one week til race day!.... WEEK 42

WEEK 42, Oct 15-21, 8 days till race day!

What a difference a week makes. I am happy to say that my knee has made what seems a full recovery and I have been running fine this week. I managed a tad over 7.5 hours training this week; mostly in the gym/treadmill etc, with a couple of outdoor runs and a ride. The weather was very nice this week and there have been some amazing sunrises; thats one of the few perks of getting up and out early :). Here's a couple of pics I took whilst our this week. The first one was out riding from Mannheim towards Heidelberg in the week and the second one was today in the forest behind my house - lovely Autumn scenes!

Monday - AM weights and conditioning at home
Tuesday - AM - gym: weights, treadmil, cross trainer etc
Wednesday - PM gym, including 5km run
Thursday - PM 10km run after work, on the streets
Friday - gym, including 5km run
Saturday - AM - 1 hour ride
Sunday - 13.5k run in the forest

Total - 7.5 hours
Weigh in - 88.3 KG

So thats the marathon training almost done! I have a few small runs and swims in the coming week, but the aim is to keep the legs fresh, carb up a bit and dont pick up any more injuries!

Regarding my finishing time - I would love to come in under 5 hours but in all honesty i will be happy just to finish in one piece and without any permanent damage! I feel fit enough to run the race, but the only concern I have is my left Achilees. Time will tell!

DONATIONS - right now we are very close to 1900 GPB for online donations which is great. I am confident we will hit the 2000 online target by the end of the race!

A collection of Numbers

This Tapering lark is a bit strange. I am normally outdoing some sort of training right now, but in the 2 weeks before the race you have to taper down and cut down the hours. So right now its 0615 and I am uploading CDs to iTunes to create a playlist for the marathon. Thought i would also waste some time writing down some associated numbers, just for fun:

My  Race number: 12908
Number of people running this year: 14350
Number of KM in a marathon: 42
Number in miles: 26.2
Approx hours of training per month this year: 30 (ish)
Estimated number of hours for me to complete the marathon: 4.45-5.30
Fastest time ever recorded for completing Dublin Marathon: 2.09!!
Target amount to raise for charity: 2000 GBP
Estimated final amount raised for charity in total: 2500 GPB :)
Target amount of pints of Guinness to drink upon completion of race: 12
Estimated amount of pints to get langered after the race: 1!

Just found something pretty cool on the Dublin Marathon site: if you put a race number into this URL you can track that person around the race. its also available as an app for ipone and android...

http://track.rtrt.me/e/TDL-DBMAR-2012#b=RBFDL7J8~2&v=ptrack

Knee is 99% back to normal now which is a huge relief! Done 5k on the treadmill last night and felt fine, so fingers crossed all is well for race day...

week 41, Oct 8-14, injured!

WEEK 41, 2 weeks to go.........

The last week wasn't a good one unfortunately. Not exactly sure how, but I managed to pick up a knee injury on my ride side. Maybe it was something to do with the previous weeks run whilst having a pain in my right foot (and as a result i might have been overcompensating on the ride side), but it could have been anything. What I do know is that I noted some pain on Monday evening and from Tuesday onwards i was unable to do any kind of training for the week. Devo'd! I have been very careful with the training all year and avoided injury for the most part, so was very frustrated to have picked up an injury so close to race day. As of today (Tuesday 16th) i am still icing it every night but its getting better. I asked my mate Mike the Chiropractor to take a look at it on Sunday and today had a sports massage, so things are moving in the right direction again.

I managed 1500m swim on Saturday and 1.5 hours in the gym on Sunday, so totaled 3.5 hours along with some walking in the week. Disappointingly I didnt get to do my longest run last week which was meant to take me up to the 30k mark, (would have been my longest run ever) so I will just have to do it was whatever is already in the bank now!

Last Tuesday (the 10th) was the 1 year anniversary of Tommy's death which was quite a sad day and brought a lot of memories of last year back. Also reminded me of when i decided to train for this marathon - it was the day after Tommys funeral in Cambridge. I decided I was going to lose weight, get fit and stop drinking so much beer. That idea evolved into running a marathon, which evolved into the Dublin marathon which in turn evolved into running the Dublin marathon in memory of Tommy and to raise money for a relevant charity. That was over a year ago now and although I am no saint (and doubt i ever will be!), I have lost a good bit of weight and don't party as much as i used to! We have nearly raised 2000 pounds online and more in the Rathmor and Labour club so its been good going. Now all I have to do is fix this knee. Oh, and then there's the 26.2 miles of running i have to get through in 13 days time............

Mid week beer fest and only 3 weeks til race day - WEEK 40

Week 40, three weeks til the marathon...

So I guess its not common practice to get langered at a German Beer festival three weeks before your first marathon, but thats what I did last week. However, I always knew that the date was coming and had informed my training instructor to block 2 days out this week so it was all planned and above board. What i didn't plan for was the 3 days it took to get over the session! 

Myself and my brother James took a bus full of lads down to the annual Stuttgart Beer Fest for a bit of a corporate jolly up, and the craic was brilliant. It started early on Wednesday morning with beer and bacon butties for breakfast in our showroom, and ended up around 0400 on Thursday morning! As i get older these days really take longer to get over, and the fact that I hadnt been partying much due to the training, made it hit me even more. (And I'll admit it; I am a lightweight).

Some pics of the fest:

Managed to get a bit of training in before and after the midweek hangover though, so it was a completely wasted week.

Monday - PM; 4 km run

Tuesday - AM - 1 hour 30 in the Gym, 6k run, weights and row

Wednesday - BEER

Thursday - X

Friday - X

Saturday - X

Sunday - 18.5km run. 06.30 per km pace. 

Total 3 hours 29 mins.

Notes - right ankle a little sore before starting running. As i wright this on Monday eve it feels fine.

DONATIONS - we are up to 1432.60 pounds with the online donations! Thanks to Tessa for her donation this week!! The target is 2000 pounds so we are getting closer but still a ways to go!

So with 3 weeks till race day, this is my last big training week, and boy it looks big. Lots of sessions in the week and 3+ hour run on Sunday which should be up to around 30km will be the longest ever for me so fingers crossed........

4 weeks today!

Week 39, 4 weeks til race day:

Another week of training done and dusted, and another week closer to the marathon. This last week I managed to clock up 10 hours 20 mins of training. Having to get up v early to fit everything in, but I am getting used to getting up at 0530 now. Finally got back to the swimming pool for a session and over the weekend we met some friends in the Black Forest, an area in Germany that is great for outdoor activities. The Saturday was pouring rain so we hit the swimming pool, but this wasnt a training session. It had a swim up bar and relax area so we spent the afternoon at the bar!

Sunday the weather was better so i got my bike out and hit the hills for 2.5 hours ride. We then went to the "action forest" and done 2 hours of a high ropes course which was very hard and sore.

Monday - rest
Tuesday - AM 1h 40 gym, row, bike, run, weights
Wednesday - PM - swim in Schwetzingen 50 mins
Thursday - AM 1hr 10 mins run before work, PM, 50 min run after work
Friday AM - 1 hr 30 gym, row, bike, weights, run
Saturday - X
Sunday - AM 2.hr 30 mins hill ride, PM - 2hr ropes course

Total - 10 hours 20 mins

DONATIONS - thanks to Mike and Kirsty for their "double" donations this week!

5 weeks til race day..........

A decent week this week. 6.5 Hours of training done and dusted! The week didnt feel too hectic as I managed to stay at no more than one session on any given day. Nothing to crazy in the week but today I knocked out the longest run I have done in years - 26 km, and still in one piece! Very happy with that and it has given me more confidence in crossing the finish line in Dublin as I could have done more if need be. I did get a bit of a twinge in my left ankle but nothing too bad, so should be good for the marathon. Most training plans dont take you past 30-35k before race day, so I am nearly there. :)

DONATIONS - since the last post I have had sponsorship online donations from David Chow, Jennifer Kim, Steve and Shelley Dewar and Sean Partridge! Thanks Guys!!

Monday - rest day
Tuesday - AM 1hr 05 mins Gym session. bike, run, weights
Wednesday - AM 5km run, 32 mins
Thursday - missed the swim session AGAIN
Friday - PM bike then run, 1 hour 30
Saturday - x
Sunday - 26km run, 2 hours 55 mins

Total - 6 hours, 32 mins
Weigh in - 88.9

NOTES - High5 carb drink was very good, as were the powerbar gel shots. will use them for the marathon.
10 hour plan this coming week!

6 Weeks 'til Race Day!

WEEK 37, 6 weeks to go......

This week ended up just about getting in my allotted time of 7 hours. Due to the work commitments (and not beating myself up about missing training sessions) I didn't get in all of the weekly training, but made up for it today with a 4 hour / 82 KM bike ride from Mannheim-Schriesheim-Wilhelmsfeld-Heidelberg-Mannheim. Michelle came and met me in Heidelberg for the last 27KM home too. Lovely sunny day but loads of tourists around.
In general the week was much less stressful than previous weeks (see below post) and I am now refocused on the work ahead. For next week I have decided to limit training sessions to a maximum of one per day which will make things easier.

Flights and accommodation to Dublin are now booked! After the race on the Monday, Michelle and I will head over to Mayo on the west coast for some R&R.

DONATIONS - Thanks to Mick Cafferkey, Martin Moloney, Ade Ingrey, Pat Mcleish and Mat Knight for their donations recently! Its great to know people are still donating for the charity. We should be pretty close to the 2000 pound mark soon when putting everything together from the pubs and online. Plenty more to go though!

Monday X
Tuesday X
Wednesday - AM 50 min run
Thursday - AM 50 min run
Friday - 1 Hour run
Saturday - X
Sunday - 4 Hour /82km bike ride

Total - 6 Hours 40 Mins
Weigh in - 89KG

Already got my training plan for next week - 8 hours including 3 hour long run on Sunday. Lets get it on! :)

Stress

Its been a stressful couple of weeks trying to get the training and work in. Our new business is taking off nicely and is creating long hours including the commute. I am not worried about that at all as busy is good, but i have been stressing about fitting in all the training that i have to do. Came to a bit of a head last weekend where I went on a bit of a session.
So this week i decided to de-stress a bit and took the foot off the gas (training wise). Normally I would get up at 0545, walk the dog, do my hour or so training, shower, drive to work, but this morning I have decided to skip a session and have some relaxing time before I head off to work ( I am writing this before work which is unheard of!). Made myself some scrambled eggs and toast with coffee and have another 45 mins before I need to leave too, so nice and chilled.
Checked my donations page and also, and saw that 5 new people have sent money, which was awesome!
So all in all, I feel much less stressed than last week and have slapped a "no booze" ban on myself up till race day (one day in October aside) as you can kid others but you cant kid yourself...
I am sure the next few weeks will involve a lot of training but this "relaxed" (still 5 hours though!) week has motivated me to want to get stuck in again. :)

Marathon Training and Donations for TICK TOCK -

Week 35........ 8 weeks to go.

So I managed to get in a pretty decent week, with 7 hours and 40 mins clocked up. Still, it was meant to be a 10 hour training week so I missed a few sessions, but it was crazy busy at work (which is good!) and there are only so many hours in the day. In general, things are going well and no knee or foot injuries to note.

As of today we are exactly 8 weeks away from race day! So, I have to really knuckle down and get all the sessions in that I can, keep a more strict eye on my diet and minimize alcohol consumption so that I can get down to my target weight of 87KG by Oct 29th. I sometimes think that because i have done a training session I can have an ice cream after dinner or another beer but that is not going to help get across the line in October...

DONATIONS - coming along well. We are over the 1000 pound mark online now, and thanks this week to Kevin Briggs, Paula Land and Joel Chudleigh for sending monies to the Just Giving page. I have been told that there is over 300 quid in the Labor Club too, and I am sure the Rathmore collection is also going well!

Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - AM1H 25 mins in the gym. Cross Bike, weights, cross bike
Tuesday - PM 40 minute light run
Wednesday - Missed a session due to work
Thursday - Missed the swim session - gutted!
Friday - AM 1H 5min run before work, PM 1.10 run after work
Saturday - X
Sunday - 3H 20 mins / 67KM bike ride. Mostly flat but off road.

Total - 7 hours 40 mins.

Garmin stats - http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard

NOTES - watch the calories and eating crap foods from now on in!

Training and donations for Tick Tock - UPDATE

........ WEEK 34, 9 weeks to go!

Monday was the first day back to work after my vacation to Croatia, and it was a busy one! Busy is good though, so no complaints there. Missed Mondays session though, but got back into it on Tuesday and had a good week after that. Great swim on Thursday morning - got up at the crack of dawn and was in the pool by 0615 for 2200 meters (90 laps). Pool was empty apart from three other people which makes a big difference.
Todays run was a good one too - my brother James and I hit the hills of the Pfalz in Ramsen and some some hill trails out there. All in all a good week! With only 9 weeks to go till the marathon I am feeling good.

DONATIONS - very close to the 1000 pounds for online donations at the moment! Big thanks to our friends Mike and Nadine and Auntie Bea who donated this week! Buckets and sponsorship sheets are now in the Rathmore, Labor Club and Cafe Brazil. Will try and get an amount from there to see what the grand total is.

Monday - X
Tuesday - AM: 40 minute light run - http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=14140216
Wednesday - Dentist AM, overnight in K town eve, no training.
Thursday - AM 2200m endurance swim.
Friday - 8.4km / 50 min run, good tempo - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/215332015
Saturday - AM 47 min/ 24km bike ride before work.http://connect.garmin.com/activity/215332081
Sunday - 21.67km / 2.33 hours hill run - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/215332117

Total time - 6 hours 10 mins
Weigh in - 91.8KG

Week 32 and 33 marathon training and donations for Tick Tock - update

.......... 10 weeks to go. 

Its been a couple of weeks since last update on here. Mainly due to it being a crazy busy time of it recently! Week 32 (starting Monday 6th August) was always going to be manic. Things were getting busy at work, then I had my mate Henry's wedding in Italy mid week so Mich and I flew to Treviso Tuesdays morning, flew home Thursday night, work all day Friday and then drove to Croatia for a week on Friday night! Arrived Saturday morning (12.5 hours drive from our home in Mannheim) and hit the beach.

I wont bother reporting full stats for that week but I still managed to squeeze in 5 hours 15 mins! Got some lovely runs in Italy done; here are some pics:

And here is a picture of Henry, me, his dad and Dave currid having a few bevvies at the wedding!

Total time 5 hours and 15 Mins.

WEEK 33 (week starting August 13th, a week in Croatia.

Monday: AM - 40 minute run, then 25 minute sea swim PM

Tuesday AM - up early, 1 hour 15 min run, lovely hills, on trails, then hired kiyaks for the day and toured some islands. very nice! (2 hour 30 mins Kiyaking)

Wednesday AM up early, 15km run out on the island. very warm, very nice.

It might sound like all i was doing was training on holiday but that wasnt the case. we were out having dinner most nights with our friends that came with us (Martin and Sylvia) and having a beer or two in the day on the beach, so it was a very nice week away. After Wednesday the training slid off the schedule anyway!

Some running pics from Croatia:

Total time for the week was 6 hours 40 - not bad for a holiday!

Weigh in - nah next week. :)

DONATIONS:

Since August 6th we have had a few donations online! Thanks to Sylvia, Margaret, Steffi and Rose Coffee! We now finally have the donation buckets and sponsor sheets in the Rathmore Club and the Labor club so should see some monies coming in from there too. Thanks to Pete Wyhnam for the donation behind the bar in the Rathmore!

We are now up to around 950 quid, so getting there!

NOTES: 10 weeks to go, time to get ramping up the miles for race day!

training and donations update WEEK 31

....12 weeks to go

This week was a recovery week after the previous weeks high intensity training. Was "only" 5 hours 45 mins which meant I felt like I had some time in my life again! In general things are going well and there is now only 12 weeks to go till race day in Dublin on October 29th. Sometimes 12 weeks sounds like a long way away and sometimes it sounds like its only around the corner and I still have loads to do. The training will ramp up to levels I have never ran before soon enough (I have never ran over 27km in one session before) so that is scary, as the last time I ran 27 km my Achilles tore as I was out for months. I hope that the slower ramp up to long distances, the time spent in the saddle and in the pool and the lots of stretching will keep my in good stead and injury free so that I can complete the marathon in Dublin..

DONATIONS - Thanks to Martin Kennedy and Jon Rundal for their donations this week! We are now up to 786 pounds but still have a long way to go....

Monday - REST
Tuesday - PM - 50 minute run
Wednesday - AM - 25 mins on the bike, PM - 40 min run
Thursday - PM - 45 min swim in K town. Nice pool, opens early 2x per week
Friday - REST
Saturday - AM 1hr 33 min bike ride, fast
Sunday - 1hr30 light run.

TOTAL 5 hours 43 mins
Weigh in - 89.2kg :)

training and donations update for TICK TOCK

Its been 2 weeks since i updated this diary/ blog for my training and donations efforts. Week 29 (week before last) wasnt an amazing week. It was meant to be an 8.5 hour training week with 4 of those as a long bike ride on the Sunday, but i went to a party on the Saturday night, had a few too many beers and woke up in no state to ride anywhere! So WEEK 29 was 3hr30m - nuff said.


This week (WEEK 30, 13 weeks to go) was a better week for training. In fact, it felt like all i done was training, working and sleeping. Managed to fit in a nice night out in Mannheim on Saturday night for dinner and drinks without going overboard and feeling rough the next day, so went out for a mammoth bike ride on Sunday into the Odenwald area of hills behing Heidelberg. The sun was shining and it was a lovely day. The route i chose was also beautiful but had a monster hill in the middle of it! If you click on the below link for Sundays training, you will see the elevation profile went from under 100M to over 440m in a fairly short distance. The payoff was the downhill on the other side which was great fun and I hit over 62kmh at one point. ;) The end KM for the ride was 79.5 km which was the longest I have ever done in one session and i needed an ice bath to cool the legs afterwards! Some pics of the ride:

DONATIONS - The last 2 weeks have been a bit slow. Only Eileen Mannion has sent money in since my last update (Thanks Eils!), but there is still plenty time and still plenty of people out there that i know will donate to this cause. We also have the fund raising buckets for the Rathmore and Labour Club coming soon and anyone reading this that wants to donate can hit the purple button top right to do so. Thanks.
Also, the Addaction race pack arrived this week so got my t shirt etc this week.

Training stats:
Monday: 55 minute run
Tuesday: PM - evening bike ride, 1hr 20
Wednesday: Late home, then 10KM fast tempo. 1hr 01
Thursday: AM bike session: 0H53m
Friday: late home, then 14km run 1hr27min. VERY HOT @ 32C at 2030 at night!
Saturday: no training
Sunday: 79.5km hilly ride, 3hr43 mins - http://connect.garmin.com/player/204287348
TOTAL: 8hrs 23 mins

Weigh in: 89.8 (finally under 90kgs... :)

NOTE: need more donations!

Training and donation update - WEEK 28 (15 weeks to go)

Another decent training week this week.

Managed to chalk up almost 7 hours mostly running. Made a massive cock up on Wednesday morning though! I stepped out early morning for a 12k run and had in my head that i wanted to try out a new circuit which involved running up to a bridge about 6km away, crossing it, running back the other side of the river and crossing back at another crossing, to total 12k. What I didn't realize what that on the other side the riverbank scoots off in another direction and i was channeled into a small town. I then tried to make my way back to the riverbank route but it all went a bit wrong and long story short is that the 12k morning run ended up over 22km! Didn't eat anything before i left the house either, so was pretty knackered when I got home, but Michelle had some food waiting for me, fair play to her.

Friday night I stopped in the Pfalz area on the way home from work and had a good 8km hill run which was nice, and today i found another really cool new place called Ramsen that had an awesome 11km trail run that i ran around a small lake and forest. I am really liking finding these new places to explore in the area around where we live. You have to drive approx 30-40 mins to get there but its worth it. Here are some pics from today:

 After my run Michelle and Klaus came out for lunch and we ate at the Hotel on the lake which was very nice. On the lake there were rowing boats to rent and a German couple were getting into the boat, then the man fell in! It was very hard not to laugh out loud but the dude was not smiling so we kept quiet. He just got into the boat all soaked and rowed off as if nothing happened!
Bought a new running rucksack with water bladder on Saturday which is great. only 20 euro too!

DONATIONS - had some more donations this week! Thanks this week to Sarah Perris, Sheila Mitham, Ali Bari, Bridget Keady, Sweetcorn in Aus, Tony Solimeno and Sandra Young! The amount raised so far is now GBP 626.00! Going well but we still need more! We will be making donation forms to put in the Rathmore and Labor Club soon for those that don't get online.

Training stats:

Monday: REST
Tuesday: 1Hr 15 mins Bike ride on the Altrip route. Fast and hard.
Wednesday: 22.5km run in the AM. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199533127
Thursday: Missed the AM run, PM swam 1200m after work
Friday: 8KM hill run in the Pfalz after work
Saturday: no training, went out in Mannheim in the evening for food and drinks
Sunday: 1hr 30 mins trail running in Ramsen. Very nice! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199533206

Total - 6 hours 53 mins
Weigh in - 91.5
Knee and feet all good.

Training and donation update - WEEK 27 (16 weeks to go)

This weeks training was pretty good. Only had 5hr 30 on the plan, and managed to do 6hr.13 so happy with that.. Didnt get out Monday or Tuesday due to work, but Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat and today (Sun) i managed to squeeze it all in. Worth noting was the 10k race that James and I participated in on the Ramstein US Air Force Base in Germany. It was to raise money for a soldier that was a friend of a friend. He has a rare blood cancer and so there have been fund raising events to raise money for the family. Approx 100 or so people attended the race and all paid entry fees that went to the cause.
The race was around the air field and it was a nice warm day. This base is huge though! There are nearly 35,000 people working on it so you can imagine the size. Anyway, i ran my best ever 10km time at 55.45! Thats nearly 4 mins off my previous record so i was well happy with that! We got T shirts made with the logo for our new business to wear at the race too - here is James sporting one of the Shirts!

On the way home i stopped in "The Pfalz" which is the Germany wine growing region and went for a 5km hill run. As luck would have it i came across a lovely restaurant in the forest with possibly the nicest beer garden in the country!

Donations for the charity is up to GBP 491 this week, thanks for some donations from people. Still a long way to go, but there is 16 weeks left till the Marathon in Dublin so i am sure we will get to the target. There are plenty of people out there still to donate! 

STATS:

Monday - x

Tuesday - x

Wednesday - 40 min run before work

Thursday - 40 min run before work

Friday - 16km ride before work and 2000m swim after work.

Saturday , 10km race, then 5km hill run in Isenach

Sunday, 1200m swim and 1 hour bike ride.

Total - 6 Hours 13 minutes.

Notes - knee and feet ok. 

weigh in - 92.1

Another busy work week ahead setting up our new business but no worries, there are 24 hours in the day!