With just three weeks to go, tomorrow is the big test before Dublin. I've dropped my mileage from 76 last week to 'just' 55 this week, assuming I get 19 in for tomorrow's Cork to Cobh 15M race - 2 miles warm-up and 2 miles cool-down after the race.
Yesterday was 5 miles easy, with 3 miles, very easy, with my daughter, this morning. I felt quite tired, but I find that's not unusual before a key race.
Weather forecast is looking good for tomorrow - it's quite windy and feeling cool today, with some pretty heavy showers. Tomorrow is supposed to be a lot less windy and the showers are predicted to die away overnight.
I'm planning to go out at 7:00 to 7:10 miling and try to hold that. I want to run strong throughout, without 'going to the well' - too near Dublin for that. While it's a 15 Mile race, a key point for me is the Half-Marathon mark.
I intend using my Half-marathon time as a strong guide for my pace/time in Dublin, using the 'Rule of Thumb' of double your half time, plus 10 min. (my best marathon performance was double my half + 4 mins.) 7:00 miling would give me a Half-Mar time of 91:46 and a predicted Marathon time of 3:13:33, while 7:10 comes out as 93:57 for the Half and 3:17:54 for the Marathon. We'll see! Its pretty ambitious, but you never know 'till the day.
My first Marathon was Cork 1985, in 4:10:03 and my last, and slowest, apart from the first, was 3:13:28. I'd love to better that on October 25th. This will be my 20th Marathon.
Mossie Shanahan, a member of the 'C Team - Cancer Survivors' relay team is also running tomorrow.
Don't forget my Cancer charities:
Cork ARC and the Irish Cancer Society
My fundraising pages are here:
Cork ARC
Irish Cancer Society
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Dublin Marathon
My long term target has been, for the best part of a year, the Dublin City Marathon. I haven't done a Marathon for 7 years. This will only be my second in 12 years, but my 20th overall.
This one has special significance for me. I am running this as a Cancer survivor. I want - I NEED - to run this well and show others, particularly others dealing with Cancer in their own lives and their families, relatives and friends, that there is life after Cancer. I think it is also a personal milestone. Maybe I'm kidding myself. I don't think so.
My fall back target is the M55 Boston qualifying time of 3:45:59, however my stated target is 3:18:00, but depending on the day, I'm really hoping to do better than that. Sunday next, Oct. 3rd, sees the annual Cork to Cobh 15 Mile. I'll use this to assess my final Marathon pace. I'm hoping to average around 7:00 for the 15 miles, giving 1:45. Last years time was 1:53, with 2:04 the year before, just 4 months post surgery. My best for the course is 1:28:28, set in 1990.
I feature in last year's race report, in the photo with the clock at 1:52:59.
I'm running for two charities in the Marathon:
Cork ARC and the Irish Cancer Society
My fundraising pages are here:
Cork ARC
Irish Cancer Society
Please help!
This one has special significance for me. I am running this as a Cancer survivor. I want - I NEED - to run this well and show others, particularly others dealing with Cancer in their own lives and their families, relatives and friends, that there is life after Cancer. I think it is also a personal milestone. Maybe I'm kidding myself. I don't think so.
My fall back target is the M55 Boston qualifying time of 3:45:59, however my stated target is 3:18:00, but depending on the day, I'm really hoping to do better than that. Sunday next, Oct. 3rd, sees the annual Cork to Cobh 15 Mile. I'll use this to assess my final Marathon pace. I'm hoping to average around 7:00 for the 15 miles, giving 1:45. Last years time was 1:53, with 2:04 the year before, just 4 months post surgery. My best for the course is 1:28:28, set in 1990.
I feature in last year's race report, in the photo with the clock at 1:52:59.
I'm running for two charities in the Marathon:
Cork ARC and the Irish Cancer Society
My fundraising pages are here:
Cork ARC
Irish Cancer Society
Please help!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
June/July Aug
I've deleted the previous 'holding post', so I'll try to do a short update here.
Following the Cork City Marathon Relay, I headed off for warm weather training - in other words a holiday/vacation - in Lagos, Algarve, Portugal for two weeks. Lagos is a lovely little town about 50km west of Faro and we've gone there for a summer break about 10 out of the last 15 years.
Praca Do Infante
The building in the foreground, on the right, housed Europe's first slave market
Promenade on the Avenida dos Descobrimentos, with the Ribera de Bensafrim and Lagos port.
Dona Ana Beach
View from Dona Ana Beach
I just 'ticked over'while I was here, going for a 5 mile run every morning, so 35 for the week, instead of my normal 55 - 60 miles. This was just R&R and dossing. I would have liked to get a race in while I was here but there weren't any in the immediate locality while we were there.
Shanagarry 5
Back home again and back to races. Thursday June 24th saw the second in the Ballycotton 5 summer series, the Shanagarry 5. I went out way too fast - at 2.5 miles, I was only about 30 secs down on one of my former arch rivals. Until now, I hadn't been able to get within 2 - 3 minutes of him. I paid for the early effort and came home in 33:49, about 1.5 mins faster than last year.
Corkbeg 5
Next up was the Corkbeg 5 in Whitegate, Co. Cork. The evening turned out very, very wet and a bit windy. The gear was soaking and, of course my pad was saturated, so everything weighed a ton. Despite a very strong run, I finished in 34:22 - I'd hoped to go sub 33. Anyway, this was the wettest weather I'd run in since resuming after the surgery. I learnt a lesson - there's no point whatsoever in wearing a pad in a downpour!
Donoughmore 7
Later in July came the Donoughmore 7, a tough run. The first two miles is undulating, followed by 3 lovely downslope miles. There is a sting in the tail! The last two miles are uphill and I normally 'fresh air' in the last 150m - the legs move. but I seem to be rooted to the spot! I went out steadily and let several of my peers make ground ahead. Several really went for it early on, but I let them go. I started working once we hit the 3 mile down section on the main road and started picking bodies off. The strategy really paid off in the last two miles, where I picked off most of my peers, except for two who still elude me to this day. Nevertheless, I picked off 27 of the 257 finishers, coming home in 70th place in 49:46.
Churchtown South 5
Next up was the third race in the Ballycotton 5 Summer Series, the Churchtown South 5. Of all 4 races in the series, this is the one I like least. About 300m after the start, the road narrows, with a green line down the middle, i.e. grass. Its a two lap course, with a deceptive climb in the middle. For most of this climb, you don't realise that you're going up, but you do need to work hard.
I was well outside the top 50 for the series and needed both to run very well (Prior to the first race, I figured that I needed to run 32:30 for each race, to stand any chance. So far, I'd lost over a minute on that target in both races). I finished in 138th place, 33:42. I found it tough but fell well short of what I'd been (optimistically) hoping for.
Incontinence Status - 28 months on
How bad are things??!! I'm now (Sept 30th) 28 months after major surgery and I'm beating myself up because I'm not performing at the very highest levels! I think it just shows how far I've come. Prior to surgery, I was prepared to accept that I might not ever run again (primarily due to severe incontinence). Now I am running very well indeed - I've been told several times "People are talking about you!", meaning that I'm running pretty damn well and making people sit up!. I still have slight leakage when I run - I have been fully continent (no pads whatsoever) since July 2008, 4 weeks post cathether removal, but I do have slight leakage when I run. This is normally of the order of a teaspoonfull or two, but can, occasionally, be heavier at about a few tablespoonfulls. Mostly its quite light. I certainly wouldn't call it incontenence, except maybe the heavier ones (happens about every 3 to 4 weeks). As I said, its mostly pretty light. I can see a time in the next 6 to 12 months, if even that far away, where I will not have to wear a pad while running. As time progresses, I notice the "spotting" is more noticeable, i.e. I'm rarely talking about volume any more. Recently, I forgot to wear my cut-down pad while on a 20 mile marathon training run and the leakage was minimal - spotting. Of course, incidents like this are great for self-confidence and this is a self-fulfilling matter.
August
August is usually a quiet month on the Cork racing scene. I was also ramping up my mileage in preparation for the Dublin Marathon on Oct 25th. Througout the year, I'd been hitting the 50 to low 60's per week, now I was upping to the high 60s/low 70s, as a consequence, racing, particularly the shorter ones, was taking a back seat. Nevertheless I planned to run two races: the Novartis 5k and the final race of the Ballycotton series: Ballycotton 5.
Novartis 5k
I like the Novartis 5k. Its a tough hilly course. The only bit I don't particularly like is the third mile, which is mostly downhill - the sprinters tear away and the 'speed challenged' (like me) struggle to keep up. There is a sting in the tail here though and the final 400m is uphill. I went out fairly strongly, but many left me for dead - the first 400m are slightly downslope, making for a fast start. The second mile is a long full hill/drag. I love it and make plenty of ground here...before the downhill section. Still, I made up about 30 places over the last 400m, finishing in 100th place, 20:42.
Ballycotton 5
The last of the series. I was 79th overall going into this. I had two chances of making it - None...and the other one! Conditions were dry but windy. I went out hard, hoping to hold the pace. This is another tough course - all the Ballycotton races are! The first mile is largely down, with a few bumps on the way. The second mile is more or less flat, but is still tough. It gets interesting after that. The third mile starts out flat, then rises...and rises...and rises. Then, just 100m before the 3 mile mark, it really kicks up. Incidentally, on this section, I passed a peer/rival, and he proceeded to tell me about the good results (clear) he'd got from a recent biopsy. All I could do is grunt .... and press on. The fourth mile is a fast on, largely downhill and the last mile is hard - mostly uphill.
Having gone out hard, I held the effort throughout. I never checked my watch throughout and really felt that I was definitely running at around 32 min pace. I finished strong, but holding on nevertheless. I was absolutely delighted with the effort throughout, but disappointed to clock 33:39, in 147th place. Nevertheless I had several peers in my wake, particularly some that I hadn't beaten since the op.
In the final standings, over the four races of the series, I finished in 68th place, well outside the top 50. Competition for the coveted Top 50 T-shirts is getting stronger....and I must face up to the fact that age isn't on my side. still,
I'll give it another try next year, God willing!
Following the Cork City Marathon Relay, I headed off for warm weather training - in other words a holiday/vacation - in Lagos, Algarve, Portugal for two weeks. Lagos is a lovely little town about 50km west of Faro and we've gone there for a summer break about 10 out of the last 15 years.
Praca Do Infante
The building in the foreground, on the right, housed Europe's first slave market
Promenade on the Avenida dos Descobrimentos, with the Ribera de Bensafrim and Lagos port.
Dona Ana Beach
View from Dona Ana Beach
I just 'ticked over'while I was here, going for a 5 mile run every morning, so 35 for the week, instead of my normal 55 - 60 miles. This was just R&R and dossing. I would have liked to get a race in while I was here but there weren't any in the immediate locality while we were there.
Shanagarry 5
Back home again and back to races. Thursday June 24th saw the second in the Ballycotton 5 summer series, the Shanagarry 5. I went out way too fast - at 2.5 miles, I was only about 30 secs down on one of my former arch rivals. Until now, I hadn't been able to get within 2 - 3 minutes of him. I paid for the early effort and came home in 33:49, about 1.5 mins faster than last year.
Corkbeg 5
Next up was the Corkbeg 5 in Whitegate, Co. Cork. The evening turned out very, very wet and a bit windy. The gear was soaking and, of course my pad was saturated, so everything weighed a ton. Despite a very strong run, I finished in 34:22 - I'd hoped to go sub 33. Anyway, this was the wettest weather I'd run in since resuming after the surgery. I learnt a lesson - there's no point whatsoever in wearing a pad in a downpour!
Donoughmore 7
Later in July came the Donoughmore 7, a tough run. The first two miles is undulating, followed by 3 lovely downslope miles. There is a sting in the tail! The last two miles are uphill and I normally 'fresh air' in the last 150m - the legs move. but I seem to be rooted to the spot! I went out steadily and let several of my peers make ground ahead. Several really went for it early on, but I let them go. I started working once we hit the 3 mile down section on the main road and started picking bodies off. The strategy really paid off in the last two miles, where I picked off most of my peers, except for two who still elude me to this day. Nevertheless, I picked off 27 of the 257 finishers, coming home in 70th place in 49:46.
Churchtown South 5
Next up was the third race in the Ballycotton 5 Summer Series, the Churchtown South 5. Of all 4 races in the series, this is the one I like least. About 300m after the start, the road narrows, with a green line down the middle, i.e. grass. Its a two lap course, with a deceptive climb in the middle. For most of this climb, you don't realise that you're going up, but you do need to work hard.
I was well outside the top 50 for the series and needed both to run very well (Prior to the first race, I figured that I needed to run 32:30 for each race, to stand any chance. So far, I'd lost over a minute on that target in both races). I finished in 138th place, 33:42. I found it tough but fell well short of what I'd been (optimistically) hoping for.
Incontinence Status - 28 months on
How bad are things??!! I'm now (Sept 30th) 28 months after major surgery and I'm beating myself up because I'm not performing at the very highest levels! I think it just shows how far I've come. Prior to surgery, I was prepared to accept that I might not ever run again (primarily due to severe incontinence). Now I am running very well indeed - I've been told several times "People are talking about you!", meaning that I'm running pretty damn well and making people sit up!. I still have slight leakage when I run - I have been fully continent (no pads whatsoever) since July 2008, 4 weeks post cathether removal, but I do have slight leakage when I run. This is normally of the order of a teaspoonfull or two, but can, occasionally, be heavier at about a few tablespoonfulls. Mostly its quite light. I certainly wouldn't call it incontenence, except maybe the heavier ones (happens about every 3 to 4 weeks). As I said, its mostly pretty light. I can see a time in the next 6 to 12 months, if even that far away, where I will not have to wear a pad while running. As time progresses, I notice the "spotting" is more noticeable, i.e. I'm rarely talking about volume any more. Recently, I forgot to wear my cut-down pad while on a 20 mile marathon training run and the leakage was minimal - spotting. Of course, incidents like this are great for self-confidence and this is a self-fulfilling matter.
August
August is usually a quiet month on the Cork racing scene. I was also ramping up my mileage in preparation for the Dublin Marathon on Oct 25th. Througout the year, I'd been hitting the 50 to low 60's per week, now I was upping to the high 60s/low 70s, as a consequence, racing, particularly the shorter ones, was taking a back seat. Nevertheless I planned to run two races: the Novartis 5k and the final race of the Ballycotton series: Ballycotton 5.
Novartis 5k
I like the Novartis 5k. Its a tough hilly course. The only bit I don't particularly like is the third mile, which is mostly downhill - the sprinters tear away and the 'speed challenged' (like me) struggle to keep up. There is a sting in the tail here though and the final 400m is uphill. I went out fairly strongly, but many left me for dead - the first 400m are slightly downslope, making for a fast start. The second mile is a long full hill/drag. I love it and make plenty of ground here...before the downhill section. Still, I made up about 30 places over the last 400m, finishing in 100th place, 20:42.
Ballycotton 5
The last of the series. I was 79th overall going into this. I had two chances of making it - None...and the other one! Conditions were dry but windy. I went out hard, hoping to hold the pace. This is another tough course - all the Ballycotton races are! The first mile is largely down, with a few bumps on the way. The second mile is more or less flat, but is still tough. It gets interesting after that. The third mile starts out flat, then rises...and rises...and rises. Then, just 100m before the 3 mile mark, it really kicks up. Incidentally, on this section, I passed a peer/rival, and he proceeded to tell me about the good results (clear) he'd got from a recent biopsy. All I could do is grunt .... and press on. The fourth mile is a fast on, largely downhill and the last mile is hard - mostly uphill.
Having gone out hard, I held the effort throughout. I never checked my watch throughout and really felt that I was definitely running at around 32 min pace. I finished strong, but holding on nevertheless. I was absolutely delighted with the effort throughout, but disappointed to clock 33:39, in 147th place. Nevertheless I had several peers in my wake, particularly some that I hadn't beaten since the op.
In the final standings, over the four races of the series, I finished in 68th place, well outside the top 50. Competition for the coveted Top 50 T-shirts is getting stronger....and I must face up to the fact that age isn't on my side. still,
I'll give it another try next year, God willing!
Sep 29th 2010 Hmmm....So much for a day or two (rolling eyes!) its the best part of a month since I promised, on Sept 11th, to post an update on the C Team - Cancer Survivors relay run in the Cork City Marathon on June 1st.
This was the second year that we organised a team of Cancer Survivors to run in the relay event of the cork City Marathon.
In 2009, we had 6 runners for the 5 legs, doubling up on the last leg, and finished in 4:01:27.
This year, we had 6 again, and had a woman on the team. It was disappointing not to have any last year. So this year we had: Marianne Murphy (Endometrial Cancer), John Quigley (Prostate Cancer - surgery), Brian Kenneally (Testicular Cancer), Ned O'Brien (Glandular Cancer), Mossie Shanahan (Skin Cancer) and Joe Dineen (Prostate Cancer - Radiation)
Joe Dineen, John Quigley and Mossie Shanahan pictured close to the Start/Finish point in Patrick St. Cork, at the launch of the Cork City Marathon Relay. The €3,000,000 figure in balloons was the Irish Cancer Society's fundraising target figure for the event.
We met on the night before the race to sort out the logistics of meeting, handover, etc, and, most importantly, so that everyone would meet. This was the first time that several of us had met face-to-face. Very important is you're handing over to another relay runner! Ned wasn't able to make the Sunday night as he was travelling on the morning of the race. He had never met any of the others, except for me.
Forecast for the day wasn't good, with rain and wind predicted in a narrow band. The hope was that it would hit during the night, or hold off until afterwards. We wouldn't be so lucky, the rain hit before the start, but wasn't too bad. However, as the morning progressed, it simply worsened, with the worst hitting when we were going along the Mahon/Lakelands Walkway, the most open part of the course.
We met up, at the City Hall, for a pre-race photo shoot:
The Original Golden Eagles Relay Team
John Quigley, Dave Muldowney, Gary Relihan, Conor O'Brien and Aoife Quigley, along with Gary's daughter. Note: The bands on my right hand are our relay 'batons' - I have two; one for each of the two teams I was running on; C Team - Cancer Survivors and The Original Golden Eagles.
C Team - Cancer Survivors
John Quigley, Joe Dineen, Ned O'Brien, Marianne Murphy and Mossie Shanahan. Missing was Brian Kenneally - he had to rush off for the bus to his relay changeover point.
The red technical t-shirts were kindly sponsored by Maher Sports.
C Team - Cancer Survivors team members with Rose O'Dea of the Irish Cancer Society.
John Quigley, Joe Dineen, Rose O'Dea (Irish Cancer Society), and Ned O'Brien.
Leg 1
Marianne had originally hoped to run in the event, but persistent shin splints put paid to that, so she walked the first leg as our official number carrier. I ran the first leg, unofficially, for C Team - Cancer Survivors and also, officially, for Golden Eagles, so while we were bending the rules a little, to ensure that Marianne was our official runner, we still had fully continuity and handover from start to finish.
Marianne & I set off, in very wet weather, from Patrick St. and, while Marianne was walking, I set off 'hammer and tongs'. I quickly went ahead of the 3 hour pacing group and had high hopes of hitting my personal target of 35:00 for the 5.5 mile leg. By the time we'd hit the Quays, at about 3.25 miles, the easterly wind had risen....and the 3 hour pacing group was closing behind me. They passed me just before the 4 mile mark and I hung on for dear life - just 1.5 miles to go!
I got a second wind and inspiration after that and gave chase, passing the 5 mile mark in 33:51 and caught the group, just before the relay changeover point, and handed over the C Team baton to Brian.
I wasn't so lucky with the Original Golden Eagles team - we'd hoped to finish in around 2:51. There was no sign of my handover, Gary. I went right through the relay changeover point, but no sign of him. Having spent about 7 minutes looking for him, I decided to go on to the next changeover (We never figured out afterwards what happened - he was there but, despite all my shouting, we never met up - plans, plans & disasters)
I had planned to accompany Brian on his leg - he was hoping to go at about 7.5 min miling - but he had too much of a lead for me to catch him over the 5 mile leg. Anyway I ploughed on as best I could, trying to make up time for the Golden Eagles team (but knowing that we were going to lose about 10-15 minutes on our target handover for the second leg)
Meantime Brian handed over to Ned for the 6.25 mile third leg. At this point, the wind was up and the rain was at it's worst.
Ned O'Brien (C4205), about 0.5 miles into the third leg, with Blackrock castle in the background. All the runners behind Ned appear, from their different coloured numbers, to be marathon runners.
On the Golden Eagles team, I handed over to a frozen Dave Muldowney in about 81 - we'd hoped to handover this leg at about 67-68 minutes. I quickly met up with Brian and, rather than waiting for a bus (the relay courtesy buses were running late) we decided to run back along the marathon route to the city centre.
Brian Kenneally and John Quigley 'warming down' on the third relay leg, by Blackrock Castle.
Up ahead, Ned ran a very strong leg, handing over to Mossie Shanahan for the hilly 5.25 mile fourth leg. Mossie, in turn, handed over to Joe Dineen, for the fifth, and final, 4.25 mile leg. While Ned accompanied Mossie for his leg, both Ned and Mossie ran with Joe to the finish. So for the day, both Ned and John ran about 17 miles for the day, Brian did about 12, Mossie 10 and Joe & Marianne covered 4.25 and 5 miles respectively.
Meantime, after changing into dry gear, Brian & I headed for the 26 mile mark and waited for the others came in. When they arrived, we all ran into the finish, coming home in 3:27:51, a full 34 minutes faster than C Team - cancer Survivor's 2009 time!
Ned O'Brien, Joe Dineen and Mossie Shanahan approaching the 26 mile mark.
C Team - Cancer Survivors coming in to the finish together ( the guy in the middle is a member of another team).
C Team - Cancer Survivors after the finish
Brian Kenneally, Ned O'Brien, Joe Dineen and John Quigley (Mossie Shanahan and Marianne Murphy both missing)
As one of the team said afterwards "It was great to come in to the finish together. It was just brilliant! Better than any medication or drugs!"
One of the prime aims of C Team - Cancer Survivors is to inspire people not only other Cancer Survivors but also others who may be affected by Cancer, e.g. family and friends and also the medical people who look after us. As someone said about C Team - Cancer Survivors recently: "You're world class!"
If you'd like to run with C Team - Cancer Survivors in the June 2011 event, please get in touch.
This was the second year that we organised a team of Cancer Survivors to run in the relay event of the cork City Marathon.
In 2009, we had 6 runners for the 5 legs, doubling up on the last leg, and finished in 4:01:27.
This year, we had 6 again, and had a woman on the team. It was disappointing not to have any last year. So this year we had: Marianne Murphy (Endometrial Cancer), John Quigley (Prostate Cancer - surgery), Brian Kenneally (Testicular Cancer), Ned O'Brien (Glandular Cancer), Mossie Shanahan (Skin Cancer) and Joe Dineen (Prostate Cancer - Radiation)
Joe Dineen, John Quigley and Mossie Shanahan pictured close to the Start/Finish point in Patrick St. Cork, at the launch of the Cork City Marathon Relay. The €3,000,000 figure in balloons was the Irish Cancer Society's fundraising target figure for the event.
We met on the night before the race to sort out the logistics of meeting, handover, etc, and, most importantly, so that everyone would meet. This was the first time that several of us had met face-to-face. Very important is you're handing over to another relay runner! Ned wasn't able to make the Sunday night as he was travelling on the morning of the race. He had never met any of the others, except for me.
Forecast for the day wasn't good, with rain and wind predicted in a narrow band. The hope was that it would hit during the night, or hold off until afterwards. We wouldn't be so lucky, the rain hit before the start, but wasn't too bad. However, as the morning progressed, it simply worsened, with the worst hitting when we were going along the Mahon/Lakelands Walkway, the most open part of the course.
We met up, at the City Hall, for a pre-race photo shoot:
The Original Golden Eagles Relay Team
John Quigley, Dave Muldowney, Gary Relihan, Conor O'Brien and Aoife Quigley, along with Gary's daughter. Note: The bands on my right hand are our relay 'batons' - I have two; one for each of the two teams I was running on; C Team - Cancer Survivors and The Original Golden Eagles.
C Team - Cancer Survivors
John Quigley, Joe Dineen, Ned O'Brien, Marianne Murphy and Mossie Shanahan. Missing was Brian Kenneally - he had to rush off for the bus to his relay changeover point.
The red technical t-shirts were kindly sponsored by Maher Sports.
C Team - Cancer Survivors team members with Rose O'Dea of the Irish Cancer Society.
John Quigley, Joe Dineen, Rose O'Dea (Irish Cancer Society), and Ned O'Brien.
Leg 1
Marianne had originally hoped to run in the event, but persistent shin splints put paid to that, so she walked the first leg as our official number carrier. I ran the first leg, unofficially, for C Team - Cancer Survivors and also, officially, for Golden Eagles, so while we were bending the rules a little, to ensure that Marianne was our official runner, we still had fully continuity and handover from start to finish.
Marianne & I set off, in very wet weather, from Patrick St. and, while Marianne was walking, I set off 'hammer and tongs'. I quickly went ahead of the 3 hour pacing group and had high hopes of hitting my personal target of 35:00 for the 5.5 mile leg. By the time we'd hit the Quays, at about 3.25 miles, the easterly wind had risen....and the 3 hour pacing group was closing behind me. They passed me just before the 4 mile mark and I hung on for dear life - just 1.5 miles to go!
I got a second wind and inspiration after that and gave chase, passing the 5 mile mark in 33:51 and caught the group, just before the relay changeover point, and handed over the C Team baton to Brian.
I wasn't so lucky with the Original Golden Eagles team - we'd hoped to finish in around 2:51. There was no sign of my handover, Gary. I went right through the relay changeover point, but no sign of him. Having spent about 7 minutes looking for him, I decided to go on to the next changeover (We never figured out afterwards what happened - he was there but, despite all my shouting, we never met up - plans, plans & disasters)
I had planned to accompany Brian on his leg - he was hoping to go at about 7.5 min miling - but he had too much of a lead for me to catch him over the 5 mile leg. Anyway I ploughed on as best I could, trying to make up time for the Golden Eagles team (but knowing that we were going to lose about 10-15 minutes on our target handover for the second leg)
Meantime Brian handed over to Ned for the 6.25 mile third leg. At this point, the wind was up and the rain was at it's worst.
Ned O'Brien (C4205), about 0.5 miles into the third leg, with Blackrock castle in the background. All the runners behind Ned appear, from their different coloured numbers, to be marathon runners.
On the Golden Eagles team, I handed over to a frozen Dave Muldowney in about 81 - we'd hoped to handover this leg at about 67-68 minutes. I quickly met up with Brian and, rather than waiting for a bus (the relay courtesy buses were running late) we decided to run back along the marathon route to the city centre.
Brian Kenneally and John Quigley 'warming down' on the third relay leg, by Blackrock Castle.
Up ahead, Ned ran a very strong leg, handing over to Mossie Shanahan for the hilly 5.25 mile fourth leg. Mossie, in turn, handed over to Joe Dineen, for the fifth, and final, 4.25 mile leg. While Ned accompanied Mossie for his leg, both Ned and Mossie ran with Joe to the finish. So for the day, both Ned and John ran about 17 miles for the day, Brian did about 12, Mossie 10 and Joe & Marianne covered 4.25 and 5 miles respectively.
Meantime, after changing into dry gear, Brian & I headed for the 26 mile mark and waited for the others came in. When they arrived, we all ran into the finish, coming home in 3:27:51, a full 34 minutes faster than C Team - cancer Survivor's 2009 time!
Ned O'Brien, Joe Dineen and Mossie Shanahan approaching the 26 mile mark.
C Team - Cancer Survivors coming in to the finish together ( the guy in the middle is a member of another team).
C Team - Cancer Survivors after the finish
Brian Kenneally, Ned O'Brien, Joe Dineen and John Quigley (Mossie Shanahan and Marianne Murphy both missing)
As one of the team said afterwards "It was great to come in to the finish together. It was just brilliant! Better than any medication or drugs!"
One of the prime aims of C Team - Cancer Survivors is to inspire people not only other Cancer Survivors but also others who may be affected by Cancer, e.g. family and friends and also the medical people who look after us. As someone said about C Team - Cancer Survivors recently: "You're world class!"
If you'd like to run with C Team - Cancer Survivors in the June 2011 event, please get in touch.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Cork Half-Marathon, Blarney Sept 12th
Well today's race went very well. I'd planned to start out at Marathon Pace (I hadn't yet decided at what pace I'd run the Marathon at, but I figured that it'd be between 7:10 and 7:25) and then to 'lash it from the far side of the hill, i.e. from about 8 miles or so.
The course, along with the altitude profile can be seen HERE The altitude profile is on the bottom right. You can see that the course heads steadily upwards all the way friom the start to a little over halfway, but really kicks upwards after 4.5 miles to 6.5 miles.
As I said in previous posts, I leak slightly when running, and normally wear jockey type underwear under my shorts. This is mainly to keep a cut down incontinence pad in place. I've found that this is fine for short races, but, for longer runs/races, can cause a bit of chafing (due to fabric/elastic pressure in the upper thigh/groin region). I'd decided to forego the jocks today and just ran in regular running shorts with a cut down pad. I had no issues whatsoever during the race and felt that I had little of no leakage. Later I found that leakage was minimal - guessing about a tablespoonful or so - and most probably happened after the finish. We also went for a 3 mile warm-down afterwards to loosen up. i said in yesterdays's post that I reckon that, in the foreseeable future, I'll be completely dispensing with need for wearing the pad while running.
Anyway....
The race itself attracted some 600+ runners and was run in warmish conditions. It wasn't too hot - about 16-18C - but it was somewhat humid. I intended respecting the hill and set out to run at about 7:10 pace. [I should say that, in the previous week, I'd run 20 miles last Sunday, ran 4 miles easy on Monday, did 6 x 800m on the track on Tuesday, with 3 x 1M on Thursday, with 9.6M on Wed, Fri and Sat - in otherwords, I ran 68 miles last week, with two hard speed sessions AND no Taper! Not your ideal pre-Half Mar training, but that was the plan - This wasn't a key race for me - Cork to Cobh 15m, in 3 weeks, definitely is.]
The first mile was 7:07 and I was a little concerned at the very slightly fast pace, considering the humid conditions, and decided to cut back a little. The next three miles were: 7:29, 7:27, 7:24, with the 5th mile slightly slower again, 7:34, bringing me thro the 5 mile mark in 37:02.
The 6th mile is, by far, the toughest and the pace dropped considerably, to 8:06. Nevertheless only two people passed me in this mile - I passed loads - and both of them were caught on the downhill stretch after the village of Grenagh.
There is a steep section, out of Grenagh,lasting about a half a mile, or so. This is a fine section for hill runners, but I'd planned to take it comfortably, just stretching out the legs, and so it was.
This mile, which included the last of the uphill section, came in at 7:18 (52:26 for 7M). I'd planned to 'take it out' from the bottom of the hill, and started to work hard. I also started to count 'net place' from there, in other words, if I passed someone, the count was +1, with a -1 if someone passed me. By the finish, the count was +34, with no passes - Nobody managed to overtake me in the final 6.11 miles!!
From the 7 mile mark, I rattle off very steadily, 6:47, 6:55, 6:53, 6:56, 6:57, 6:52, with the final 0.11M taking 40 secs. I normally don't look at my watch during a race, except to get a feel for the starting pace, so I had no idea what pace I was going at. Frankly, I had expected to be passing more people, so I figured I'd come in around 1:37 and was very pleasantly surprised to see the clock at 1:33:59 - unfortunately the clock was about 80m from the finish line.
The official results aren't out yet, but I made it 1:34:14, just 45 secs slower than I ran in the same race in Sept 2006, some 5 months after my initial 4.3ng/l PSA result.
Overall I am absolutely delighted with today's result. All I wan't now is for my current PSA test result to come back as <0.02ng/l. I had the test done two weeks ago last Friday and am still waiting. Results are normally available between 5 and 10 working days after the, but this isn't the first time they've been this late. I don't mind the wait, as long as they're good!
The course, along with the altitude profile can be seen HERE The altitude profile is on the bottom right. You can see that the course heads steadily upwards all the way friom the start to a little over halfway, but really kicks upwards after 4.5 miles to 6.5 miles.
As I said in previous posts, I leak slightly when running, and normally wear jockey type underwear under my shorts. This is mainly to keep a cut down incontinence pad in place. I've found that this is fine for short races, but, for longer runs/races, can cause a bit of chafing (due to fabric/elastic pressure in the upper thigh/groin region). I'd decided to forego the jocks today and just ran in regular running shorts with a cut down pad. I had no issues whatsoever during the race and felt that I had little of no leakage. Later I found that leakage was minimal - guessing about a tablespoonful or so - and most probably happened after the finish. We also went for a 3 mile warm-down afterwards to loosen up. i said in yesterdays's post that I reckon that, in the foreseeable future, I'll be completely dispensing with need for wearing the pad while running.
Anyway....
The race itself attracted some 600+ runners and was run in warmish conditions. It wasn't too hot - about 16-18C - but it was somewhat humid. I intended respecting the hill and set out to run at about 7:10 pace. [I should say that, in the previous week, I'd run 20 miles last Sunday, ran 4 miles easy on Monday, did 6 x 800m on the track on Tuesday, with 3 x 1M on Thursday, with 9.6M on Wed, Fri and Sat - in otherwords, I ran 68 miles last week, with two hard speed sessions AND no Taper! Not your ideal pre-Half Mar training, but that was the plan - This wasn't a key race for me - Cork to Cobh 15m, in 3 weeks, definitely is.]
The first mile was 7:07 and I was a little concerned at the very slightly fast pace, considering the humid conditions, and decided to cut back a little. The next three miles were: 7:29, 7:27, 7:24, with the 5th mile slightly slower again, 7:34, bringing me thro the 5 mile mark in 37:02.
The 6th mile is, by far, the toughest and the pace dropped considerably, to 8:06. Nevertheless only two people passed me in this mile - I passed loads - and both of them were caught on the downhill stretch after the village of Grenagh.
There is a steep section, out of Grenagh,lasting about a half a mile, or so. This is a fine section for hill runners, but I'd planned to take it comfortably, just stretching out the legs, and so it was.
This mile, which included the last of the uphill section, came in at 7:18 (52:26 for 7M). I'd planned to 'take it out' from the bottom of the hill, and started to work hard. I also started to count 'net place' from there, in other words, if I passed someone, the count was +1, with a -1 if someone passed me. By the finish, the count was +34, with no passes - Nobody managed to overtake me in the final 6.11 miles!!
From the 7 mile mark, I rattle off very steadily, 6:47, 6:55, 6:53, 6:56, 6:57, 6:52, with the final 0.11M taking 40 secs. I normally don't look at my watch during a race, except to get a feel for the starting pace, so I had no idea what pace I was going at. Frankly, I had expected to be passing more people, so I figured I'd come in around 1:37 and was very pleasantly surprised to see the clock at 1:33:59 - unfortunately the clock was about 80m from the finish line.
The official results aren't out yet, but I made it 1:34:14, just 45 secs slower than I ran in the same race in Sept 2006, some 5 months after my initial 4.3ng/l PSA result.
Overall I am absolutely delighted with today's result. All I wan't now is for my current PSA test result to come back as <0.02ng/l. I had the test done two weeks ago last Friday and am still waiting. Results are normally available between 5 and 10 working days after the, but this isn't the first time they've been this late. I don't mind the wait, as long as they're good!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
September 2010
Tomorrow I'm running in the Cork Half Marathon, in Blarney Co Cork. All going well, I hope to run somewhere in the region of 1:34 - 1:40. I'm not racing this one all out - I hate this particular course and intend going at Marathon pace for the first 8 miles and then, if I feel like it, giving the last 5.11 miles a "bit of a lash".
I'm entered for the Dublin City Marathon, on October 25th, and hope to run 3:18 or better. With that sort of time, I may be in with a shout for a Masters category medal in the Irish National Marathon Championship, which is being held as part of the event. My club, Eagle AC also has a Masters M50 team in the event: myself and two other 'auld fellas'. Training has been going well and I've three 20 mile runs under my belt and am consistently around the 60/65 miles a week mark.
I'll be running for Cork ARC and the Irish Cancer Society, but must set up my charity donation pages (get the finger out man!).
The training hasn't been causing me too much bother, I should really say the 'leakage' hasn't caused me too much bother. The marathon will be a different matter, but we'll see. Come what may, it will be an education.
This will be my 20th marathon, my first in 7 years and my second in 12 years. In many ways I feel like a Marathon Novice again, but I still have the confidence that I can go the distance at a fairly fast pace, i.e. 7:10 to 7:20 per mile average. I just hope I'm not being too ambitious. I'll probably set my final pace after the Cork to Cobh 15 Mile race, in three weeks time.
One thing I've found, over the past month or two, is that my 'leakage is gradually lessening and it's now conceiveable that I may soon become fully continent, i.e. nil leakage, when running. I have been fully continent at all other times since shortly after the operation (about 6 weeks afterwards), so this will be the icing on the cake. Either way, I certainly can live with the current position - well I have been running with it since resuming running in August 2008.
With all the mileage and long runs, I have to ensure that I'm fully hydrated at all times. That hasn't given rise to any problems, but I generally don't drink heavily within 3 or 4 hours of a run/race, prefering to ensure that I 'top up' well at all other times.
I'm entered for the Dublin City Marathon, on October 25th, and hope to run 3:18 or better. With that sort of time, I may be in with a shout for a Masters category medal in the Irish National Marathon Championship, which is being held as part of the event. My club, Eagle AC also has a Masters M50 team in the event: myself and two other 'auld fellas'. Training has been going well and I've three 20 mile runs under my belt and am consistently around the 60/65 miles a week mark.
I'll be running for Cork ARC and the Irish Cancer Society, but must set up my charity donation pages (get the finger out man!).
The training hasn't been causing me too much bother, I should really say the 'leakage' hasn't caused me too much bother. The marathon will be a different matter, but we'll see. Come what may, it will be an education.
This will be my 20th marathon, my first in 7 years and my second in 12 years. In many ways I feel like a Marathon Novice again, but I still have the confidence that I can go the distance at a fairly fast pace, i.e. 7:10 to 7:20 per mile average. I just hope I'm not being too ambitious. I'll probably set my final pace after the Cork to Cobh 15 Mile race, in three weeks time.
One thing I've found, over the past month or two, is that my 'leakage is gradually lessening and it's now conceiveable that I may soon become fully continent, i.e. nil leakage, when running. I have been fully continent at all other times since shortly after the operation (about 6 weeks afterwards), so this will be the icing on the cake. Either way, I certainly can live with the current position - well I have been running with it since resuming running in August 2008.
With all the mileage and long runs, I have to ensure that I'm fully hydrated at all times. That hasn't given rise to any problems, but I generally don't drink heavily within 3 or 4 hours of a run/race, prefering to ensure that I 'top up' well at all other times.
C Team - Cancer Survivors -- Cork City Marathon Relay June 7th 2010
Gone to the dogs again! More than 3 months since the Marathon Relay and not a peep out of me on the blog! As a colleague said I "need a good boot up the h#*e!"
I'm going to park the Relay report here for a day or two (I promise no more than that - really!)
Suffice to say that we had a great relay effort and came home in 119th place from 1152 teams, in 3:27:51. I have quite a few photos from the day and a wonderful comment from one of the team members that I'd like to share with you all.
So..I promise to update in a day or two.
I'm going to park the Relay report here for a day or two (I promise no more than that - really!)
Suffice to say that we had a great relay effort and came home in 119th place from 1152 teams, in 3:27:51. I have quite a few photos from the day and a wonderful comment from one of the team members that I'd like to share with you all.
So..I promise to update in a day or two.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Update
My God, it's been a long, long time since I updated the blog. My original intention of keeping a detailed diary leading up to and after my surgery. I did that to my own satisfaction. The second intention was to detail my recovery. Initially that was only half-hearted, however, in moving on, I failed dismally to keep posting.
In all probability anyone checking out the Blog would feel justified in concluding that I've not been doing so well. Nothing could be further from the truth - I'm absolutely flying it!
My next target is the relay in the Cork City Marathon on Monday June 7th, where I'll be running both for my Club, Eagle AC and also for C Team - Cancer Survivors, doing three legs (16.7 miles) in all. My ultimate target for 2010 is to run the Dublin City Marathon on October 25th. Target time is 3:18 or better, with the real target being the 2011 Boston Marathon M55 qualifying time of 3:45.
Summary: With respect to Prostate Cancer, I had my surgery, an open Radical Prostatectomy, on May 22nd 2008, just over two years ago. I am, to all intents and purposes, fully recovered. My PSA has been monitored regularly since and has remained at <0.02 ng/l. In other words undetectable. I have been fully continent since June/July 2008, some 6 weeks after the operation and have not worn a pad by day or night since then.
I do wear a small, cut down, pad when running, mainly to protect my running gear, prevent chafing and for peace of mind. Sometimes I just 'spot' it. Occassionally, it can be quite damp. Generally it's in between, but it's steadily improving. I reckon that there will come a day when I'll have the confidence to go without. On the other regular side effect of surgery, things are improving all the time and I've a smile on my face. That's all I'm going to say on that matter - it's for discussion with my wife and my surgeon only - period!
I've been doing a few things that seem to be improving the slight leak while running: Clearly the running, general fitness and well being helps enormously. My surgeon has never recommended kegels, so I've never done them - well I tried a (very) few times early on, but, as progress was excellent, I stopped doing them. What my surgeon recommends, to this day, is stopping and starting your stream. I do that and i'm not going to stop doing it. It worked for me.
One thing that I've started doing in the past six weeks or so is using a Foam Roller and this has strengthened my midriff/abdomen/lower back. I reckon it's having an effect, but I still have a way to go.
To conclude the health aspects, I don't think I could be doing much better. Thank God for this. Starting out on the PC rollercoaster, I had been prepared to be unable to run again, to be fully incontinent and to have full ED. None of those situations has occurred and I thank my surgeon, care and God for that.
My running is coming on leaps and bounds. It's been a slow process, but now (touch wood) it's progressing like an express train. I've been doing around the 60 mpw mark for the past 6 months. I reckon I haven't missed a day since October last and I've started getting in the prizes (M55, mind you, but 'How bad?) and my peers have started to take notice.
I'll probably go back and summarise my running recovery over the past two years in a few later posts. For the moment, I'll just outline the past two months.
I suppose I may as well start in April 2010:
April 2010
Earlier this year I started measuring the Cork City Marathon course and later volunteered to measure the inaugural Great Island 10, in Great Island, aka, Cobh (pronounced cove), Co. Cork. This race was to be held in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, with all proceeds going to the Society, so I couldn't pass it up. So it was that in early April, I found myself on Sunday morning measuring the remaining part of the Marathon and then heading off to Cobh. Tough morning, doing two courses. It took 7 hours in all, from home to home.
Race day was on Sunday April 16th and off we set over the hilly 10 mile course. Obviously I knew the course from the measuring, but I'd measured from finish back to the start ..and it's totally different when you're running, as opposed to being on the bike. Anyway i was prepared for the fast downhill sections over the first two miles, before we encountered the severe hills. Eagle clubmate Paul Cotter was my target. We had had many fine battles on the road before my PC reared it's head and even a few before the surgery. Since the surgery, the only times I'd beaten Paul was when he was 'taking it easy'. I reckoned that today was my day though. With two miles gone, I got occassional glimpses of Paul in the distance, about 250m ahead. The next two miles, from 2 to 4 were the severest section, so I bided my time.
Once we got over the second severe hill, with several more lesser ones to come, I started working and every time I caught a glimpse of Paul, the distance between us was less. Finally on a long straight section, with a steady upslope, from 6 to 7.5 miles, I had him firmly in my sights, catching up close to the top of the last major downhill section. I still held back, not letting him know I was there, knowing that he'd stride off down the hill. Sure enough that's what happened and was about 15 metres ahead at the bottom. The 8 mile mark was 300m up the road and I saw a mutual colleague there calling out times. Dreading the "C'mon John!" call, giving away my presence to Paul, I decided to move up on his shoulder before then. The call came "Well done John! Good running!" Usually that's 'like a red rag to a bull' and Paul takes off. This time I decided to boot the boot down and pressed on. Paul kept pace for the next half mile, all the while we were increasing the pace.
Finally, I heard his breathing lessen and drift back. 1.5 miles to go and a tough section. It was now a matter of getting as close to 70 as possible. I'd done 72:25 in Mallow back in February. Finally up the last slope and on to the finish in 71:06, with Paul 24 seconds behind. I finsihed as 6th M50 (there was no M55 category) but this was great: tough course, good time and my colleague and arch-rival beaten.
In all probability anyone checking out the Blog would feel justified in concluding that I've not been doing so well. Nothing could be further from the truth - I'm absolutely flying it!
My next target is the relay in the Cork City Marathon on Monday June 7th, where I'll be running both for my Club, Eagle AC and also for C Team - Cancer Survivors, doing three legs (16.7 miles) in all. My ultimate target for 2010 is to run the Dublin City Marathon on October 25th. Target time is 3:18 or better, with the real target being the 2011 Boston Marathon M55 qualifying time of 3:45.
Summary: With respect to Prostate Cancer, I had my surgery, an open Radical Prostatectomy, on May 22nd 2008, just over two years ago. I am, to all intents and purposes, fully recovered. My PSA has been monitored regularly since and has remained at <0.02 ng/l. In other words undetectable. I have been fully continent since June/July 2008, some 6 weeks after the operation and have not worn a pad by day or night since then.
I do wear a small, cut down, pad when running, mainly to protect my running gear, prevent chafing and for peace of mind. Sometimes I just 'spot' it. Occassionally, it can be quite damp. Generally it's in between, but it's steadily improving. I reckon that there will come a day when I'll have the confidence to go without. On the other regular side effect of surgery, things are improving all the time and I've a smile on my face. That's all I'm going to say on that matter - it's for discussion with my wife and my surgeon only - period!
I've been doing a few things that seem to be improving the slight leak while running: Clearly the running, general fitness and well being helps enormously. My surgeon has never recommended kegels, so I've never done them - well I tried a (very) few times early on, but, as progress was excellent, I stopped doing them. What my surgeon recommends, to this day, is stopping and starting your stream. I do that and i'm not going to stop doing it. It worked for me.
One thing that I've started doing in the past six weeks or so is using a Foam Roller and this has strengthened my midriff/abdomen/lower back. I reckon it's having an effect, but I still have a way to go.
To conclude the health aspects, I don't think I could be doing much better. Thank God for this. Starting out on the PC rollercoaster, I had been prepared to be unable to run again, to be fully incontinent and to have full ED. None of those situations has occurred and I thank my surgeon, care and God for that.
My running is coming on leaps and bounds. It's been a slow process, but now (touch wood) it's progressing like an express train. I've been doing around the 60 mpw mark for the past 6 months. I reckon I haven't missed a day since October last and I've started getting in the prizes (M55, mind you, but 'How bad?) and my peers have started to take notice.
I'll probably go back and summarise my running recovery over the past two years in a few later posts. For the moment, I'll just outline the past two months.
I suppose I may as well start in April 2010:
April 2010
Earlier this year I started measuring the Cork City Marathon course and later volunteered to measure the inaugural Great Island 10, in Great Island, aka, Cobh (pronounced cove), Co. Cork. This race was to be held in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, with all proceeds going to the Society, so I couldn't pass it up. So it was that in early April, I found myself on Sunday morning measuring the remaining part of the Marathon and then heading off to Cobh. Tough morning, doing two courses. It took 7 hours in all, from home to home.
Race day was on Sunday April 16th and off we set over the hilly 10 mile course. Obviously I knew the course from the measuring, but I'd measured from finish back to the start ..and it's totally different when you're running, as opposed to being on the bike. Anyway i was prepared for the fast downhill sections over the first two miles, before we encountered the severe hills. Eagle clubmate Paul Cotter was my target. We had had many fine battles on the road before my PC reared it's head and even a few before the surgery. Since the surgery, the only times I'd beaten Paul was when he was 'taking it easy'. I reckoned that today was my day though. With two miles gone, I got occassional glimpses of Paul in the distance, about 250m ahead. The next two miles, from 2 to 4 were the severest section, so I bided my time.
Once we got over the second severe hill, with several more lesser ones to come, I started working and every time I caught a glimpse of Paul, the distance between us was less. Finally on a long straight section, with a steady upslope, from 6 to 7.5 miles, I had him firmly in my sights, catching up close to the top of the last major downhill section. I still held back, not letting him know I was there, knowing that he'd stride off down the hill. Sure enough that's what happened and was about 15 metres ahead at the bottom. The 8 mile mark was 300m up the road and I saw a mutual colleague there calling out times. Dreading the "C'mon John!" call, giving away my presence to Paul, I decided to move up on his shoulder before then. The call came "Well done John! Good running!" Usually that's 'like a red rag to a bull' and Paul takes off. This time I decided to boot the boot down and pressed on. Paul kept pace for the next half mile, all the while we were increasing the pace.
Finally, I heard his breathing lessen and drift back. 1.5 miles to go and a tough section. It was now a matter of getting as close to 70 as possible. I'd done 72:25 in Mallow back in February. Finally up the last slope and on to the finish in 71:06, with Paul 24 seconds behind. I finsihed as 6th M50 (there was no M55 category) but this was great: tough course, good time and my colleague and arch-rival beaten.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
October 2008
All the work laid down in September was put to the test on October 5th. It turned out that the day was perfect. My apprehensions about weather evaporated. I'd felt that my pads wouldn't last 15 miles in lashing rain, so the only thing I had to contend with was keeping my spinchter tight and, maybe, if necessary, swapping my pads en-route (i had a spare pad, in wrapper, in a back pocket in my shorts. In the event, it turned out that I wasn't to need it, but better safe than sorry. I don't know how i was going to change it discreetly on the run, but I hadn't intended stopping.
Anyway, some 500 or so starters lined up on Summer Hill in Cork. I didn't do any warm-up, deciding that my endurance was at it's limit anyway. This was to be the acid test. I chatted with a few before hand and got lots of well wishes. One of my clubmates nearly frealked when he saw me but said little. After the race, he said, "Jesus Johnny, I really thought I see you crawling into Cobh, in last place..a sorry sight...not just 14 minutes after PC"
I ran steady all the way, running all the miles at around 8:40 pace, except for mile 14, past the old Verolme dockyard. There is a rotten hill there - it's not bad really, but after 13.3 miles, it is tough. Looking at the photos of those finishing around me, i appeared to be the freshest. Fresh I wasn't though, but it was good. I was really a one-paced runner and running close to the margins of my delicate "membrane". I'd finished a 15 mile race in 2:04:44, just 131 days after major surgery! Wow! Acid test passed!
The following Sunday I turned out for my Club, Eagle AC, in a 4 mile cross country race. This was a much more competitive affair than the previous sunday. The day was very foggy and, after only about 300m, I was left stranded, well adrift of the pack. I ploughed on nevertheless and, after 2.5 of the 4 laps, caught up with the second last runner, one of our own new members, running in his first ever race. I ran behind him for the next lap - I hadn't the energy to pass and he thought I was staying behind him to "encourage him". With half a lap to go. I did what any gallant cross country runner does to a flagging clubmate - I left him in my tracks!
Anyway, some 500 or so starters lined up on Summer Hill in Cork. I didn't do any warm-up, deciding that my endurance was at it's limit anyway. This was to be the acid test. I chatted with a few before hand and got lots of well wishes. One of my clubmates nearly frealked when he saw me but said little. After the race, he said, "Jesus Johnny, I really thought I see you crawling into Cobh, in last place..a sorry sight...not just 14 minutes after PC"
I ran steady all the way, running all the miles at around 8:40 pace, except for mile 14, past the old Verolme dockyard. There is a rotten hill there - it's not bad really, but after 13.3 miles, it is tough. Looking at the photos of those finishing around me, i appeared to be the freshest. Fresh I wasn't though, but it was good. I was really a one-paced runner and running close to the margins of my delicate "membrane". I'd finished a 15 mile race in 2:04:44, just 131 days after major surgery! Wow! Acid test passed!
The following Sunday I turned out for my Club, Eagle AC, in a 4 mile cross country race. This was a much more competitive affair than the previous sunday. The day was very foggy and, after only about 300m, I was left stranded, well adrift of the pack. I ploughed on nevertheless and, after 2.5 of the 4 laps, caught up with the second last runner, one of our own new members, running in his first ever race. I ran behind him for the next lap - I hadn't the energy to pass and he thought I was staying behind him to "encourage him". With half a lap to go. I did what any gallant cross country runner does to a flagging clubmate - I left him in my tracks!
September 2008
September was a quiet month. I did one race, the PTAA 5k in Togher. I ran it in 24:56, finding it tough all the way, but I hung on and wasn't tempted to push the pace. I always find this a tough one. The altitude profile isn't bad, but i just find it a hard one to run - can't seem to get into a pace any time I've done it.
For the rest of the month I concentratedon getting my long run in, generally on a Sat or Sunday and did it all on grass at The Farm. Any time friends or colleagues were there I left them off - my 10 min miling was too slow for them. Prior to the op, I'd have been doing the 2.35 mile circuit somewhere between 18:00 and 19:00 - now I was going at about 24:00 and somewhat erratic at that. I didn't mind. I had a target - the 15 Mile Cork to Cobh road race on October 5th. I had only two concerns for the race - lasting the pace and continence. The endurance I could, and would, work on. My bladder was another matter and was weather dependent - I'd see closer to the day.
So once a week for 5 weeks before the race, I ran 11.5 miles. It generally took me nearly two hours to do it, but I managed to get it in every week. My mileage went 17-26-30-24 and 32 for the week including the race.
All through the month I was working hard at the fitness/stamina, without pushing. this was like gently pushing at the surface of a delicate membrane, all the while realising that i could very easily rupture it - in other words set myself back massively. Like I always advise those I coach "Make haste slowly!"
For the rest of the month I concentratedon getting my long run in, generally on a Sat or Sunday and did it all on grass at The Farm. Any time friends or colleagues were there I left them off - my 10 min miling was too slow for them. Prior to the op, I'd have been doing the 2.35 mile circuit somewhere between 18:00 and 19:00 - now I was going at about 24:00 and somewhat erratic at that. I didn't mind. I had a target - the 15 Mile Cork to Cobh road race on October 5th. I had only two concerns for the race - lasting the pace and continence. The endurance I could, and would, work on. My bladder was another matter and was weather dependent - I'd see closer to the day.
So once a week for 5 weeks before the race, I ran 11.5 miles. It generally took me nearly two hours to do it, but I managed to get it in every week. My mileage went 17-26-30-24 and 32 for the week including the race.
All through the month I was working hard at the fitness/stamina, without pushing. this was like gently pushing at the surface of a delicate membrane, all the while realising that i could very easily rupture it - in other words set myself back massively. Like I always advise those I coach "Make haste slowly!"
Friday, April 24, 2009
August 2008
Right....It's now almost May 2009. I need to get the Blog to live up to it's title. To date, there's been very little mention of running. I'll just have to knuckle down and get something together.
While the Blog is (intentionally) relatively hard to find, - you'll really need to be looking for something specific to find it - I've had quite a few personal comments and stories from 'fellow travellers' and others contemplating surgery, so, I think, it is serving its purpose. That is, to give men (and their spouses) an idea of what they might face when undergoing a Radical Prostatectomy. Eleven months (actually it was 11 months ago on Wed - today is Friday) after the op, and I'm starting to feel strong again. Ok, I'm still on ED medication (but seems to be gradually improving) and I sometimes leak a little while running, but I'm totally continent (Touch wood!!) at all other times, but how bad. This is far better than my wildest dreams before the surgery.
Anyway back to August.
The diary part of the Blog stopped on Tuesday August 12th, the day after my first periodic post-op check-up. I'd gone for a run on grass that day and hadn't been too tight in the waterworks dept.
On Wed. Aug 13th, D & I flew to Faro, Portugal for 11 days break - she had to be back at work for Mon 25th. We had an apartment booked in the Aqualuz complex in Lagos, some 50 miles west of Faro. After an early flight 06:30 - thankfully we live only 10 mins drive from Cork airport! - we drove to Faro. I was wrecked and spent most of the afternoon lying on the bed, recovering.
One of the things that we like about this smallish complex is that it has a lovely swimming pool and, while I rarely swim now, I enjoy swimming there. It's nice to cool off once in a while. I was a lifeguard during my student summer holidays over 35 years ago - my God! How Long! I don't want to think about it!
I had decided before we left, that I was only going to run every second day, that I wouldn't do my normal 5 or 6 mile runs there, and that I'd only do a short run of 2 miles or so, at an easy pace. I did intend swimming, stretching and doing press-ups every day.
So on Thurs, the day after we arrived, I did 6 untimed lengths of the 20m pool. It was hard work. I was well aware that I didn't have the strength or speed that I had before. D said "Now you're swimming like the rest of us!" I find swimming is a good indicator of how you really are. Running or cycling, I can rationalise a bad day as being due to wind/heat/rain/time of day/whatever. Swimming (in a pool) is a different matter - if performance is well below par, it's usually because I'm below par. I wasn't expecting great things in the pool anyway, but I was surprised, considering the non-loadbearing excerise, at the loss of strength I'd had. Still this was my marker. It was the base from which I intended gauging my progress.
I had deliberately chosen a relatively flat course of approx. 2 miles as my route and set off slowly - no push/effort - about 12 min miling. After Tuesdays debacle, I wore a pad and found this a great (mental) comfort. The run itself wasn't too bad, but I fould it hard to relax fully - I feared the pad failing to absorb everything and the embarrassment of going through the complex foyer on the way back. I needn't have worried. I did leak but the amount was quite small, I'm guessing several of tablespoons. OK this would certinly have caused me some grief if I hadn't had a pad, but apart from the obvious reason for using it, the second reason was to enable me to relax in my running, knowing that I had "a parachute".
So for the remainder of break, I ran every second day,varying the route slightly and increasing the distance to approx. 2.5 miles. The effort was the same and I made no attempt to increase my speed, or introduce hills. Where I did make a big effort was in the pool. While, again, I made no effort to increase my speed, I did increase the load, going from my initial 6 lengths to a final total of 46 on the last day of the holiday. Most of it was breaststroke as I found the occassional frontcrawl quite hard. Breaststroke was my stroke when I swam competitively and has remained my favoured stroke.
We returned home on Monday 25th and that night I ran with the girls from the Meet&Train group for the first time in three months. I always go with the back-markers, so I was able to 'hide'. The 3 miles was tiring but OK.
On Thursday Aug 28th, I lined up for the Ballycotton 5. I'd only missed this event once since 1987 but had no hope of getting within "an asses roar" of my course P.B. of 28:09, set in 1990. I set out at the back of the record entry of 378, intending to start at around 9min miling for the first two or three miles. I think, after a couple of hundred metres, that there were about a half dozen people behind me and I continued steadily until about the two and a half mile stage - it's more or less level or down until about that point. Feeling good, I upped the effort a bit, knowing all the while taht there is a 'bitch of a hill' just at the 3 mile mark, with a sting in the tail, just 250m after that. I took the hill strongly, but conservatively and pushed on, strongly but certainly not hard, until 1 mile to go. I always find the last mile here hard but I pressed strongly, finishing in 348th place in 46:04, doing the last mile in 8:30. On the way into the finish, through the small lower village, I had great cheers and encouragement from my fellow athletes. Quite a few knew or had an idea of what I'd been through. Their encouragement was wonderfully uplifting. I felt I had come back.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Friday 24th October
I can't believe it's over three months since I updated the blog. If you're wondering how I'm doing, suffice to say that blog activity seems inversely related to recovery and well being ..............so....in short, I'm doing good!!
I have been keeping the diary going, but nowhere as diligently as during the early days of recovery. I intend to fill in the missing three months, but not for a week or two at least.
Current Status
Since late June/early July, 4 to 6 weeks post RP, I have had full bladder control during normal day to day activities. I resumed running in early August, and have been running with a pad (Tena 1) most of the time since. I have tried without a pad a few times and, for the most part, it's been OK. I've been dry running several times and event went two weeks where I was dry for all runs, however I then resumed speedwork on the track and, as the load increases, so has tendency to leak, but it's manageable. I've also resumed racing and recently competed in a 15 mile road race, just 122 days post Op., and also a cross-country championship. Both went OK. I was quite apprehensive about the 15 miler but it went well. I finished in 2:04:07 (I did the course in 1:28:28 in 1990 and 1:48:34 in 2007). I'd targeted 2:15:00 but secretly hoped to dip sub 2 hours, but I was happy with the finish.
This is me just coming into the finish line in Cobh. I was absolutely delighted to get there, particularly without any bladder issues - I was dry, apart from some minor leakage - I probably could have run without a pad. It was damn tiring - I really hadn't the base training done for a 15 mile race, but I'd never missed the race since the current series resumed in 1990 and that was an incentive to do it.
You can see more photos from the race on the Eagle AC website. BTW, That's me in the lead photo for the Gallery. I figured that I'd had the Star Performance of the day, and so deserved Pole Position!
Weather here has dropped a few degrees recently and I find that I'm leaking more also. I'm putting the leakage down to several things; Speedwork volume and intensity is increasing, I'm drinking more fluids, daily workload has increased and, in particular, the temperature drop.
Drinking and Incontinence
Some observations:
* I haven't drunk alcohol (much) for many years, so that hasn't been an issue.
* I stopped drinking coffee whilst in hospital in May, and I've never liked tea, so water is the drink of preference now (Yeah, I know! Sad individual!) When I can get it, I drink hot chocolate.
* Citric drinks - Orange/lemon etc - stopped taking them. Pretty sure that they were leading to strong tendency to leak.
* Soft drinks/carbonated drinks - same as for Citric drinks.
As I generally run in the evening, I tend to do most of my drinking/fluid intake early in the day, so that my bladder isn't under pressure when I run. If I'm running in the morning, I prefer to drink little before running.
What Now for the Blog?
I'll try to fill in the missing three months soon, but the active Prostate Cancer blog is clearly coming to an end. I don't know what I'm going to do with it in the future. Probably do a periodic (monthly?) summary. We'll see.
I have been keeping the diary going, but nowhere as diligently as during the early days of recovery. I intend to fill in the missing three months, but not for a week or two at least.
Current Status
Since late June/early July, 4 to 6 weeks post RP, I have had full bladder control during normal day to day activities. I resumed running in early August, and have been running with a pad (Tena 1) most of the time since. I have tried without a pad a few times and, for the most part, it's been OK. I've been dry running several times and event went two weeks where I was dry for all runs, however I then resumed speedwork on the track and, as the load increases, so has tendency to leak, but it's manageable. I've also resumed racing and recently competed in a 15 mile road race, just 122 days post Op., and also a cross-country championship. Both went OK. I was quite apprehensive about the 15 miler but it went well. I finished in 2:04:07 (I did the course in 1:28:28 in 1990 and 1:48:34 in 2007). I'd targeted 2:15:00 but secretly hoped to dip sub 2 hours, but I was happy with the finish.
This is me just coming into the finish line in Cobh. I was absolutely delighted to get there, particularly without any bladder issues - I was dry, apart from some minor leakage - I probably could have run without a pad. It was damn tiring - I really hadn't the base training done for a 15 mile race, but I'd never missed the race since the current series resumed in 1990 and that was an incentive to do it.
You can see more photos from the race on the Eagle AC website. BTW, That's me in the lead photo for the Gallery. I figured that I'd had the Star Performance of the day, and so deserved Pole Position!
Weather here has dropped a few degrees recently and I find that I'm leaking more also. I'm putting the leakage down to several things; Speedwork volume and intensity is increasing, I'm drinking more fluids, daily workload has increased and, in particular, the temperature drop.
Drinking and Incontinence
Some observations:
* I haven't drunk alcohol (much) for many years, so that hasn't been an issue.
* I stopped drinking coffee whilst in hospital in May, and I've never liked tea, so water is the drink of preference now (Yeah, I know! Sad individual!) When I can get it, I drink hot chocolate.
* Citric drinks - Orange/lemon etc - stopped taking them. Pretty sure that they were leading to strong tendency to leak.
* Soft drinks/carbonated drinks - same as for Citric drinks.
As I generally run in the evening, I tend to do most of my drinking/fluid intake early in the day, so that my bladder isn't under pressure when I run. If I'm running in the morning, I prefer to drink little before running.
What Now for the Blog?
I'll try to fill in the missing three months soon, but the active Prostate Cancer blog is clearly coming to an end. I don't know what I'm going to do with it in the future. Probably do a periodic (monthly?) summary. We'll see.
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