March 2008: It was now 16-months later after non-stop stress and pressure. I was feeling more settled and living a more normal life routine. I decided to start fundraising for the Irish Cancer Society through running. The aim was to raise at least over €2,000 through sponsorship. I setout a “5-race series for Mam” challenge comprising 5 races between April and October:
April – Bupa Ireland. 10km
June – Flora mini marathon. 10km
July – Achill Island half-marathon. 21.1km
August – Adidas 10-miles. 16.1km
September – “Real Berlin” full marathon. 42.1 km
(October - Dublin full marathon: optional bonus)
I took the training programmes very seriously focusing on speed for the first 2 races and then mainly working on distance (50+ miles/week) for the half marathon and onwards. Unfortunately from the first race (April) I developed a problematic foot injury that persisted until after the half marathon in July. I approached the Flora race in June very hesitantly as the foot was not recovered and had worsened from continued training. Unexpectedly I completed flora feeling strong and ignored the foot niggles – which progressed to pain halfway through. It was only after the adrenaline had subsided that I realised more damage had been done. I didn’t think too much about it at the time as the next race wasn’t for another month and I would rest for the next week before training again.
The foot was not improving. I had a holiday booked to Majorca for end June to stay with Aunt living there. This was meant to be a “hot weather training” break before the Achill half marathon. It was also planned as a much needed relaxation holiday of course! I setout each morning from Palmanova and followed the paths out to the towns beyond. The sun was strong but the scenery running alongside the coast was beautiful. The foot held up to allow 6-mile morning runs for the first few days. These increased to 8-miles with minor foot niggling then maintaining a few 9-mile mornings. The one long run before going home (15-miles) was needed for getting in the distance beyond half marathon. After the 12th mile the pain was too strong. I stopped and started and ended up walking the final mile. The last 2-days were for resting the foot from running so I cycled along the coast to visit the surrounding towns and picked up some colour too - a nice shade of red!
The half marathon in Achill was a week after returning home from Majorca. I didn’t feel confident the foot would hold up but had tapered correctly during that week in preparation. The scenery throughout the race route on Achill Island was spectacular despite constant hills and frontal facing Atlantic winds! I had a bad fall at the 11th mile sustaining cuts, bloody knees, hands and elbows!
With just over 2 miles to go the adrenaline pushed me on and I finished in 1-hour 35mins coming in as 3rd female. It was the first (and only) race where I finished in a placing! The foot niggled throughout but the pain stayed at bay. The previous week of tapering (increased resting and fuelling) seemed to work well :)
In August I went to visit friends in Norway. This was planned as more of a holiday and fun times! But with the 10-mile race 1 week after I returned, the training continued. I scheduled 2-rest days in-between to allow for the planned nights out! Oslo was a very cold city despite being mid-summer and I didn’t pack accordingly! Shorts and vests were all I brought for running. When I returned home the race day itself was a disaster. The weather was awful with gusts of rain, hail and wind and my running was completely off-form. This was not the encouragement I needed in the last race before the big one - The Berlin full marathon in September….
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