Week 2: Martin O Leary’s Blog: When plans change, don’t be afraid to change with them

When plans change, don’t be afraid to change with them

It’s just under 15 weeks to go to the Cork City Marathon. If you are like me, then this will be the start of the initial training block, as we all prepare our bodies and minds to go through 26.2 miles on the 2nd of June. Training plans have been put in place and specific races have been targeted as we all increase our efforts to get ready for the marathon weekend.

That’s how I had intended my last week would go. It was to be the start of a nice sixteen week build up that would have no hiccups along the way!!! Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned. Along with many people, I’ve had a persistent cough, on and off, for what feels like months now. Nothing seems to be able to shake it. On one particular run this past week, about a mile and a half in, I started  coughing severely. It caught me by surprise and with hands on my hips, I bent over, as I thought I was going to get sick. Thankfully I didn’t but when I stood back up everything started spinning and I felt myself swaying. Something like this has never happened to me before so I took a few minutes to compose myself (after stopping my watch obviously!!) I walked for a few hundred metres to see how I felt and tried running again but I still felt dizzy and a bit disorientated. I pulled the plug on the run and walked home. I took it easy for a few days and just did some very easy running, but I had some similar experiences. A trip to the doctors a few days later led to the diagnosis of a touch of vertigo. Thankfully I didn’t get it any worse as I’ve heard some horror stories about people who have been severely affected by it. This will be something I’ll have to monitor in the future, but to be honest, the whole ordeal knocked my confidence. I was nervous about going out running and was a little fearful.

My club, Eagle AC, hosted the 35th Tommy Ryan Memorial 5 mile in a sunny Carrigaline recently.  It was a fantastic day out and it was great to be out there supporting runners on the day. The Eagle Club members were out in force to help with the smooth running of the event. There was a fantastic atmosphere before and after in the community centre. Well done to Ruairi and Karen and everyone who was involved in getting everyone home safely and in one piece. 

I had a little down time last week and headed off, with my Runners Diary Hat, to Doonbeg Golf Club to catch up with a few friends and play a round of golf. Meeting up with old friends is good for the soul and Clare is such a beautiful part of the country. It’s an area where I must try and run some races.

Closer to home, my next race is the Kinsale 10 mile. I will probably use it as part of a longer run as my fitness isn’t quite where I would have hoped. I’ll go out run and enjoy it and try to get things back on track and build a little confidence back up.

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