am slightly disappointed at my juneathon efforts this week so I'll try to make up for it in this last final week.

Juneathon summary

1/30: 3.73 miles (run)
2/30: 5 miles (run)
3/30: 3.12 miles (run)
4/30: 5 miles (run)
5/30: cross-training + free weights (50')
6/30: 2 miles (run)
7/30: 7.5 miles (run)
8/30: 12.6 miles (cycling)
9/30: 1 mile (walk)
10/30: 5 miles (run)
11/30: 5.5 miles (run)
12/30: 1.5 mile (walk)
13/30: 3 miles (run)
14/30: 11 miles (run)
15/30: 1 mile (walk)
16/30: 5 miles (run)
17/30: 5.6 miles (run)
18/30 walk
19/30: walk
20/30: walk
21/30: 4.5 miles (run)
22/30: sit ups
23/30: sit ups
24/30: 5.6 miles (run)
___________
total run: 71.55 miles
total cycling: 12.6 miles
total walking: 4 miles (approximately)

juneathon: day 14 and the italian way

2009-06-14T12:41:00.005+01:00

there are many races at the weekends around here. which is cool. so this morning, after 6 MONTHS of NO racing I set off with my dad to join a couple of hundreds runners (maybe more) for a non competitive race. yes, you've read it right.

I had heard about them and I've always thought it was kind of weird and today was my first. this is how it works: at the non-competitive races you don't get a bib number, you can start anytime you want within a time set by the organisers (this morning was between 8 and 9), there's not official time at the end and there's no winner. that's it. I still thought it sounded weird, but now that it's over I say...yeah BRING THEM ON!!

we only paid 2 euros each (!!!!!). we could choose to do 6k - 12k - 18k and along the course the drink stations were really cool. one every 3k with water, water and lemon (very good for my stupid tummy), pieces of oranges and lemons, biscuits, toasted bread with jam, sport drinks....2 euros!!!! on top of that the course was stunning. we had access to the gardens of some venician villas (I live just outside venice now) which you normally have to pay to see. my dad and I run together for most of the time and finished together. after we crossed the line, the feast continued with free (included in the 2 euros that is) sandwiches, cherries, water, wine and beer, yoghurt. I was truly impressed. Another good thing about this type of races is that you have all sort of people running it, and walking it...so all the annoying competitive crap that I have to see in normal races over here is not there!!!

I finished in 1:59...very slow, I know, but it was the longest distance attempted after the injury pause. Plus, it was hot, too hot for me...it was 28c and I am not used to that anymore. It's good that they start so early in the morning.

Now I have a nice sun tan :)

my juneathon this week went quite well even though I had to opt twice to just go out for a short walk. Once for girly pain, once because I walked in venice all day, and if you have been there you know that that can kill you!! all those streets and bridges!

juneathon - summary
1/30: 3.73 miles (run)
2/30: 5 miles (run)
3/30: 3.12 miles (run)
4/30: 5 miles (run)
5/30: cross-training + free weights (50')
6/30: 2 miles (run)
7/30: 7.5 miles (run)
8/30: 12.6 miles (cycling)
9/30: 1 mile (walk)
10/30: 5 miles (run)
11/30: 5.5 miles (run)
12/30: 1.5 mile (walk)
13/30: 3 miles (run)
14/30: 11 miles (run)
___________
total run: 50.85 miles
total cycling: 12.6 miles
total walking: 2.5 miles

juneathon 5-8/30

2009-06-09T11:36:00.004+01:00

I have been very lazy and stopped blogging (again) about my juneathon achievements!!

so here comes a quick summary:

5/30: I decided that 5 consecutive days of running was a bit too much. so I opted for some cross training. as you know (or maybe you don't) I am back at my parents' house for the summer and my mum has got a collection of tools to exercise as she hates the gym. quite handy, really! One of these is a sort of elliptic machine which squeaks like mad. I hopped on and did 30'. I thought I was going to kill myself after that, but I didn't and I am happy to tell you that I am still alive, therefore blogging. but it was BORING and NOISY! after that I did some free weights exercises and I played with the hula hop :)

6/30: short jog

7/30: I attempted 12km. I managed to complete the run but I was really knackered at the end. I can believe I ran marathons!!!! I am very grateful to the friends that stopped along the route (the village is tiny and the route is a walking path along a canal): they gave a good excuse to stop and breathe :)

anyways. I finished my first week of juneathon having completed 26.3 miles!!!! yay me!!

yesterday I was too tired to try and run again, especially after the 12km killer run so I hopped on my city bike and did 20km. I was very pleased with that.

not sure what I'll do today.

juneathon - summary
1/30: 3.73 miles (run)
2/30: 5 miles (run)
3/30: 3.12 miles (run)
4/30: 5 miles (run)
5/30: cross-training + free weights (50')
6/30: 2 miles (run)
8/30: 7.5 miles (run)
9/30: 12.6 miles (cycling)
___________
total run: 26.3 miles
total cycling: 12.6 miles

juneathon 4/30

2009-06-04T21:02:00.004+01:00

today I went out a bit earlier than usual 'cause it didn't feel that hot and probably it wasn't. I mean, there were probably 25 degrees. which is not 36....that'll come soon. so anyway I went out at 6:45pm and the first ks were really tough. my legs felt heavy and my breathing laboured. I got unitl the end of the first half of the path, ready to cross the road to get to the second half of it but it was closed due to road work. I turned aroung a bit disappointed and tried to finish my planned 5 miles. by mile 3 I started to feel much stronger but I was sweating so much it was unbelieavable!! my eyes burnt, stupid sweat! I think it's time to invest some euros in a nice hat.

so there you have it:

5 miles in 51 minutes
pace - 10:17

juneathon - summary

1/30: 3.73 miles (run)
2/30: 5 miles (run)
3/30: 3.12 miles (run)
4/30: 5 miles (run)
___________
total: 16.85 miles (run)

juneathon

2009-06-03T20:31:00.005+01:00

I have decided to dust my blog off to celebrate my second attemp at completing juneathon. Last year i failed miserably due to a stupid allergy test. this year nothing will stop me...maybe!!

so 3 days have been done and dusted...three days of running!

1/30: 6km
2/30: 8km
3/30: 5km

clinck on the day for evidence:

so far so good :)

I haven't been blogging in a while so here is an update:

a) I had to stop running for 3 months due to injury (ITB).
b) I am back to italy for the summer....and it's getting quite hot

updates - 5k, guinea pig and future plans

2008-12-22T21:12:00.009Z

last weekend I run my second 5k EVER! as usually the race was in phoenix park, which I lluuuuuuv. the weather though was nasty: cold and windy...

the race went very well. I did a good time and what I think it's a pb....like last year I wasn't able to see the start line and I might have started my watch a bit earlier or later...who knows. But, considered my lack of training, I was pleased to do a race at an increasing pace with the average of 9:00 minute per mile. Final time 28:00. I was paced by a friend who pushed me really hard...by the end of it I was really dying and my face in this pic shows that, doesn't it??

guinea pig

I am being "hired" as a guinea pig for a study that people at my university are carrying out about the effect of electrostimulation on legs muscles. I was subjected to tests with machines that are only used for olimpyc athlets and could be very expensive.

I did a VO2 max test and with it I will be given my lactate threshold. I don't know the results as yet. I have also received a scan to measure my body fat percentage. Not very good news on that front. 31% was the result and my BMI is 24%. these are normal ranges but I found out that I have put weight on lately and I am not happy about it.

In 4 weeks they'll run the same tests again and then the real procedure starts: for 6 weeks, 3 day a week (1 hour each time) my legs muscles will be stimulated with electro...thing (can't remember the name) and then they'll see how strong they've become and the tests will be done for the final time. I am very curious to see how it goes.

future plans

tomorrow morning I am off to the states (L.A and San Francisco). I am going for a conference/job interview/holiday and to be honest right now I feel more nervous than excited!
If the job interview goes well, somehow, deep inside, the idea of moving to the states scares me a bit. if the job interview goes wrong, though, next academic year I will be unemployed, and that idea scares me too. I should just concentrate on the fact that I will see two amazing places (LA and san francisco) that I have never seen before and I should think about what comes when it comes. dunno....

anyway, I hope your holidays go well.

I might be able to blog from there, otherwise I'll "see" you in 2009 )

ciao!!!

florence marathon 2008!!

2008-12-04T21:37:00.003Z

for the first time in 3 years and 6 marathons I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end. my training had been poor and my motivation quite low. the weather forecast had predicted rain and indeed the night before the marathon I could not sleep because of the noise outside: it was pouring down and the wind was strong too!! I said to myself that if the weather was going to be the same in morning I was not going to race.

when I woke up, though, the weather was really nice and I had no other choice than walk to the start line in piazzale michelangelo (there's a beautiful view of florence from there). but once there, I got literally soaked before I set off for my 7th marathon. fate!

From the first minute of my race I knew I was going to finish...not matter how!!! I had a friend along the course who cheered me on on 3 different occasions: 12km, 25km and 41km; I had certainly something to look forward to. my parents were supposed to come to florence too but decided not to the end, because of the weather.

I adopted the same strategy of my dublin marathon: 5 min run and 1 min walk and despite my lack of training, my lack of sleep and the rain I closed my race in 4:56. not my best time, but not my worst either.

The course was nice, even though the stretch from 32km to 38km was pretty boring and looooooong. I had started to get tired by then but at that point I was determined not to pull out. so I kept repeating my mantra ('till the finish line) and alternating walk and run...by then it had become 4 1/2 min run and 1 1/2 min walk. It was a bit discouraging not to have much support by then and some of the people I met along the route kept saying "they must be the last ones", nice!....but I tried to keep positive and I crossed the line with a big smile.

now I am in Italy, at my parents', until sunday and I am eating a lot and relaxing a bit before I start marking exam!

it's really cold here!!!

dublin 2008

2008-10-29T22:50:00.003Z

two days after dublin I finally have some time to blog.

It was my sixth marathon and my first dublin one. after two years in this city and two years of supporting friends and fetchies I finally got to run it myself. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. so, even if my training was really bad I decided to do dublin and use it as a training run for the florence marathon at the end of november.

that was a great choice!

I have been under the weather in the last few weeks. my uncle, who had cancer, got really worse really fast and he died on thursday. I couldn't make it to the funeral and I was (am) worried for my dad (my uncle was one of his younger brothers). I was not in the mood for a race.

I have also been stressed for work stuff and the job applications to the states.

but when I turned up at the dinner with the fetchies and few other people I started to feel the buzz and on monday morning I was ready to go. I finished the race in 4:47, my second personal worst, but I don't care. It was the best marathon ever. The support of the people was just amazing. I couldn't believe it. I keept saying thank you to everyone who called my name or said GO FETCH GO. I was so emotional that everything made me cry, but I felt also very happy. so basically I run the whole marathon with tears in my eyes and a big smile on my face. weird.

I did the whole marathon alternating 5 min run to 1 min walk and that worked very well. My legs feels great now and I am ready to keep training for florence.

there's so much more that I should say about this marathon, but I can always write another post hopefully I'll do that soon.

loved this! VOTE

2008-10-17T14:34:00.001+01:00

forgot to say...

2008-10-02T13:06:00.003+01:00

I forgot to say that I DNF the half marathon two weeks ago. I pulled out at mile 8 :( it was the first time for me and I hated the feeling. It's not fun cheering on people completing their race when you didn't. I know I did the right thing but I did not like it. that'll teach me :)

decisions decisions decisions!!

2008-10-02T07:46:00.003+01:00

september was pathetic. I run a total of 72 miles spread in only 9 runs! dublin was getting closer and I was getting lazier. I didn't want to give up the idea of doing dublin, 'cause this might be my last year in this city and I wanted to do this mara once. I love the idea of a race around the place where I live. so I thought: "I'll do dublin as a walk but THERE IS NO WAY I'm doing florence...."

but last weekend something happened. I went to rome for a "running weekend" with some of the people I met on my italian blog. we are now a community of 60 bloggers who leave comments in each others' blogs and we've decided to form a group (a bit like fetch, but smaller). we are the BLOGTROTTERS. the meeting coincided with a 10k that we all run with the same t-shirts.

it was a lovely weeekend. 3 days of eating, drinking wine, chatting and running. what was great about my race was the fact that one of the faster guy, once he finished his race, came back to find me and push me through the last 2 ks which ended up being the fastest ones. even though my time wasn't good (1:00:13) I seem to have found my lost mojo.

Not only have I been out twice this week I have also entered florence marathon. So now the idea is to use dublin as a long run and try to do florence in a decent time. there will be many fetchies in dublin and many blogtrotters in florence, so it's going to be a nice party too!!

BRING IT ON!!

Another HM and academic life

2008-09-17T13:58:00.001+01:00

It's now time for another half-marathon. the adidas race series which included a 5 and a 10 miler ends on Saturday with the half. as a celebration I have finally officially entered the DUBLIN MARATHON. so now, there's no escaping it!! my training has been quite random....

some week I have gone out only once for a 5 miler; some other weeks I have gone out once and then attempted (and succeeded) a long run. two sundays ago I managed a 15,73 miler and last sunday a 18,63 one. I still don't know how that was possible. my legs feel fine really but tuesdays have become tough: I feel tired and HUNGRY! does that happen to me only? are the tuesdays after your LSRs tough??

the new academic year has started already and we are now in week 2! after spending the summer months working on my research in the peace and quiet of my flat, starting term with hundreds of students and colleagues trying to talk to me was a shock to the system. I love being surrounded by people and I love my students. it's just hard to adjust to the sudden change; I feel overwhelmed but I know it will get easier and easier.

this is going to be my last year at dublin university since my contract expires in august 2009. ideally I'd like to either stay here or move back to england but the situation is gloom. languages are not popular with the university power-that-be (probably none of the subjects belonging to the humanities area are). so the idea is now to apply somewhere else, and after ignoring the states for all my working life it's time for me to acknowledge the fact that I might have a chance to find a permanent job over there. it would be such a huge change for me and it will be difficult to explain this choice to my parents: england and ireland do not seem too far any more, but the states are. well...it might come to nothing, but the filling-the-application-form process has now started....scary!!

BUT

let's focus on what's happening at the moment and let's hope that the half marathon goes well. I'll meet up with the irish fetchies and I am sure it'll be fun!

training update

2008-09-03T11:04:00.001+01:00

yes, I am still alive but I guess my posting goes with my training and when I am not doing much I don't post much.

in the last few weeks my mojo has been coming and going; then it was time to hit the road with some italian friends of mine and go to Longford. They did the marathon and I did the half. my pb is 1:58 but I knew that I wasn't fit enough to beat that. as soon as we started it began to pour down (as you can see from the pic) and it wasn't pleasant. when the rain stopped I was drenched and tired.

I stopped for the first time at mile 3 and then I walked at every drink station. half way through I realised that I wasn't going to finish under 2hs so I took it easy ending up doing a LSR rather than a race. I finished in 2:06' and I was pleased with it anyway.

the race was on august 24th and since then I managed to run only once. I must have caught something on race day and I have been ill with a silly flu since then. I had to skip my LSR last sunday. dublin is getting closer and I am not ready yet. I haven't run longer than 13 miles. hopefully this week will be better.

my press up challenge suffered too last week, but I keeping at it. I am now on W3 D1 and it's getting really tough. but I can see improvements in my upper body strength and I am loving it!!

grrrrrrrrrrrr

2008-08-18T19:24:00.000+01:00

this is not my bycicle, but this is how my bycicle looked when I went downstairs this morning. I just can't believe it. I live in a court, you know, a complex with a couple of blocks of flats and terraced houses and lots of security. the bike was locked but the wheels weren't. after all the bike should be safe here. the main gate of the complex has been broken for a while now and surely some twat came in and did the job. I am pi$$ed off! it will cost me more than a 100 euros to put new wheels so I am now trying to buy a second hand one and I need to find it before term starts. my bike is the only way to go to uni in a reasonable time and without having to take 2 buses. grrrr

JB will be pleased though...one less cyclist on the roads ;)

paula

2008-08-17T16:17:00.000+01:00

what can I say about paula? I watched the marathon live last night, chatting away with a friend on skype and with my fetchie peeps. it was nice to comment on the race and have a virtual laugh. but the laughters lasted up to the 35 k marker. at that point I saw her stop and strecth. she looked in real pain. I thought that she was going to pull out. she didn't. she got into the stadium. she crossed that finish line. great!! but I was very upset for her. I couldn't help crying when she hugged liz yelling and when she talked to the BBC. I can just imagine the pain she felt when her legs stopped working and she had to push herself .... I can only imagine her disappointment.

but today I am even more upset by some comments made on the papers by journalists and random people alike who criticize her for having taken part in the games being injured, for having taken away somebody else's chance of victory (!!) bla bla bla. I have realised for the first time how despised she is by many in UK and I just can't get my head around this. to me she is the greatest marathon runner ever and her inabilty to win a gold medal at the games doesn't change how I feel about her. I am not going to add much. I just hope that she'll recover soon from her injury and that she gets back into racing and winning soon.

as for my race yesterday, that went much better than I thought. I have been feeling out of sorts in the last few weeks. I did the same race last year, same course. It took me 1:36:49. I thought this time anything under 1:45 it's fine really. but I PBd!! by only one minute....but who cares? I finished the 10 miles in 1:35:29 and I am well pleased with that.

change

2008-08-15T18:36:00.000+01:00

sometimes changes are needed :)

just one thing....

2008-08-15T10:42:00.000+01:00

COME ON PAULA!!

she'll be running at 0.35 saturday night/sunday morning if you didn't know that. I'll be watching the race live....I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!

the rain

2008-08-13T09:38:00.000+01:00

it's been raining for days now and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. I am so glad I am working from home as the idea of getting on my bike in this weather somehow does not appeal to me :) it's funny how I have no problem whatsover in running in the rain, but I am not too keen in cycling. not that I have been running much these days either. I skipped my long run last week and considering that I have two races coming up it wasn't such a great idea.
Yeah, my training has been a bit lame so far and on saturday I'll be running a 10 miler in phoenix park, and on sunday 24th I'll be running a half-marathon in longford. I was hoping to pb in both races but considering my poor level of fitness I will just go there and enjoy it. they will both be a good social event :)
I have been trying to get back into the habit of running first thing in the morning. every morning I set the alarm and avery morning I keep sleeping. I know that I love the feeling it gives me, but the most difficult thing is to actually start. one day......maybe

One thing that I have been doing quite regularly is the pressup challenge. today is week2 day2 and I can already see the improvement in my strength and in my arms. The only problem I have is my elbow. It starts aching by the end of the 5th set of pressups and I don't know what it is. I hope that it stops once I get used to it, 'cause I want to get to the point in which I can do as many pressups as ILIKETOCOUNT ;)

who wants to join me??

2008-08-07T14:59:00.000+01:00

there's a new challenge for us crazy runners (and not). it's called HUNDREDPUSHPS and it's fun..erm..not really fun, but I am curious to see how I will look like after the challenge.

who's up for it?

this is my first week and I am doing the girly ones on the knees. but you can join in at any time.

there are quite a few of us on Fetch doing the challenge. let's see how many bloggers fancy another challenge after juneathon :)

come on ... you know you want to!!

tonight I am going to a salsa club for the first time. I am not that keen so that would be another challenge for me. Let's hope I don't make a fool of myself.

week 3 - i might be moving in the right direction...

2008-07-27T18:08:00.000+01:00

....well, slowly, but I am!!

so, this week is over and I have banked 31.5miles which I am pleased with. I went out 5 times and most of the times I avoided looking at the garmin. I am trying to follow my 'natural' pace as much as I can and guess what?! I am faster than I thought. the 5 runs included one hill session, one interval session (10 x 200m), 2 easy runs and a long run of almost 12miles and I am so glad that tomorrow is a rest day.

today I did my long run in sandymount and it was lovely. the weather was fantastic, there were lots of people enjoying the sunshine or having fun with their dogs. my garmin gives me an average temperature of 20c; summer then is here, and I guess this is as good as it gets. but after 3 weeks in horrid temperature in italy I am not going to complain about it all!! the run in itself was tough especially because I was thirsty. I normally don't take any water with me if I am running for less than 2 hours and I am normally fine, but today I suffered a lot. I was so tempted at one point to ask people with bottles of water if they could give it to me or of they could give me some money to buy something to drink. well, yes, I went out with no money, no water, nothing. just me, my garmin and my crappy mp3. how clever am I? so, when I got to k 15 I passed by a cool and stylish pub and the decision was made on the spot. in I went. stopped my garmin. I WANTED SOME WATER. there was noone around and I had to wait for 2-3 minutes before a cute (and very young) guy came to give me what I wanted...erm....water, with lots of ice!!! that felt soooo good. but maybe too good 'cause I lost it: I went outside, started my garmin again and off I went for the last 3ks of my run. but after a while I had a look at my garmin and realised that I hadn't started it!! DOH! it was stuck at 15.2ks and I had at least done 800m. damn it! well, I decided anyway to do 18k on the watch but when I loaded my data on motionbased I could see that I was right. I did 18.8ks, almost 12 miles! this motionbased is great, is even more precise than sportstracks.

I am still thirsty and in a while I'll hit the pub with some friends! YAY!

week 2 - done and dusted!

2008-07-22T08:37:00.000+01:00

let's start by saying that on saturday I went to the cinema, which for many of you might not be a big deal. but lately, watching a movie outside the 4 walls of my apartment is quite a rare event. but what is even rarer for me is to go to the cinema with someone else (and no, it wasn't a date!). So basically I emerged from my shelter and became a social person. cool! I should do that more ofter! (?) anyway. I saw a very good movie: gone, baby, gone and I was so glad I went. Ben Affleck is an clever and sensitive director and his brother is just brilliant. it was difficult, though, to understand everything they said as they spoke with an accent I wasn't familiar with. there you go. the pleasure of being a foreign :)

after a week in which I struggled to find motivation to go out and run, I can say that I am happy about the milage and the quality of the work done. my first attempt of a decent run actually started back on tuesday, but I had to go back after only a mile as I was feeling really really bad. once at home I managed to do some of those exercises that you find on the flashy running magazines I read (I should stop buying them) and I used the ball I bought more than a month ago. yay!!
for the rest of the week I just went out to do 5 miles without caring about my pace and I ended up doing my fastest miles. weird things can happen. I concluded this unusual week of training with a painful painful 10 miler on sunday. I won't tell you how difficult it was but what I'll tell you is that I was soooooooo glad to be back home.

so, 4 runs this week with a total of 24 miles. not bad for a week of lack of motivation i'd say!

I have entered Longford half yesterday where I'll try to beat my pb. I have a month to get back on track and hopefully that would motivate me....who knows!

week 2 - what's wrong with me??

2008-07-16T18:17:00.000+01:00

guys...have you seen my MOJO??? I can't find it anywhere. I am kind of worried....it's only week 2 FFS!!

week 1 - why is it so tough??

2008-07-13T20:44:00.000+01:00

how is it that only a 2 week break from running and a couple of pounds more on my waist line make me feel as if I had never run before in my entire life??? I know, I know, things will be easier in a couple of weeks, but right now things are quite depressing. today I did 6.23 miles which is the furthest I've run since newry and it was hard. it's quite unreal to think that I can actually run 26.2 miles...

while I was running today I was thinking about my adventurous return to dublin. first of all I missed the plane: I went to the airport on thursday convinced that my flight was on the 10th only to find out that I was supposed to leave the day before. DOH! so I had to book another flight which left on friday. we took off 2 hours after we boarded the plane and the most annoying thing was that I was sitting next to an italian guy who was really annoying! one of the things that came to my mind while I was running today was his theory about mixed relationships. apparently he has noticed that relationships between italian women and irish men work, whereas those between italian men and irish women don't. he knows why: it's because, he said, irish women are too independent, aggressive and don't know how to cook!!! Can you believe that?? he thought that that was a good reason and that his theory was clever! and then you ask me why I left my country????

the end!

2008-07-08T22:40:00.000+01:00

tomorrow is going to be my last day in italy. I had 3 nice weeks, spent with old and new friends, with my family and my little nephew, eating ice creams and pizzas! but these 3 weeks have also been tough: it has been way too hot for me and I needed my space and privacy which it's difficult to have when I stay at my parents'. I am definitely ready to go back home!

today I did my first run of my first week of training for the dublin marathon: 4.35 miles in 41 minutes. nothing special but it's a start. I think I'm coming down with something and I struggled more than usual during the run. on top of this and of my lack of training in the last 2 weeks I had some problems with my first pair of running shorts ever. I bought them today but it was a bad idea:

they look really nice, but my inner (and fatty) thigh chafed big time and I had to cut my run short. I'll bin them. but I also bought some new cool headphones and they work just fine!

today I have entered the three races of the adidas race series: 5m-10m-half and on saturday it's already time to run the 5 miler. not sure I am ready for it, but I'll do it anyway :)

update

2008-06-30T20:41:00.000+01:00

here is bloody hot. today the temperature reached 31c and it wasn't the hottest day. what really bugs me, though, is the high percentage of humidity.

as you know i did some allergy tests and apparently i'm allergic to some silly substances and now i've got to check all the products and food that i use daily... i just hope this is not going to be a waste of time and that my eczema will go away once and for all. i was housebound until thursday and that wasn't pleasant (you can see the different phases of the allergy tests in the pics). thankgod there's got air -con at my parents' and staying in was the only way for me not to sweat and compromise the tests.

since thursday i have been to the swimming pool twice: i swum 1,5k the first time and 2k the second time. so that makes it 3,5k which is 2,2 miles. not too bad considering that when we swim the effort is allegedly 4 times harder than when we run. today, I braved the weather and went out for a 5 miler. i can say only one thing: it was HOT!!!!!

Juneathon is over and JJ gave me permission to complete it, despite my problems. so, here is my GRAND total:

18/30 done (i started on june 5th)
miles done in june: 78,90 (bike + run + swim = am I ready for triathlon or what????)

there you go!!

juneathon - what next?

2008-06-23T15:58:00.000+01:00

here it's incredibly hot and i am hating it. i've never liked the heat. i can only take it if i am lying on the beach, which it's not happening.

i couldn't run on friday 'cause my tendon was still aching. i used my bike instead to move around my village. i didn't do much, maybe a couple of Ks, but I have taken nice pictures:

on saturday afternoon i had a wedding to go to and since i still couldn't run i decided to go to the swimming pool in the morning. there's a 50m outdoor swimming pool in my village and that's really a great thing. i wanted to complete 10 lengths so to do 500m. i hadn't been to a swimming pool in 2 years and i wasn't sure i could do it. after the first 4 lengths i felt tired but suddenly i found myself sailing and i managed 20 lengths for a grand total of 1k!! i was really quite pleased with it.

yesterday i walked quite a lot and my tendon seems finally healed. i wanted to try running on it today but it seems that my juneathon might be over. i went to the dermatologist today. i have had a nasty eczema for the last 2 years and i'm getting really annoyed about it all. finally i decided to ditch my homeopathy remedy and go to see a specialist. i did some blood test and the doctor said that everything is fine and that the only thing left to do is to carry out some allergy tests. so my left shoulder is now patched up with silly adhesive things (i don't even know the italian name for them) and i can't do much until wednesday, when they take them off. funny. he said that i shouldn't do sport 'cause i shouldn't sweat, and here i am, sitting at my desk writing this post sweating like mad! this aint't right!

not sure whether it makes any sense for me to carry on the juneathon challenge, which i have clearly failed!

day 15 - damn!

2008-06-19T20:27:00.000+01:00

i banked 5 more miles today. but now i'm limping. my achilles tendons is hurting. i guess that for the next two days i will have to do something else for juneathon....damn!

15/30 done
miles done in june: 71.09

day 14 - juneathon in italy

2008-06-18T21:40:00.000+01:00

I woke up at 3.15am and the taxi picked me up at 3.45am. I think that early flights should be made illegal! once home I spent the whole afternoon in a comatose state. I slept for a couple of hours and then I went out for my juneathon. 5 miles which were more like torture. I was really tired and it was quite hot for my standars. I should take inspiration from JoggerBlogger and go out early mornings. not that I can do his milage....

there are no parks in my village, but there is a really long stretch along a canal ideal for running. there are always many people running there as it avoids getting killed on main roads by italian drivers. they don't really care, as you might be aware. the only problems of this quite beautiful and peaceful route are the mosquitos and the lack of shade.

I will go for a walk soon so that I can take some pictures and show you the place :)

juneathon
14/30 done
miles done in june: 66.09

day 13

2008-06-17T19:19:00.000+01:00

this is going to be my last post from ireland before I go to italy for 3 weeks. I'm going to stay with my parents; my mum will drive me mad but at least I won't have to worry about cleaning, cooking and all that. I can concentrate on my writing and running; plus, I can go to the nice open air swimming pool and do parts of juneathon there. It's a 50 metre one and that's how I like it :)

today another busy day on my bike.

it's almost a 7mile route (out and back).

day 12 - x-training

2008-06-16T21:41:00.000+01:00

I had a few things to do today in different parts of dublin and since I don't have a car and the trasport system here is quite lame, I used my bike. I did 8.5miles + 2 hours of horrible shopping to find a dress for a wedding I'm going to on saturday. not really sure about the dress...but who cares?!

day 10 and 11 - the comeback

2008-06-15T14:15:00.000+01:00

yesterday i felt much much better. my mind was working and i was finally making some progress with the article i am trying to finish. so i decided to skip my run and take advantage of a rare moment of inspiration. i knew anyway that i was going to town to meet some friends so i decided to walk there and back as my juneathon activity:

i walked quite briskly and as i was walking i felt like i could have conquered the world. whatever is wrong with me, whatever it is that doesn't make me get a permanent job... i'll fight it. total of 2.77miles yay!

today..it was just great. I did 13k which is 8.09 miles and this is the longest i've run since the newry marathon. and it felt great!!! i decided not to go to phoenix park and thought that maybe the 10 miler that i had in mind was a bit too far for me right now. so i decided to go to sandymount and then, since the cars around weren't that many, to come back following a nice road full of trees, amazing and huge georgian houses which are now embassies. it's nice to run in dublin on a sunday morning. everybody is in bed with a hungover so it's a totally different place. quite and peaceful almost.

i was thinking...maybe i should take pictures to show all the juneathoners the beautiful canal and amazing is sandymount, but as i said in one comment to jb's post, i don't like to have things with me while a run. but I have some pics of the route which i took during my walks so i'm using those. it's kind of cheating and it's nothing like the beautiful london parks or cornwal landscape but that's the best i can do. this is sandymount:

while i was running back home i met that guy who asked me out, had a nice evening chatting away and then didn't call me back and ignored my texts. i didn't push him into the canal as i said i would do if i saw him...maybe next time. i'm too nice!! and what is it in dublin that you meet the same people day in day out???? this would have never happened in london!

10 and 11/30 done
miles done yesterday and today: 2.77 + 8.09 = 10.86

I THINK I AM BACK!!

miles done in june: 45.59

day 10 - defeated (but i'll be back with avengance...)

2008-06-14T09:01:00.000+01:00

yesterday for juneathon i did A BIG FAT NOTHING!! I guess that being so down in the last few days, feeling sorry for myself, thinking at times how bad i am and then how good i am, it's only that people cannot see it...i guess that all that has taken its toll on me and when it was time to go out for my run i felt completly exhausted!
sorry guys!
what happens next? have we decided what to do with losers like me?? :) I am planning a higher milage for the weekend because i've decided to put up a fight..they won't have me!
let me know what the deal is and i hope it's not going to be corporal punishement!!

day 9

2008-06-12T20:29:00.000+01:00

been in a bad mood all day and the run didn't help.

5 miles done and dusted

9/30 done
miles done today: 4.97
miles done in june: 34.73

day 8

2008-06-11T20:00:00.000+01:00

finally a decent (-ish) run today. am I recovering from the last 2 marathons? who knows! I managed 40 mins and 4.35 miles and I didn't feel in pain for the whole duration of the run. so maybe that's a good sign. let's see how it goes tomorrow.

today I went and bought one of those fitness balls. I have cancelled my gym membership and I'll do some excercise at home. it took me ages to inflate it 'cause it come with a silly little pump but I did it. i'll have to watch the dvd included in the package to see what kind of exercice i can do o it other than abs. i am sur it's going to be fun....

oh...and I have entered the overseas ballot for FLM...not that I trust the way they do things but there's no harm in trying, right?

8/30 done
miles done today: 4.35
miles done in june: 29.76

day 7

2008-06-11T00:14:00.000+01:00

just a short walk today to go to the restaurant :) but every little helps....says someone!!

7/30 done
miles done today: 1.8
miles done in june: 25.41

day 6

2008-06-09T20:39:00.000+01:00

I am watching the pretty little girls playing (and losing) against holland in the european cup, maybe i should read a book instead, i will feel much more happier. first, they should all have a hair cut; then, they should learn how to play with dignity passion and skills. i should be their coach i think!

today i went out for a lame run, an even more lame than yesterday's. i wanted to do 30 mins but ended up doing only 22. my legs haven't recovered yet from the 2 maras in a months and from a very demanding preparation for them. i am so glad that i have joined the juneathoners otherwise i wouldn't be doing much before the beggining of july, when preparation for the next 2 maras in autumn start. even though i feel tired (and quite discouraged from my lack of fitness) i'm running every day. i hope that counts for something.

this is today's route (away from the canal):

6/30 done
miles done today: 2.5
miles done in june: 23.61

day 5

2008-06-08T19:56:00.000+01:00

my legs didn't feel quite right but i went out all the same for a lame run....but a plegde is a pledge, right? and after juneathon continues....erm...i know...it has just started, but there you go! i went to the small park next to my house today instead of following the usual route along the canal where i alway see the guy who asked me out and never called again. one day i'll push him into the canal just for the fun of it.

they have built tennis courts in the park, nice ones really, not like those in downhills park in haringey where i used to live when i was in london. but at least those had some sort of nets in the middle of the court. here not nets as yet so not sure what's the point of having a nice tennis court.

anyway 5/30 done!

miles done today: 3.11
miles done in june: 21.11

day 4

2008-06-08T12:09:00.000+01:00

yesterday i took my friend around dublin and i decided to replace my juneathon run with a juneathon walk which probably won't happen again. I HATE WALKING! my legs hurt today much more than they normally do after a LSR!!! we walked for hours on end and so lots of dogs and runners and kite surfers and ate icecreams :) the great thing was that we managed to catch up on 2 years of gossips and that the weather was glorious. so overall i had a fab day.

i didn't take my garmin with me so i used the pedometre map to check our milage and these are yesterday's routes:

morning:

afternoon:

juneathon:
4/30
miles done today: 7.7
miles done in june: 18.9

day 3

2008-06-07T01:18:00.000+01:00

very short run today. i have a guest this weekend and it was nice to run with someone else for a change. we did only 2.68miles but at least day 3 is done and dusted. not much time to post. i'm exhausted. good night juneathoners :)

juneathon:
1st: none
2nd: none
3rd: none
4th june: 4.21mi
5th june: 4.35mi
6th june: 2.68mi

total: 11.24mi

day 2

2008-06-06T01:36:00.000+01:00

i bought something today which i may regret soon: a tanita body fat scale. not only does it give you the weight but also the body fat - body water - body muscle percentages. I tried it this afternoon and i didn't like what i saw. i'll try again tomorrow morning and from then i'll start another challenge this time to myself: lose weight before dublin marathon (october 27th). the target is 60kg...let's see tomorrow what's the real starting point, but it should be around 66kg.

i went out for a run today again. i normally run from 3 to 5 times a week so running every day is quite a new challenge for me. i will have to find new routes though and maybe a bit more adventurous. nothing happens along my route: no creepy men, no crazy cyclist (I'm a cyclist so maybe i just don't dotice them)...nothing. i only see lots of people and cars and runners and swans.

did 4.35 miles (7km) in a very slow pace which felt quite fast... :(

juneathon:
1st: none
2nd: none
3rd: none
4th june: 4.21mi
5th june: 4.35mi

total: 8.56mi

juneathon (?)

2008-06-04T23:18:00.000+01:00

well, i've joined in BUT i'm not sure what to do now. i'm waiting for instructions. i got it all wrong and i thought juneathon was a challenge to run 100 miles during june, but that something jogblog is doing. it's not running to and from different tube stations, i know that for sure, that's warriorwomen's job

JUNEATHON is different. it challenges you to run every day of the month. right, I got that now :) and i'm on!! but joining in today without having run yesterday and the day before yesterday now...that's a bit complicated and the masters (JJ and JB) are trying to find a solution to my special case.

in the meantime I'll just skip the fact that I did 4,64 miles on sunday.

today i went out for 40 mins and after 1 min my crappy mp3 run out of battery. so i set off without music under the rain to put the miles in (still thinking at that stage that i needed to complete 100miles this month). i did 4,21 miles and this is the proof (even though my sporttracks is set in ks):

now, i know that all the people involved in the variuos challenges have lovely gadgets. i don't. but i have a lovely pic of mine: my new fetchie t-shirt (is this a gadget?), my garmin 205 and my crappy mp3....only 512mb :)

waiting for the verdict....

juneathon summary:
1/30 runs
4,21 miles

100K passatore and JUNEATHON

2008-06-04T15:21:00.000+01:00

I have been very quite these days. I had a blogger friend over from italy so I took him around dublin and we did a nice run (my first after newry) in phoenix park. we walked like mad and if i had joined the juneathon i would have already won - well, if they make up their mind that is and decide whether walking counts or not!!
saturday though was taken over by my obsession with the most amazing and difficult race ever that some of my italian blogger friends were doing: the passatore 100k. i was getting live updated by friends who were there supporting and i could not concentrate properly on my guest :) every marathon runner in italy knows about it and many dreams of completing it; very few manage to do it. i am not thinking of doing it NO WAY, i am just fascinated by the idea that someone could run so long and on such A difficult route. one of my blogger friends finished among the first 4 italians and he will now join the national 100k team for the world cup...whoohoo!!
simone, the-winner-of-connemarathon-simone, is thinking of doing it and I'll be his support on a bike...that should be amazing.

PS: I HAVE JOINED THE JUNEATHON CHALLENGE....YAY!!
I don't have a nike thing and after what i've read on my bloggerfriends' posts i am not going to buy one. my gorgeous garmin will do the job.

JUNEATHON: day 4 - mile 0!! (i'm doing great eh?!)

post-marathon legs

2008-05-29T08:48:00.000+01:00

i woke up yesterday to realise that my legs were just FINE! got on the bike to go to work and ....no, nothing, no pain. i got up and down the steps at work and no, still nothing! what's wrong people??? i thought i run a marathon on monday but maybe i just dreamt about it?! oh no, no...i know what it is...it must be what NUTELLA does to my legs :-)

newry city marathon - race report

2008-05-27T11:48:00.000+01:00

oh dear...i am aching all over this morning and the official time is ever crapper than i thought: 4:39! there you have it...crap race, crap time :)

yesterday i woke up at 5.20am, in the car at 6am. I felt really exhausted and my eyes were closing. i was so happy i wasn't driving. evelyin though was very energetic. i don't how she does that. i should ask her what she's on :-) when we got to newry we met with some fetchie and once more i forgot to take pictures, silly me! there's one with me and eveylin but i think that for the sake of both of us i should NOT make it public! then off we went. i was supposed to run with geprig who wanted to finish in around 4 hours but wanted to take the first half easy. we knew about the hills, but maybe we didn't know them well enough. i lost him at mile 5 as i had to go to the loo. after that, i put my crappy mp3 on and i did the whole race on my own. at times i didn't see anyone in front of me. i tried to focus on the amazing views of the hills and valley surrounding us instead of the hills we were running on but that wasn't easy. they were tough and never ending. once i thought great this is done now we go down hill another one started. contiunously. i walked twice. i started to feel tired at the 10k marker!!!

half way through we headed back even though not on the same road (thankgod!). we run the second half on a beautiful towpath. we were a bit isolated, there were very few runners around but every now and then the marshalls on the bike would ride along you to ask you if you were fine if you wanted any water or gel. i thought that was a really nice touch. the day was beautiful, sunny, nice breeze and great temperature, at least for me. there was a nice shade on the towpath, which made it easier. well...a bit.

just half way through i started to get a nasty headache, which is very unusual for me, really. i started to think why that was. i was well hydrated, i ate properly for breakfast. i thought, maybe it's the wall, the dreaded wall is coming to get me. i was supposed to take a gel at 13miles but my tummy was a bit upset as usual. i had two choices: take the gel and run away from the wall but risking to upset my tummy too much; not take the gel and risking that my tummy could get worse anyway and the wall will hit me completly. it took me another mile to make up my mind and then i made my decision: take the gel and hope for the best.

my tummy strangely calmed down, but not my headache. my legs were getting tired, my glutei were very stiff. from 13 to 18miles i had to fight my demons. they were telling me to give up, that it was not for me, that i couldn't do it. but i kept going and i won. i crossed that line and got my medal! i kept running all the way through, slowly, grunting but i run. i walked very little, i kept going. the last two miles were hell. my ankles were hurting. the twopath was never ending. the last 800m was more than hell (what's more than hell i don't really know, but you know what i mean). we got into town again and the finish line was not in sight. at the last 200m i saw it. i heard people clapping, loud music and the speaker. i took off my crappy mp3 and i sucked in the nice atmosphere, people screaming when the speaker said my name. i run the bloody thing on my own, i run the last 200m minute on my own and on my own i crossed the finish line.

at the end HowFar? from fetch was waiting for me and that made my day. he had finished in 2:48 in fourth position! amamzing!!! the I met up with BS ans waited for eveylin to cross the line. and she did it in great style taking home her second best time. she and BS will be doing cork next monday....they're barking mad.

when i got to get changed i found out that my periods had arrived during the race. so maybe, after all, it wasn't the wall to give me headache and to take away my energy.

i am disappointed, but not defeated. the 4h mark seems far right now. but, since i've started to train for the 4hs in january i have improved so much. I took off:
3min my 5miles pb
4min my half marathon pb doing by best race to date
17' min my marathon pb

now i'll have to work on my speed and try to get my weight down to 60kg (now i'm 64.5kg). i know that i can do it. the 4h wall will be destroyed. i'm stronger. I WILL WIN, i know it :-)

newry city marathon/3

2008-05-26T20:18:00.000+01:00

i haven't got much energy left now to post a complete report. i finished the hardest marathon i have ever done in 4:38. i am a bit disappointed now, but i am sure that after a good night sleep i'll feel a bit better.

newry city marathon/2

2008-05-25T16:41:00.000+01:00

i went to put my nick on my fetch vest today but they couldn't do it before friday anyway, I am sure peeps can easily recognize me among 346 runners. I have just found out that there is a guy with an italian name running tomorrow. I'll try to look for him and nag him a bit i am very good at that!

the weather forecast for tomorrow seems promising so i have decided to admit to myself that it is not true that timeit doesn't matter how long it'll take to finish it....hell it does! i've printed out from the internet a wrist pace band for 4:15 (which will effectively be a massive pb). i'll do the first part quite slowly (@9:47min/mile) since it is the hilly bit and then i'll try to pick the pace up to 9:39....and see how it goes.

newry city marathon/1

2008-05-25T01:20:00.000+01:00

right. i did my last run on friday. 40 mins of pure pain! it looks pretty good for monday doesn't it.

this morning 83togo from fetch came to pick me up at 7:20am (!!) to go to newry to register, collect number and chip. it was the first time i met her and we had a lovely journey. she challenged me to spot the sign that says we are across the border which apparently is very difficult to spot and i did!! it was a small one saying that the speed limit was in miles....i'm bloody clever ain't i?? we got to newry quite early so 83togo, who knows the area quite well, drove along the first half of the marathon just to see how hilly it is. they were making fun of me on fecth by saying that it was vey hill that we'd reach a glacier and the snow must have melted by now and stuff like that....as if....but i was getting worried anyway, i so hate hills. well, it is quite ondulating, lots of ups but then lots of downs too....and the second half seems quite flat. so i can relax a bit... until monday morning that is.

the registration was in a shopping centre and i realised only then that we were actually in uk and that i could have brought some pounds with me. instead i had to resort to my card to buy a nice coffee for me and 83togo. at the registration we met HowFar?, another fetchie, and we had a nice chat. then we were back on the car and home in dublin.

i am very excited now about the marathon. the route seems really beautiful. i forgot to take pictures but this one taken from wikepidia gives an idea of the area, i hope:
it is called newry city marathon but in actual fact it starts in the city only to leave it behind and go in the countryside. we'll then turn and head back into town along a towpath which looks quite cute from where we were. so i guess that overall we'll do 4/5miles in the city overall. it's actually almost a rural marathon :-)

i am off to bed now. i should get some rest. i have a(nother) marathon to do (OMG!)

I will never be your stepping stone....

2008-05-22T15:07:00.000+01:00

Verse 1

I remember way back way back when
I said i never wanna see your face again
Cause you were loving yes you're loving somebody else
And i knew oh yes i knew i couldnt control myself
And now they bring you back into my life again
And so i put on a face just like your friend's
But i think you know oh yes you know whats going on
Cause the feelings in me oh yes in me are burning strong

Chorus

But I will never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
Im standing upright on my own

Verse 2
You used to call me up from time to time
And it would be so hard for me not to cross the line
The words of love layed on my lips just like a curse

And i knew oh yes i knew they'd only make it worse
And now you have the nerve to play along
Just like the mistro beats in a song
You got your kicks you get your kicks from playing me
And the less you give the more i want so foolishly

Chorus
But i will never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
Im standing upright on my own...

No i will never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
Im standing upright on my own

Never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
Im standing upright on my own

I am ready (NOT)

2008-05-21T08:36:00.000+01:00

yesterday I found out that there would be only 350 people running newry marathon. there are more running the half, but they'll be starting after us. I can see how this is going to develop: I'll be running the whole thing on my own. not sure how I feel about that. for the first time in a race I would have to resort to using my crappy mp3 which I am not sure will go on for 4:30 hours :(

I am not ready I don't think. I feel tired and bloated and I guess the nutella didn't help. my legs feel tired. last saturday I attempted interval training (3x3k) and it was pure pain during the last one even though I got to run for half an hour with my friend simone, winner of connemara marathon simone. so while I was suffering at 9:00min/mile he was basically walking next to me.

monday I did my last long run before newry: 18k, approximately 11 miles. I set out with a new route in my mind 'cause I was tired of running in the same places and simone suggested to go to the red lighthouse in sandymount.

I also decided to set my garmin to give me splits only every 5k (3miles more or less). this is what simone would do and I guess he knows what he's doing since he wins marathons. for the first 5k the route was quite familiar as I go to sandymount for my runs quite often. I felt very tired from the beginning of the run and I was hoping that I would feel better as the run carried on. I was wrong. the second 5k was hell. the path to get to the lighthouse is an off-road one and it goes up and down until it gets to a road with long bits of sand. I found it quite hard and I stopped looking at my watch and just enjoy the landscape which is truly breathtaking. I got to the lighthouse just when I was half way through my run so I decided to stop and have a look around. there was a group of guys doing kite surfing and I was mesmerised by that. it looks really fun!! maybe I should give it a go. I breathed deeply. I love the smell of the sea. I am a sea girl. I grew up on beautful seaside places in italy as my dad was in the navy and I really miss it. so it was great to be at the lighthouse. you can't actually see it from the pic but the sea is on both side of it. beautiful!!

when I turned to go back home my legs felt strangely lighter and so was my breathing. I started to speed up and I felt really strong. I finished faster than I started which doesn't mean that it wasn't tiring, but it was that kind of tiredness which makes you think how great this running madness is!!

this is the graph of that run in km:

not sure what will happen on monday. it's an experiment for me so whatever comes will be good, I guess. I am not looking to pb. I guess I'll finish it in around 4:30 which it's ok. I just want to finish it and learn how to race properly with a smooth and constant pace without too much walking. so there you have it. this is going to be interesting.

I will be meeting (hopefully) some nice fetchies and that will be the best part of the whole experience.

somebody stops me!!

2008-05-17T11:32:00.000+01:00

oh dear oh dear!!!

this is that time of the year where everything I do is marking exams, calculating averages, putting marks on the system...blablabla....but this is also a post-marathon period in which everything I do besides marking is....stuffing myself. I guess my body hasn't registered yet that there's another marathon looming and the extra-weight will do us no good.

how do you guys stop opening the fridge and eating everything in it? I try not to buy fatty stuff, but yesterday I bought a small glass of NUTELLA and ate it all in half an hour: I guess I've set some sort of record on that .... oh dear....

off to do intervals in a bit. at least I can try and burn it all off....hopefully!

mind and tummy

2008-05-13T09:10:00.000+01:00

there's no point in hiding it. i'm concerned. this idea of doing 2 maras in 1 month is perhaps...
WRONG! my tummy has been playing up recently and my long intervals on saturday became A long interval. i felt sick half way through and i had to finish plodding on. the first interval though went quite well: 5k in 26:54...

yesterday i went for my last long run. i planned 15-18miles and i managed 15 in 2:36. my legs generally feel really fine, they give me no problems. i should be very pleased with that. may last year i managed to do 25 miles. up to now i have done 65 miles this month and it ain't over.

i should be very pleased. BUT I AM NOT, REALLY! things are not going as well as they should because of my tummy. but that's not it. my mind isn't working either. during the LSR yesterday, at avery little twinge or discomfort i had the most stoooopid thoughts: "i shouldn't be doing this", "this is not working", "i should go home"....i resorted to walk even when the pain or tiredess was not that bad. but this is what happens when your mind plays up with you. should I really be doing another marathon?

here i am, moaning about 15 miles when SHADES is running her fifth consecutive today. she'd doing great despite the heat and the pain. GO SHADES GO!!!

10 marathons is 10 days

2008-05-10T10:35:00.000+01:00

the biggest challenge has started yesterday...10 in 10. Today is number 2!
11 participants, 8 men and 3 women, will do the same route every day for 10 days....I can't even imagine how that'll feel. SHADES finished yesterday in 5:24 and on RW and Fetchie there's a great buzz around this event!

Apparently no women have completed the challenge yet (this is the second edition) and SHADES is hoping to be the first. I know that she can do it!!! GO SHADES GO!!

this is the link to the event: Brathay Challenge. The course must be spectacular and if I am thinking of doing it next year.... :-) no the whole challenge, but the marathon that closes the event. that'll be so cool!

this is the video of last year's event which was broadcasted on BBC:

training going well...but I am starving all the time (and tired)

2008-05-09T18:40:00.000+01:00

with 2 weeks to go for Newry I am paying attention to how my body is reacting to this new experience of 2 maras in a month. I am very tired and I don't know if that's because I haven't stopped since padova or because I am taking those kind of medication that makes you feel kinda sluggish....it might be a bit of both...
when I go out for a run, though, I feel very good and my legs are fine. I went out yesterday and did 7.69 miles in 1:10 (9:06 min/mile). I was very pleased 'cause I managed to start slow and finish faster. I am trying to learn how to control my pace so that I can finish stronger. This is the graph of yesterday's run (in kilometres)

Not only do I feel tired. I am also starving all the time. I am trying to do some damage control but I am not very successful :-( If I keep eating like this, I'll do the marathon rolling instead of running!
I have decided to postpone the interval training to tomorrow. I'll have enough time to recover for my long run (18miles) on monday.

today SHADES from RW and Fetchie has started her 10 marathons in 10 days. GOOD LUCK to her...she's insane but I love her!

postponed (and failed) long run

2008-05-05T22:48:00.000+01:00

after a week in italy being spoiled by friends and family I came back to dublin yesterday afternoon. I was meant to do 12 miles but I was too tired and I thought....well tomorrow is bank holiday I'll do it tomorrow.

tomorrow was today and today I was in a strange mood. a guy was beaten up in italy by 5 skinheads who got upset 'cause that guy did not have a cigarette! the truth is that they must have seen in him something strange. apparently they had already beaten up immigrants, people from the south of italy, gays etc etc. when I moved from the south to the north of italy I was subjected to various forms of racism (not violent though). some people made me feel like a foreign in my own country, it was actually worse than living in a foreign country. anyway, the news upset me. and before going out for my run I found out that this guy had died!

my legs were feeling fine. I took the route with hills, 'cause I have found out that newry is ondulating...don't know how much though. then, at mile 7 my tummy got even more upset than I was. I couldn't find a loo....I took a taxi and went back home. 8.60 miles at 9:32min/mile. and you know what? I don't care. there are more important things in life than a run gone wrong!

I can't believe it!!

2008-05-02T20:37:00.000+01:00

when I saw what my training programme had in store for me today, 5 days after a marathon, I was certain that it wasn't going to happen: INTERVALS....3x3k at around 8:40min/mile....yeah right, I thought.
It normally takes me a couple of months after a marathon before I start training seriously again; but of course things need to change if I am going to do newry in 24 days (OMG!). On top of that it's TOMT and I am exhausted 'cause I have been running up and down (even though I'm on holiday): hospital visits (to try and get rid of a silly eczema that I have had for far too long), trying to spend some time with my gorgeous nephew, with my friends etc etc.

Anyway these are my splits:
first interval: 8:35
second interval: 8:39
third interval: 8:32

I am simply amazed...let's hope it lasts :-)

head over heels....

2008-05-01T14:19:00.000+01:00

...not for a man, no. not for a woman either. but for marathon running. this time though I don't want to wait too long for my next randevouz.....I'm going to Newry, on May 26th! 2 marathons in a month is a new thing for me. I want to get more used to the distance, and suffer less. I don't care how long it'll take. I just want to try and run all the way through. no walk breaks. no thoughts of pulling out. none of that.

today first run after padova: 5miles in 45'. my legs felt fine, I am recovering well :-) I just forgot that I am not in ireland right now, but in Italy and going out for a run at 11.30am is not such a good idea! it was bloody hot...again!

padova marathon/3

2008-04-29T13:47:00.000+01:00

pics!!

maratona di padova

padova marathon/2

2008-04-28T22:11:00.001+01:00

here we go...again! it's race report time!!

It was such a tough race. really hot day (25c), no shade along the route. it was the complete opposite of connemara and as a matter of fact my body (and mind) reacted completely differently!
we started at 8.50am. 4000 people at the start line, 1000 pulled out during the marathon.
I wanted to start behind the 4h pacers but I got to the start line a bit late and I couldn't reach them. I decided then to run on my own and try to keep them in sight and so I did for quite a while. I kept an even pace after the 25th k but everything went wrong after that. but let's proceed in order...
at the 6k marker I saw a friend of mine and he stayed with me until the 25th. It was nice to have company. we passed 10k in 57:36, maybe I was going a bit too fast, so I started to slow down. I was through the first half in 2:02, bang on time for a 4:10 marathon :)
I had planned to take 2 gels during the race. I had tried them during my 22 miler and I had no reaction to them. I took the first gel at 20k and I had planned to take the second one at 30k. But this time (despite having taken immodium as usual before the race) my stomach did not agree with it. I started to feel really unconfortable and there was no signs of partaloos. I started to get worried and I decided to take more immodium (even though I was scared of overdoing it a bit). 25k marker, 28k marker and the pain was really unbearable. I started to walk and the only thing I could think of was to get to the next drink station (30k) and then if the pain was still there, get on one of those horrible little buses with all the people who pulled out and get to the finish line that way. I was down down down......But once I got to the drink station the pain wasn't there anymore. So I carried on only to find out that there was something else wrong. One of my toe nails started to hurt and once more I resorted to walking. then I stopped. took my shoe off. took the sock off and I was ready to remove the nail if I had to. but everything was fine, the nail was in place...only a bit sore. I put the sock back on and the shoe back on and I started to run again. It was then that I saw the 4:15 pacers overtake me and I thought nooooooooooooooooooo!!! I caught up with them and I was hoping to stay behind them until the finish line. But at the drink station around the 35k marker my legs started to ache. I hadn't taken the second gel, of course, and I could feel it big time! I slowed down to drink and eat and I lost the pacers.
it was getting really hot. the excellent drink stations were at every 5k and after 2k we were given sponges (I loved them). at the beginning I could drink at the drink stations and get fine to the next one. after the 35k marker the drinks stations seems really far apart and got really thirsty and desperately in need of water!
I walked and run between 35k and 39k. I kept looking at my watch and I knew that I could walk all the way till the end and still beat my pb of 4:36:30, but I wanted to get a sub-4:20 and after the 39k marker I run, very slowly, but I run. Last drink station and we were in Padova. The city centre though was empty. People went to eat leaving us with no support. I could have done with some. I plodded until the last 400m. when you get into the square (prato della valle) then lots of people cheer you on. I looked around to see where my family was and I finally saw my bro taking pictures of me. I looked at the big watch: 4:20 and I knew I had done it!!! YAY! real time 4:19:29!!!!
I was a bit disappointed by the way the race went but was well chuffed with the fact that depsite all that I still managed to take 17 minutes off my pb. I know that I can get a sub-4. I just need some time. Maybe next year, but I'll get there.

After the mara it was just amazing: my family, my friends, pasta party, concerts, pictures. It was just madness!!

Now I want to get ready for NEWRY MARATHON on May 26th. I miss racing in the irish weather :-)

padova marathon/1

2008-04-28T13:39:00.000+01:00

done!!
it was bloody hard and I don't think I'll do it again!! well...I mean...I won't do padova again :-)

but it was great to see my family at the finish line and to meet so many people from the various italian running forums and to meet all my italian blog's friends. I had such a ball....before and after the marathon that is!!

anyway...I don't remember much from the race, so I'll write a complete report when my memory recovers. What I want to say now is that my real time is:

4:19:29

17' sharp less than my (old) PB!!!!!!

I am a bit disappointed though. Not by my time, but by how tough the race was for me!!

week 16 - emptiness

2008-04-24T23:02:00.001+01:00

when I posted my marathon predictions this morning I felt quite positive....shooting for the stars!! I have fallen down since then. I am not sure what it is. Is it work? I am madly busy...end of term and all that. sure. but I should also be quite happy as all my work with my students has finally been rewarded. is it that I have missed my run today and I have been eating more than normal and I feel a bit heavy?

dunno!

I came back home from work at 9pm today and I was starving. then I sat on the sofa and stared at the void in front of me. I got to think about stuff. about things that just touch us imperceptibly. things that should leave no sign on us 'cause insignificant...only to find out that they made an impression that cannot be shaken off.

I feel without energy, lethargic....not sure how I will run a marathon on sunday!

week 16 - the finish line is almost in sight!

2008-04-24T08:38:00.000+01:00

I have been a bit quite on here, but work commitments are taking its toll on me and I cannot feel the excitement for the marathon yet! and that's very unusual!

I'll be busy with work until tomorrow afternoon, then it will be dinner with my irish fetchie friends :-) and on saturday morning I am off to Padova. I'll be meeting lots of new peeps, from the italian running forum and from my contacts through my italian blog! I should be very excited but I am just concentrating too much on the million things to do before that day ....bohoo! but I am sure that tomorrow evening I'll be buzzing with excitement!!! (poor fetchies!)

now...let me do a something that I saw on RW, that is, to set my three goals for the marathon:
dream goal: the time you think you could achieve if the running gods are smiling down on you on race day 3h59'59'' (yeah...right!)
main goal: your core target 4h06'
that'll do: 4h15'
I know, I am being a bit optimistic with my prediction, but I believe that we always need to 'shoot for the stars!!!'...wouldn't you agree??

video

2008-04-22T11:23:00.001+01:00

sooo sensual.....

week 15

2008-04-21T08:18:00.000+01:00

strange week this week. very busy preparing a paper for a conference which, then, went quite well but slept only 4hs in 2 days. interesting and exciting gathering of people. new friendships but also new wounds to try and heal. I did NOT feel like running yesterday. I felt quite distracted and unable to focus on the marathon ahead even though it's only a week away.
Anyway, I went for my run: last LSR before padova marathon!! 15k (9.32 miles) in 1h24'40'' with an average pace of 9.04
I was faster that I should have been but this week I only managed 2 runs with a total of 22k (more or less 13 miles). my legs felt light and willing to go and I thought to folllow them. I really felt good and I hope it's a good sign for sunday!

london marathon

2008-04-16T21:10:00.001+01:00

pete is a RW forumite and completed his first marathon on sunday. he did just brilliantly. he should simply be proud of himself for what he has achieved!! and like him everyone out there who run the london marathon on sunday. BRAVI!!!

he made this video which I want to share it with you (with his permission).

WELL DONE PETE AND KEEP IT UP!!!

week 15

2008-04-15T20:31:00.000+01:00

2nd week of taper madness!! went out today for a 40 min run and I managed to do 4.5 miles. I found the first mile hard going but then, as a miracle, I felt great and I think I had THE perfect run (as you can see from the graph!)....i know, it's only 4.5miles....but who cares!

week 14 - not too shabby!!

2008-04-13T20:25:00.000+01:00

I got up this morning at 8.15 and I sat on my sofa to watch the 5 and a half hours of FLM!!! I laughed and cried and screamed at the TV. I remember very well my FLM in 2006 and it was very hard and emotional. I hope to run it again one day.

it's finally taper time for me. I planned 19k, more or less 12miles, at marathon pace or at what will supposedly be my marathon pace: 9.15 and I finished bang on time. My legs were fine, just a bit tired on the last k. I won't be able to keep this pace for the marathon, that's for sure. But let's focus on the present: this is what I was supposed to do today and this is exactly what I did!

this is the graph of my run. the splits are in k not in miles....sorry :-)

week 14

2008-04-12T16:30:00.001+01:00

I have read many complaints about connemara on the connemara forum. most of them are quite appropriate, but to me the beauty of the place makes me forget everything else!
Having said that, the 20minutes wait outside the tent just after the finish line to get the medal the t-shirt was a real drag and I'm still paying for that now. I am also paying for not having being able to change right away which meant waiting for the bus with my wet cloths on. and it wasn't exactly a warm day.
I am paying becasue I've had the flu since monday and I had to miss a run this week.
On thursday I did 5 miles and my legs felt very weak. Today 9.50 with 3X3k at a pace of 9:30 The last 3k were really tough!
Tomorrow I should do 12 miles at MP, but only AFTER WATCHING FLM ON TV!!!! Hopfully everything will go well :-)

- 2 weeks to padova!! YAY!!

FLM!

2008-04-10T22:51:00.000+01:00

I just want to wish everyone doing FLM on sunday

good luck!!!!!!

I'll be watching you on TV!

connemara official time: mystery solved

2008-04-08T19:40:00.001+01:00

I found this on the connemara forum posted by one of the organisers:

"Just to clarify: the times are 'starting gun to finish line'. We had a last minute hitch which prevented us using a starting line chip mat. All official results are always 'starting gun to finish line'."

this explains the difference between my garmin time and the official time. so, I am sticking to my garming time....so

sub-2 hours it is!!!!!!

my connemara!

2008-04-08T10:51:00.001+01:00

well, it's time to post something about one of the most amazing days of my running time :-) not only because I did a massive pb but also because the friend I went to connemara with actually WON THE MARATHON! it was just an amazing experience to be part of something like that!!

I did only the half marathon and if you don't know what connemara is I can tell you: it's bloody hard! last year I did it in 2:17 and at one point I was thinking of pulling out. It's full of hills and the last one goes on for ever: from mile 9 to mile 10.5! this year my training went much much better and I could feel it on my legs all the way through the race.

the day before
my friend and I arrived at galway after a very quite train journey from dublin. once we got there we went to our hotels and made an appointment at the place where we could collect our numbers. I was shocked to see that my hotel was sooo far away from town! I had to walk for 45 minutes before I got there. I left my luggage and walked for another 30 minutes to collect my number. we had lunch and then a lovely and huge ice cream. we discussed the race, my pace, what to wear and what to expect. he wanted to better his time of 2:50 that he did last year when he ended up 4th. I wanted to get as closer to 2h as possible. we split up for dinner. he was meeting his friends while I was going to dinner at my hotel with my two favorite ladies: hippo and shades from RW and fetch. two true inspirations for anyone who loves running! we had a lovely dinner (even though I wasn't hungry) and then we went back to our rooms for an early night. I was feeling quite positive, 'cause the niggle that I had been feeling in the last week on my feet wasn't there anymore, even with all that walking. what worried me was the weather forecast: rain, sleet, hail, wind and ...yes, sunshine!

the morning and the journey to Leenaun
I woke up early, had breakfast in my room, got dressed, packed up and left for the cathedral where I could catch my bus to the start line. actually the first stop is the HQ of the race in a place with a name impossible to pronounce. my friend left earlier than me 'cause the marathon started 1 and a half hour before the half, but when I got to the HQ he was still there, stretching like only CHAMPIONS do!! once he left I was on my own. I was supposed to be there with other 3 friends, but they all had to pull out. I listened to my music and when they called us I got on the bus. the bus basically does the same route of the HM only in the opposite direction and it seems never ending!! the sunshine was out but there were horrible dark and heavy clouds looming behind the hills. I was worried about that, but I enjoyed the sunshine and took lots of pics.

preparation
at leenaum, the start line, we all got off the bus and manically run to join the long queue to the loos. It was quite an eventful wait as at one point we heard people cheering and clapping and whistling: THE WALKERS were starting their adventures on the hills of connemara. after 5 minutes the hail started to come down with no pity for us. fortunately, it didn't last too long and it was too big to actually wet us. so everything was good and the sunshine was back on. after the loo, I took off all my layers so that I could give the bag to the people who were waiting for it. but it was bloody cold. I decided not to take my rain jacket and I am glad to say with hindsight that I did the right thing. but at that point I was kind of freezing. a girl next to me must have had pity of me and kindly offered me a bin bag. last queue to the loo and off to the start line. it's midday and i know that my friend would have passed the HM start line by now and it's good to know that as from now on all the marathoners will be slowed down considerably by us!

my race
off we go. it is too packed to actually run and after 200m we found the bottle neck that we were expecting. there is a bridge right at the start but it collapsed during this year. we were left with half of it where you can barely fit 5 people in a row. there were more than 2,000 so you can imagine what happened when we had to cross it. we were walking very slowly and the time for my first mile was 12:01. finally the bridge was over but we were at the beginning of the first hill (elevation +164 ft). after the hill I managed to get in a nice pace. my friend and I agreed that I should keep it around 9:06 but I was doing less than 8:50. I kept telling myself that I was going too fast but at the same time I was feeling great and I was overtaking a lot of people who were already tired or walking. I told myself to slow down and I did...but only a little.

the hills were there and I decided to follow my friends' advice: don't look up, look down at the feet of the person ahead of you. so I did, and it worked!! the pace was ok even on the hills. my only worry was that I would collapse on the famous HELL OF THE WEST, a long (almost 2miles) and horrible hill. when I got there I kept looking down. I slowed down considerably (9:40, 9:31) but I NEVER STOPPED and once the hill was over my legs felt still good, my breathing was fine and I pushed! "only" 2.5 miles to go now and according to my garmin I was on my way to do a sub-2h! so I kept pushing and it was kind of easy down hill: 7:56, 8:04, 8:09 my last 3 miles!!! I couldn't believe that I was feeling so ok....I could have carried on! I crossed the finish line and the big clock said 2h but my garmin said 1:58:30!! while I was crossing the finish line I heard shades calling my name and I saw her standing there with a big smile. I also heard my friend's voice but I could not see him! Once I grabbed my medal, t-shirt and a mars bar I went outside to meet him! I had a big smile on my face but when he told me his time (2:48) and that he had actually WON the marathon I started to jump up and down for the joy! I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!!!! amazing!

well...my official time is 2h and 6 seconds :-( it would have been great to have an official sub-2. but what the hell....I have improved so much!!!
2007 garmin 2h17' official time 2h21'
2008 garmin 1h58' official time 2h

now I cannot wait for the padova marathon and hopefully I can get as close to 4h as possible!!!!

connemara 2008

connemara ... here I come!!!

2008-04-04T18:46:00.001+01:00

after my almost 22mile LRS last sunday I started to feel a niggle in the area between my ankle and my calf. I haven't being training much this week, feeling kind of down, but everybody keeps saying that it's nothing serious and I just want to believe them.

tomorrow morning I'm off to Galway and on sunday morning the buses will take us to connemara for the race. I'll be meeting up with hippo and shades from RW and Fetch and I cannot wait to see them again! Not sure what type of race i'll have considering the niggle and the awful weather conditions they have predicted: rain wind and cold. great!!! just what you need!!! I am just hoping that they're wrong... as usual!

NEW FACE!

2008-03-31T15:33:00.000+01:00

I have decided to change the face of my english blog. I hope you like. Any comment on it will be welcome :-)

week 12 - LSR - route

2008-03-31T08:52:00.000+01:00

yesterday I forgot to post the route of my 35k or 21.7miles.

according to sporttracks I stopped for 8'17''...damn it...does this mean that this LRS doesn't count?????? :-)

week 12 - yay for gels!

2008-03-30T20:39:00.000+01:00

this week has been weird. I had 2 good runs and 2 terrible ones. well...at least it's an even game, innit?! throughout the week I was thinking about today's LSR: 35km, 21.7miles. very importat for the moral!

the whole thing started on a couple of positive notes: a friend was willing to join me and run @ my pace for the last 10 miles or so; another friend gave me a gel to try and I was convinced that it would have helped me along the way - even though my first and last experience with a gel was eeek! but then this morning I woke up completing forgetting of the clocks change, my garmin was flat and I thought, oh crap!

I left home with no money, no music 'cause I was meeting my friend and he has a car and i thought i don't need these things, i just bring my mobile in case we miss each other. plan: i run 10 miles on my own and 10+ with him. on my way to our appointment I stop at a pub for a wee and when I get there, there's no sign of him. I wait for a while, I run up and down, I call him a couple of times but NOTHING! it turned out that he was there and started to run looking for me, following all the ladies with a bright yellow jacket risking of being arrested for harassment but he DID NOT HAVE HIS MOBILE ON HIM! great, we totally missed each other and, as usual, I run the whole bloody thing on my onw WITH NO MUSIC.

after 2 hours I take the gel. I was a bit anxious 'cause I thought that I was going to puke, but it was actually quite nice. I wasted 2' to take the bottle of water out of the belt and drink and put the bottle back in the belt. but then I picked up the pace, I kept it, I slowed down, I picked it up again. I think the gel had some kind of effect as my legs did not feel like stones but just like wood :-)

I finished in 3h31' with a pace of 9:44. I could have done a lot better if it wasn't for all the breaks but I am quite pleased with it.

now....it's CONNEMARA TIME!!!! BRING THE FUN (NOT) ON!!

week 12

runs: 4 out of 5
miles: 43,75
calories burnt: 4,500
hours on my feet: 6h40'
good runs: 2
bad runs: 2
lost friends: 1

DUBLIN

2008-03-29T10:37:00.000Z

Thursday morning was a glorious day here in dublin so I decided to stop on my way to work and take some pics of the canal along which I run during the week (if Im not runnng more than 8 miles, otherwise I go to Phoenix Park). I love it because of the swans and because there are lots of runners :-)

week 11 - LSR: the final act

2008-03-23T18:54:00.000Z

don't really know where to start from.

I was feeling very well and I was very confident about my 18+ miles (30k) LSR. maybe just a bit apprehensive because of the new approach to the LSRs, but my legs were great and I thought that I could have done it.

the new approach, just in case you are wondering, is to do my LSRs keeping an eye on the pace. on top of that the idea is to do them 'in progression', that is faster than how they started. before I changed my training plan I just aimed at finishing them, no time no progression in mind.

I managed only 16.16 miles and I struggled .... a lot. at mile 9 I was already thinking of going home but I kept going without looking at my garmin anymore. I took long walk-breaks (which I normally don't take) and I dragged myself home. my legs were made of stone, my breathing was difficult and I don't know what to make of this:
was it just an off day? is it my pace that is too fast and I can't keep it up for so long?? (actually I managed to do 2 25ks (15+miles) at that pace so...I am not really sure about this).

Now there's only time for a 22 miler next weekend and then connemara half before my marathon. have I done enough to attempt and improve my time? what if I fail the 22 miler too? it feels like a big step to take right now....

lots of doubts...feeling a bit down right now.

i hope you all have some words of wisdom for me guys :-)

this week's runs: 4 out of 5
miles covered: 41.25
hours run: 6h28'43''
avarage: 9:25
calories burnt: 4,434
good runs: 3
bad runs: 1

week 11 - strange day

2008-03-21T14:44:00.000Z

yes, I went out today despite the wind. once out I actually felt very good and my legs were fine. my speed was better than normal and I thought to stay with it 'cause I knew that on the way back the wind would have been against me and it would have been slow slooooow!! I did 8.70 miles and the first half was faster than my long intervals on wednesday with an average pace of 8:26...whohooo!!! but the second half was bliddy slow. I finished in 1h20'55''...not bad for a windy day :-)

when I got to sandymouny it was very surprising to see the high tide and the water getting very close to the street...quite unusual. but at one point something more unusual caught my attention and I had to stop: there was a guy in the water with a wet suit and, I guess, water skies. he also had a kind of kite. because of the wind the kite was high in the sky and the guy was actually flying on the water....it was amazing....I just wanted to join him.

when I got home it started to rain....crazy day really!

today, all the pubs in ireland will be closed...they really respect good friday over here!!! well...maybe not..a friend of mine told me that there's always a queue on thursday night outside the off licences so that they can get hammered on good friday anyway!! so civilized, isn't it??? :-))))

weather

2008-03-21T09:38:00.000Z

yesterday evening the weather was crap and my legs felt kind of heavy after the long intervals of wednesday. I had a 8miles+ run planned. I waited for the rain to stop even though what really really bothers me when I run is the wind which was showing no sign of easing off. quite the contrary. it was blowing and blowing.....the rain wasn't stopping either so I decided to eat instead.

today's run can't be skipped and the wind is still here aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!! yes, ok, the sun is out but, really, who cares???? when I run against the wind I just feel like fighting against monsters, like being at the beginning of a very very steep hill which lasts forever. my breathing goes mad and my legs freeze.....the joy of running!!!!

right...I know I'll have to go out there at some point today. I'll be strong and brave and at the end I'll be exhausted I know but the hard work will pay off in the end...or so they say!

on the exhaustion bit: is it only me??? it's 6 weeks to my marathon, 10 weeks into my new trainign routine and I constantly feel tired! is it really only me? I read other blogs and everyone seems kind of fine... I am so NOT!!!

I can't wait for taper time!!

pra você......

2008-03-20T18:00:00.000Z

Eu sei que vou te amar
Por toda a minha vida eu vou te amar
A cada despedida eu vou te amar
Desesperadamente eu sei que vou te amar

Em cada verso meu será
Pra te dizer que eu sei que vou te amar
Por toda a minha vida

Eu sei que vou chorar
A cada ausência tua eu vou chorar
Mas cada volta tua há de apagar
O que essa tua ausência me causou

Eu sei que vou sofrer
A eterna desventura de viver
À espera de viver ao lado teu
Por toda a minha vida

De você eu gosto, com você eu fico...
Sei que vou te amar
Por toda a minha vida eu vou te amar
A cada despedida eu vou te amar
Desesperadamente eu sei que vou te amar

E cada verso meu será
Pra te dizer que eu sei que vou te amar
Por toda a minha vida

Eu sei que vou chorar
A cada ausência tua eu vou chorar
Mas cada volta tua há de apagar
O que essa tua ausência me causou

Eu sei que vou sofrer
A eterna desventura de viver
À espera de viver ao lado teu
Por toda a minha vida

week 11 - whoohoo

2008-03-19T21:08:00.000Z

oh guys...I am really pleased tonight. I went out to do some long intervals: 2x5000. that's the same session that I tried on saturday and miserably failed :-(

but tonight I was on fire babe!!!! not only did I finish the all thing and didn't rely on a taxi to go home eh eh, but I did it keeping the pace I really wanted: 9:00min/mile!!

bring connemara and padova on !!!

week 10

2008-03-16T21:22:00.000Z

strange week this week. I do not understant what has happened :-)

I went to durham for 3 days and I felt soooo lethargic and tired. I went to sleep very early and slept for more than 8 hours per night, which is very unusual for me! I didn't have the strength and will power to put my shoes on and go for a run.

when I came back to dublin, on thursday, I did a very good run: 4.97 miles in 41:23 with a pace of 9:07. I thought, strange, I just got off the plane and I am shattered...maybe it was just a sign that my energy was finally back. but, no!! on friday I felt sleepy and sluggish again and decided to postpone my interval sessions to saturday morning.

saturday, 8.30 in the morning I start my intervals feeling quite well and optimistic: 2x5000 plus warm-up and coold down, with a total of 10miles. The first interval went quite well, yay, but at the second one my legs packed up big time and so did my head!!! after 7.46 miles I took a cab and went back home. what's wrong with me, I thought....really....I just don't get it!!

I felt really down, so down that I skipped my 5k this morning and I thought to give a miss to any type of run for today. my legs were heavy, my mood was baaaaad!!!

but the mind is strange and suddenly I felt like going out and try to run the same distance as last week and maybe a bit more....and so I did!!!! 15.5miles in 2 minutes less than last sunday: 2:26.37 with a 9:22 average pace. Isn't it strange how mind and body work??? I still don't get it!! one day is totally crap and the day after is just perfect!! plus, how is it that I always get in wrong??? I feel fine and my run is crap....I feel crap and my run is goooood!! I am SO confused!
The thing that would have made this run perfect: 2 more miles....but once I reached my target my legs dediced that, no, they were not going to move anymore....boohooo!!! how I am going to run 20 and 22 miles in the next 2 weeks is beyond me....not to mention a MARATHON...but then, WHAT DO I KNOW????????????????

I am going to do what jogblog does...I really like...I hope she doesn't mind

this week's runs: 3 out of 5
miles covered: 28
hours run: 4h23'55''
avarage: 9:25
calories burnt: 3,048
good runs that I thought were going to be crap: 2
crap runs that I thought were going to be good: 1
times I knew how my body was going to react: NONE!

week 9

2008-03-09T21:46:00.000Z

I had a horrible week at work with a news that really hurt me and depressed me. but I cannot do anything about it and I don't think it's worth crying over it. so, I've decided to pick myself up and move on.

training is going well and even though I managed to go out 3 times out of the 5 planned I still did 38miles this week, so not too shabby :-)

today I did 15miles and I had the stupid idea to go out without bringing anything to drink with me. On Fetch there is a thread where they are discussing whether to drink or not during LSR and some of the peeps said they don't take anything on their runs. So I just wanted to try as I hate bringing stuff with me when I am running. It, obsviously, didn't work and the last 4 miles were very tough. I stopped and bought something to drink but it was too late so I had to drag myself to the end of the 15 miles. anyway, I finished in 2h28 which is almost 30 minutes less than the last 15miles I did. So, this should mean that I am going somewhere, right? the pace was very uneven but the average was 9:33

tomorrow I am going to durham, if the storm which IS SUPPOSED to arrive here does not prevent me from flying, that is. but I cannot hear any storm approaching ..... I should be there until thursday and I will bring my running shoes. there is a gorgeous countryside around durham and I'll take advantage of that :-)

week 8

2008-03-02T16:44:00.001Z

week of low milage due to a flu and horrid weather!! I went out 3 times instead of 5 and I did 28miles instead of the planned 40, but there you go!

Today I went to Phoenix park for a 12.43miler. weather wasn't bad at all...it was sunny and only breezy rather than incredibly windy...glad I am not a lightweight otherwise the wind in dublin could really carry me away. the park was beautiful as it always is on a sunny weekend. it was only 10.30 am but there were lots of runners around and people with dogs. the deer were enjoying the spectacle sitting in circle as the ususally do :-) but the nicest thing I was were two deer running in a very regal way .... chased by a dog!!

I did my 12.43 miler in 1h58'48'' with a pace of 9.35 and I am quite pleased with it even though it didn't always feel like a walk in the park :-) where
I train is not really what you'd call FLAT, quite the contrary and being allergic to hills doesn't help!

week 8 - gone with the wind

2008-02-29T19:13:00.000Z

OMG! when I moved to dublin I wasn't aware that the wind was so strong. why nobody told me before I accepted this job, it's a mystery to me :-)

anyway, today is one of those day....and because I have some catching up with my training to do, I went out despite the miserable weather conditions. plus, considering that this misery is quite common I really need to get used to it! so I went out for my 50 minute run, the usual out and back route and as usual the wind is behind me when I go and is against me when I come back.

I started very well and did the first 2.5 miles with a 9:00 minute mile pace. when I turned it got so so tough, but in a way it was funny. I think I looked like a cartoon character who runs like a mad but stays in the same spot. In the end I did 5.24m in 50' with 9:32 pace. it's not bad....it's basically as if I did a hill session even though my route is as flat as a pancake! and hill sessions are good for you, arent't they???

I hope the wind will stop for my LSR on sunday.....

Flora London Marathon 2006

2008-02-27T22:36:00.000Z

I was chatting with a friend of mine tonight and he asked me about my first marathon. talking to him about it brought back all the joy (little) and the (great) pain of it all. i went back to my thanksgiving page and i just tought to post it here, so that you can read my report. i think it's sweet and i hope one day I'll do London again. I just LOVED IT, desptite everything...

justgiving page

PICTURE OF THE PERFECT MAN

2008-02-26T09:13:00.001Z

Got this via email, from debbie, a runner friend. I found it hilarious, so there you have it!!

yeah baby!!

2008-02-25T11:49:00.000Z

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won the oscar yesterday for best song in the movie ONCE!!

I am well pleased! I loved the movie and I love The Frames, Glen's group.

week 7 - no finale!

2008-02-23T14:15:00.000Z

it has been a busy week at work: meetings, reading groups, seminars, classes, students etc. etc. But it has also been a week of movie thanks to the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. This has given me a chance to catch up on some italian movies. I enjoyed 2 out of the three I went to see which is not a bad thing really:
saturno contro
my brother is an only child
the unknown
the last two are exquisite, so go and see them if you have the chance.

as for my run, the week did not start very well and it ended even worse :-) on tuesday I had to skip it because of work. on wed I went out to do 2X3000m which I did, but it was tough going. on thursday i was supposed to do 1h. the first 20' went very well and then all fell apart. I decided to cut the run short and I only did 40' and thought, my body is tired it needs some rest. so i decided to take friday off. but on friday surprise surprise, I woke up with a bad flu and some temperature so the mystery was finally explained. I have decided to spend my weekend at home without running at all, even if today I am feeling a lot better. I think it would do me good and I will be very energetic next week.

now....BRING THE RUGBY ON!!

italians!!

2008-02-19T13:57:00.000Z

have a laugh. click here

oh my god, the pain!!!

2008-02-18T09:25:00.000Z

amazing video!!

for a comment on it click here

week 6 - hard, tough, depressing!!

2008-02-17T20:22:00.000Z

this week I run 36,5 miles. I went out 5 times but I failed to stay around the 9:00 minute mile. and today was really hard: 11.20miles in 1h45'16' with a pace of 9:24. I know that I shouldn't be disappointed as it's 1 and a half minute faster than I used to do, but still......

the only positive thing is that i kept going all week as well as today - even though I thought many time "well, that's it, I'm going home"

boohoo boohoo :-(

plus, my fridge is driving me mad....it's got noisy suddenly and i'm hating it right now aaaarrrgggggghhhh!!

week 5 - it's over and what a finish!!!

2008-02-11T23:00:00.000Z

if you have read all the other posts, you know already that my 5th week of training for the padua marathon has been quite tough. i felt tired and out of breath every time i went out and i thought at first that the change of pace wasn't working for me after all. quite depressing, really! the truth was that i was coming down with something (which 'exploded' on friday) and my periods were due.

week 5 ended today, one day later than usual. later because my periods were on time :-) and yesterday was a tough day. i was aching a lot so i gave up and decided to postpone my 'long' run to today. monday is my 'research day' so i am sligltly more flexible.

it was a glorious day today, and my pain was almost gone. so off i went in the afternoon for my last run of the week. the plan:
warming-up until phoenix park (2miles more or less)
6X1km with 400m recovery run
cooling down from the park home

total of 9.48 miles in 1h25'40'' with an average pace of 9:02!! the most amazing things are my splits 5:28 5:27 5:24 5:19 5:15 5:03, ranging that is from 8:46 to 8:08!!! not bad, not bad! this is the longest i've run since i changed my training and my training pace!

needless to say that i feel more confident now and the programme is built so that i could do my longer run with the same pace and now i feel that it can be done!!! i needed this boost of confidence after a crappy week, really!!

so....there is only one thing that I want to say now:

WEEK 6: BRING IT ON!!!!!

connemarathon - 6 aprile 2008

2008-02-10T23:26:00.000Z

I know that there are still 2 months to go, but I found these video and I wanted you to see for yourselves what an amazing race this is. this year, just like last year, I'm going to do the half.

week 5 - differences

2008-02-09T19:55:00.001Z

it's being a week now that all my run have been kind of hard. true, the time as increased and the intervals have become longer etc etc. but now i know that i've come down with something, plus it's TOTM.

anyway, today i've decided to go out anyway and just run slow and see whether I could run this thing off. I did it 4.35 miles in 46' with a pace of 10:35. one and a half minutes less than usual. I should be a bit down but I'm not :-) I've decided to be geeky and compare today's run with my run last year this time. and basically what now is my slowest time ever, last year was my fastest. I used to do my easy run at 11:00minute mile and my long runs at 11:30 or 12:00. so that's why I'm pleased today with my bad run :-) I can see my improvement and it feels gooooood. the pics here show the runs so you can see it for yourself!!

and tomorrow....come on ITALY!!!

week 5 - I have learnt my lesson (hopefully)

2008-02-06T21:54:00.000Z

sometimes it takes me a while and most importanlty I need to experiment things practically before realising I'm wrong. it must be my italian blood!!

let me start from the beginning.

i am slow runner. a slow runner who's trying to get faster. a slow runner who finds a semi-professional 'virtual coach' (a friend who lives in italy) to design a new training plan for her:-)

i am at week 5 of the plan now and for the first time in my running life I have had to do today long intervarls with a recovery run - rather than a walk. so: 4 1km with 400m recovery run. I ask my guy for the pace t keep. he says 5'30 for the km and 6'15 for the 400m (or if you prefere 8:48minutemile for the km and 10:00 for the 400m).

I think....no, I can actually do 5'00 and can easily recover during those 400m, yes! I always recover well.....so off I go and I soon realise that there is actually a great difference between a recovery walk and a recovery run.

I start quite fast and I soon see that my heartbeat doesn't go down as quickly in my recovery run and I feel soooo tired and stupid!

these are the splits: 4’57 (6’09) 5’18 (6’11) 5’34 (6’33) 5’22 (6’25). it was really a killer of a run.

I guess not everything is bad about tonight's run and there are positive things if we look closely at it (veeery closely!):
1) I finally learnt my lesson :-) from now on I'll stick to what he says
2) I kept going and pushed myself as much as I possibly could. that must be better that packing up and going home, right?
3) a few months ago I wouldn't have even dreamt of keeping this pace

now I am exhausted :-)

CROKE PARK: IRELAND-ITALY 16-11"

2008-02-06T08:48:00.000Z

well...last saturday, at 2pm the six nations started with ireland-italy at croke park. i was there!!! and that was my first live rugby match ever! not bad as a first ah?! when a friend of mine told me the day before that i could have two tickets i couldn't possibly say no!! i knew it was going to be an amazing experience and it was...even though the match wasn't the most exciting of all!!!

you know all about the match, so i am not going there! i just want to say that the rugby crowd can really teach a thing or two to the footie crowd! it was a great feeling being surrounded by thousands and thousand of irish and feel safe....having fun with them with no problems whatsoever!!! 84.000 people...all united by the love for rugby with no hate for the other team....that's what sport is all about!

I loved it...i didn't understand much of what was going on but now i'm going to learn the rules, yeah baby!

Week 4

2008-02-06T08:47:00.000Z

week 4 is over and it didn't really go according to plan.

it has been a hard week at work with a deadline for an artile on 31st. i used all my free time from teaching, marking and prep to finish the article off. i created more time for that by waking up early, meaning that i slept not longer than 6 hours at night. i skipped one run 'cause i couln't do it in the morning and postponed it to the evening....silly me.... i know all too well that i CANNOT RUN IN THE EVE i don't know why...how can i force my brain to get out even if outside it's 7pm and not 6am????

all the 4 runs i did this week were hard but i did them. i find that sometimes i get a bit down while i'm running 'cause i think that it should feel less tiring and difficult by now but it doesn't. why is that????

anyway..i try to stay positive and enjoy the sense of satisfaction after the run, after surviving that sort of fatigue that make it say to yourself 'that's it....i'll stop now...i can't do it anymore' and then you stick to it, maybe slowing down for a while.

the run that made me so so happy was today's run. it was really tiring, so much so that at times i felt literally sick. however it was amazing too 'cause i managed to keep the pace i wanted even though at times my heart was pumping so so hard that i thought people in the park could hear it.

i did intervals: 8X400m with 400m recovery (200m walk, 200m run). i wanted to stay below 2 minutes and this is how it went:1'47 1'54 1'45 1'57 1'50 1'54 1'57 1'49!!

now i am tired but looking forward to week 5.

-11 week to the marathon

week 5 - decision time

2008-02-06T08:39:00.001Z

this morning, as most morning, my alarm went off at 6 so that i could go for my run. but the wind outside sounded kind of scary so i decided to postpone my run to this evening when hopefully the weather will be a bit better (the wind is almost gone now!!)

now, you all know how difficult is for me to go out in the evening but i had a sort of illumination, an epiphany (having an epiphany in dublin is top of the tops really eh eh) and now i'll tell you what it is. so, be patient, sit down and think of something clever to say :-)

besides trying to get faster through training i am also trying to do that by putting down my body fat percentage. my BMI is 22 and i'd like to reach 20. however, if i carry on like this i'll soon reach 50 eh eh!!

i've realised that i normally scoff myself between 5pm and dinner time and this where the joycian epiphany comes into it. if i managed to go for my run in the evening i would 'cover' the scoffing time and i would avoind waking up so early.

now, my runner and no runner friends, I need your help...how do i get home in the evening and avoid disappering in the sofa and behind lots of crap food??? what's your secret?????????????

February 5, 2008 9:44 AM