My Tuesday Motivation | A New Start

Hi Everyone!

 

I haven’t written a Monday Motivation (yes even though it's Tuesday!) piece in months but as the title suggests this it’s a “New Start”. This new start begins today! I have just completed Day 1 of my 12 Week Personal Training Program with Crème Dela Crème Fitness, link here. I will be training with Kieran twice a week (but hopefully more depending in time commitments) for the next 12 weeks and I am so excited but also so scared.  I love having something to focus on and this is exactly what I needed to push me further and to finally reach my long term goals. I will go into more detail next week, once I have the first week out of the way but I will tell you a little bit about the program. It involves 2 personal training sessions each week. Each session will last 1 hour and will be tailored to suit my fitness levels. Alongside this Kieran will devise other fitness routines to compliment my training. I will be weighed every week and measured each month to track my progress. I will also be following a nutritionally balanced diet plan.

 

 

 

 

 

My Goals/Aims

 

With any training program it is important to set some goals and this one is no different. Below are my goals for the next 12 weeks:

·         Tone my body so that I will have no loose skin

·         Lose 1 ½ stone

·         Fit back into size 12 Jeans

·         Keep my diet on track and only allowing a cheat meal and not a cheat day, weekend or week!

 

This Week

 

Day 1 (Tonight) involved taking my weight and measurements. I also had to do a fitness test so that Kieran could tailor the program to suit me and my goals. We set out the training times and Kieran is to send me through my training plan so that I can start on my 12 weeks of hard work!

 

 

I will be back blogging each Monday to track my progress and will use this as my motivation. I will also upload photos once per month in order to compare the results. Here’s to a new and better me and to focusing on something productive! Why not try join me over the next 12 weeks to reach your own personal goals? I'd love to hear them so please drop me a line!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Twitter: @deeglamglow

Instagram: @deeglamglow

Facebook:www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

 

Cork Hen Party Madness

Hi Everyone!

My lovely sister is getting married in September so we recently went to Cork for her Hen Party Weekend. Organising a Hen Party is not something that I had ever done before and it was certainly an experience!

I am a full time working mother and I also run my blog so taking time to book a Hen Party was not easy. I knew that it would be difficult so one of the other lovely bridesmaids suggested henparty.ie, link here. To be honest, at first I felt that this was the lazy option but then when I read through their packages I was very impressed. They had a huge range of options available from locations, to hotels to activities.

Once we had decided that we wanted Cork as our location, and picked 5 activity options, I emailed henparty.ie for a quotation. I was still thinking that I would be able to do this all myself and that this was the backup option but I have to say that the detail that I received back, in the email, from Laura was brilliant. I think I decided there and then that I would be booking with them! The hotel options on offer were really nice and I don’t think that I could have gotten as nice a hotel (With Breakfast and access to the leisure center), if I had tried to book it all myself and for such a good price. Once I was happy with the quotation I paid the booking deposit and henparty.ie did the rest!

(Bridesmaids!)

The ladies from henparty.ie were in touch with me on a regular basis and let me know if they needed anything. One week before the hen I received a parcel, full of typical hen party paraphernalia, by courier along with a full itinerary.  The itinerary included the details of the weekend along with maps to each location and handy contact numbers. Below are the itinerary details and what was included in our package.

Friday:

·         Bed and Breakfast in The Montenotte Hotel

·         Finger Food in The Bailey

·         Round of Shots in The Bailey

·         Reserved private area in The Bailey

Saturday:

·         Bed and Breakfast in The Montenotte Hotel

·         CSI Activity – meet in The Washington Inn

·         Round of shots in The Bailey

·         3 Course Meal in Currans Restaurant on Adelaide Street

·         Round of shots in Edison

·         Free entry to Bowery Nite Club Before 11.30

·         Round of Champagne

·         Reserved private area

We decided to do the CSI activity (which was brilliant by the way) so we had to make a little video of the groom and send through some images of the bride and groom. The video was then used on the day and the images were included in the CSI booklets, they were a lovely keepsake from the day also.

The CSI started off in The Bailey, where an actor, the wonderful Sebastian, arrived in dressed as a private investigator. My sister honestly thought he was a stripper and was mortified and ready to kill me but once she realised that he was actually part of our activity, she calmed down and enjoyed herself.

We were divided up into groups and the whole aim of the CSI was for us the pull information from Sebastian’s "evil twin" who had kidnapped the groom. We had to run around Cork city as we were told that he would be in 1 of 3 pubs and if we bugged him enough, he would fill us in on the details surrounding the grooms "kidnapping". Once we found him and got the required information and completed all of the tasks we met back in The Bailey for the results. The winning team won a bottle of Processo. The bride’s team won, much to my disappointment (Must be the competitive streak in me!!!).

I thought that the CSI activity was very well done. Sebastian was so professional and nice and we were able to have a laugh with him. The whole group seemed to enjoy it, which was the most important thing for me as I didn’t want anyone not enjoying themselves. If I was to go on another hen in the morning, this is an activity that I would love to do again.

Overall the hen was a great success and the attention to detail that henparty.ie had put into the organisation, was superb. Honestly I would never have opted to have someone else organise the hen but having now done so I would not hesitate to do it again. It really takes the pressure off and allows the bridesmaids to enjoy the hen a little more. I think that we got more for our money also as I do not feel that I could have pulled off a weekend as well if I were to organise it all myself.

Now we have the wedding to look forward to, literally in a matter of weeks. One thing is for sure, after such a fantastic hen weekend, there is now an amazing bond between each of the hens that I hope will remain. I have no doubt that we will all laugh at stories from the hen for years to come. I cannot wait to see me beautiful sister, Orla, walk down the aisle to marry Darren. He is a lucky guy!!! To my fellow bridesmaids, Anna and Allissa, thank you for all of your help and for putting up with my stressed head!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Twitter: @deeglamglow

Instagram: @deeglamglow

Facebook:www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

REVIEW: Dermatique Recuperating Cream

Hi Everyone!

As you probably know by now, I have a small son who suffers from eczema. He has had it on and off, since he was born. It mainly affects his forehead, behind his ears and the worst area are his wrists. He does get the odd patch on his arms and legs but these are usually quite small.


We have cut dairy out of his diet and at the start this did make a difference but the eczema kept coming back. The main issue is that when he gets tired my small man would scratch his wrists and any other affected area. This has often led to him breaking the skin. It just means that the skin is not getting the chance to heal as it is constantly irritated.

We have used all types of creams, from steroid based creams to natural creams and none of them seemed to calm or lessen the appearance of it more than Dermatique's Recuperating Cream. The lovely people from Dermatique, link here, sent me a tub of the cream 4 weeks ago and I have been using it on my son’s eczema twice a day ever since.


Dermatique have been around since 1996 but I have only just been introduced to them. Their products are developed, under the strict supervision of dermatologists and skin care professionals, to help in the treatment of eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, and itchy skin. Originally the cream was developed by a mother and father who’s 9 month old daughter was diagnosed withsevere eczema. Their drive and ambition created the brand and provided a cure for their daughter and any other eczema sufferer.

Dermatique only use the finest natural ingredients that won’t harm sensitive skin. There are no artificial perfumes, synthetic colour or parabens added to their products. I think that’s part of the reason that I was so drawn to trying this cream on my son. He has had sensitive skin since he was born and I was so sick of putting creams laced with chemicals, onto his delicate skin. Some of the ingredients used include:

· Blackcurrant Seed Oil
· Narcissus Extract
· Centella Asiatica
· Licorice Extract
· Bisabolol
· Argan Oil


I could easily have written up a review within 2 weeks of getting the cream but I wanted to be sure that the results were as good after the 2 weeks. So often I have tried creams that are like miracle workers, fading the redness and roughness of the eczema and then after 2 weeks there is no more change. I wanted to be sure that I was writing an honest review and that I was not eating my words the following week.


I started applying the cream morning and evening every day. The first thing that I noticed was that texture of the skin was softening. The horrible roughness was disappearing. It stayed like this for a day or so, until the redness too started to fade. After 2 weeks there was a noticeable difference and people even started to comment that the skin was clearing.

(My Sons Right hand - Week 1 on top and week 4 on the bottom. His right hand was the worst affected area and the results speak for themselves!)

The eczema is still there but it has faded so much. When he gets tired, my son will scratch and there were days where I felt like I was back to square one but I am delighted with the results. I hated using chemicals on his skin as I always feel that these will have a lasting effect and I would hate for him to be left with scarring from the eczema. I just feel that this cream has done what is claimed it would do, without being harmful to the skin.


This weekend we had another little flair up, mainly because my son only went for a very short nap and refused to sleep any more. This routine seems to have continued all week so naturally he becomes over tired and wont stop scratching his wrists and ear. It’s a battle that I am constantly fighting and I am hoping that he will grow out of it but I’m glad that I have found a cream that does what it says it will do. I will no longer be running to the doctor for another prescription for a cream full of chemicals.

I think what I really like, and was happily surprised by, was the texture and consistency of the cream. Most dry skin creams are heavy and thick but the Recuperating Cream was light and fluffy and feels so nice on your skin. Even my son loves having it put on as I massage it gently into his skin.


The great thing is about the Recuperating Cream is that I can use it myself too. I have been using it on my own hands for the past couple of weeks to help with the dryness and so far so good. Dermatique have a number of other products, which I am yet to try, but needless to say, when payday comes around on Friday I’ll be making a few purchases!



Until the next time, always remember to be:




Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow



Dee x



Twitter: @deeglamglow
Instagram: @deeglamglow
Facebook:www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Hi Everyone!

 

Firstly I would like to thank Eimear from Chirps From A Little Red Hen and Rachael from Rachsbeautique for tagging me in "10 Things you didn't know about me". 

 

 

All you have to do is add the 10 Things image from the top of this post, link back to me and answer the following 10 questions. Then if you wish to do so, compile 10 questions of your own and tag 10 of your fellow bloggers to do the same.

 

 

Here they are:

 

Questions from Chirps From A Little Red Hen

 

1. What's your favourite room in your home?

We live in a teeny tiny cottage with 5 rooms in total. My favourite room is probably our bedroom. It’s the upstairs section of the cottage and is long but not very high. If you stretch your hands out you can touch the sloping ceiling at either side! The ceiling is so low that we cannot fit a wardrobe in there. In saying all of that I just love how cosy it is.

 

2. What makes a perfect sandwich?

Cheese. I have to have cheese in my sandwich otherwise it just doesn’t have the same appeal!

 

3. What is your favourite thing to do on a rainy day?

Curl up in front of the fire and watch the rain fall outside.

 

4. If you were only able to wear one item of makeup what would it be?

It would be a tossup between mascara or eyebrow product.

 

5. Camping? Glamping? Self-Catering? Hotel? What would your choice be on a holiday?

Hotel without question. I travelled through Australia in a campervan and I have now developed a hate for any sort of camping!

 

6. What are your favourite flowers?

Lavender. The bridesmaids at my wedding had bouquets of lavender and they looked amazing and smelt just as good.

 

7. If you won a lotto of €1 Million what would be the first thing you would do?

Cry! I would ring the bank to pay off our mortgage or any other debt/loan and then go on a fabulous holiday with my husband and son before coming home to decide what to do with our winnings!

 

8. What's your favourite thing to do in Summer? 

Getting out in the fresh air. I am lucky to have grown up in the country and to now still live in the countryside and I just love the smell of the fresh country air. It's so good for the mind to get out too.

 

9. What's your favourite thing to do to relax?

I love to watch some of my guilty pleasures on TV with a glass of wine or cup of tea. It's nothing too crazy but I enjoy it!

 

10. Your perfect breakfast?

Poached Eggs, brown toast and a beautiful cup of Barry's tea!

 

Questions from Rachs Beautique

 

Your questions are:

1. What is your biggest blog related peeve?

I don't know really, nothing so far!

 

2. What's your nickname and how did you get it?

Dee. My name is Denise so the nickname is not very original but it suits me. When I was in primary school everyone used to call me Denny or Dinny and I hated it. I used to go home from school crying because I hated it so much. I think the main reason was because at the time there was a character called Dinny in the Irish tv program Glenroe and he was an elderly man, I hated being associated with it! It's funny because there is now a character in home and Away called Denny!

 

3. Favourite Movie?

Mickeybo and Me. I just adore that film and watch it all the time.

 

4. What blogger do you secretly want to be friends with?

Ha ha that’s a good question. Probably Pippa O'Connor because she is just fab and seems to down to earth. I love her style and taste too.

 

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I would probably still live here in Ireland because I am a bit of a home bird although I wouldn’t mind living in New York or Los Angeles for a year.

 

6. Favourite beauty tool/product?

Nivea Essential Care Lip balm, the blue one. I freak out if I don’t have one with me at all times. I'm actually addicted, so much so that even my husband's 4 year old niece comments on it!!

 

7. How tall are you?

5ft 7"

 

8. Favourite junk food?

This has to be divided up between sweet and savoury because I just couldn’t choose!

Savoury: Pizza and garlic cheese chips (Soooooo not good for the waist line)

Sweet: Tesco Midget Gems

 

9. Favourite song?

I have lots of them but I particularly love our wedding song: "You Couldn’t Have Come At A Better Time" by Luka Bloom

 

10. Last romantic gesture from partner, boyfriend, spouse, or someone special?

My wonderful husband made me breakfast in bed last Saturday and it was the loveliest surprise! He told me that he would bring me up a cup of tea and instead arrived with tea and breakfast.

 

 

Thanks again to Chirps From A Little Red Hen and Rachsbeautique for the tag.

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Twitter: @deeglamglow

Instagram: @deeglamglow

Facebook:www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

 

 

The Dreaded “Creche – it is” Has Hit

Hi Everyone!

I have read article after article and blog post after blog post, as well as speaking to numerous other parents, and every opinion is the same: “Crèche-itis” is Real! For some this happens when the child starts in crèche, whereas for others it can be when they start school, for us it is happening now and let me tell you, it is very real.

 

For the first 7 months of my son’s life he spent his days at home with me, during my wonderful maternity leave. In mid January of this year I went back to work due to necessity rather than willingness. It’s not that I don’t enjoy working, because I do and I think it’s healthy to get out, but I really enjoyed being at home with my son. I loved seeing all of his firsts and it broke my heart to think that the lovely ladies in the crèche would possibly see some of his firsts before I would.  I also felt that horrible sense of guilt at having to put my precious baby boy into the crèche full time and often felt that I was a bad mother because I couldn’t spend my days at home with him. In an ideal world I would love to work part time so that I could have the best of both worlds. I do think that the crèche has been great for him for socialisation and when he starts school he will be with his friends, so making that transition a little bit easier for us all.

 

A few weeks into his start at crèche my little man seemed to be doing great. I had heard from so many people that once they start in crèche they will catch everything, but my little man seemed to be doing fine. During his first 7 months he was only at the doctors twice, aside from his vaccines, due to his sensitive skin but otherwise he was the healthiest little boy. This wasn’t to last.

 

Within 2 months of starting in the crèche my poor little man had been in and out of the doctor so many times that I lost track. It all started when my husband caught the Mumps and then I caught them. At the time there was huge drama over my son and the likelihood of him catching them? The doctors rang the HSE for advice and wanted to give him his MMR early but the HSE advised against it, instead telling us to just keep away from him! This did no good because 1 week after I caught the Mumps, my poor little man caught them as well! Luckily he got over them pretty fast but the worry was unreal.

 

This was the real start of crèche-it is because he caught everything going after the mumps. He had coughs, colds, runny nose, 3 chest infections, 2 rounds of the vomiting bug, diarrhoea, constipation and the list goes on. On one occasion we brought him to the doctors on a Thursday and again on the Friday! He was quite sick when he turned 1 so he missed his 12 month vaccines and had to wait another month before he was fully recovered and was, luckily, allowed to be given them but who knows whether he will be back in full health again for the 13 month vaccines!

 

In all that time not only has the poor little man had to fight sickness after sickness but he has also had to deal with flair-ups of his eczema. When he was born he suffered with baby acne and eczema. The baby acne cleared up by the time he was 4 months but the eczema did not. He now regularly gets flair-ups on his wrists and ears, which I am trying to manage with any type of cream that I can get my hands on. I won’t go into too much detail as I will be posting about his eczema in the coming weeks.

 

In order to ensure that our son does not develop another chest infection, or illness of any kind, we are putting the fire and heating on at night (Even though it’s the summer) and when drying his clothes I have now taken to finishing them off in the drier, just in case they may be any way damp. We have also decided that crèche-itis is not going to rule our house. Our little man is happy and healthy and will hopefully get his 13 month vaccines (A month late) next week.

 

For anyone going through the same thing, I feel your pain. We are on edge constantly, hoping that our little man won’t catch anything else and require yet another doctor’s visit. Hopefully we have come to the end of this run of sickness ut who knows when “Creceh-itis” will strike again!

 

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Twitter: @deeglamglow

Instagram: @deeglamglow

Facebook:www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

A New Start to A New Me #2

Hi Everyone

 

If you follow my blog, twitter or facebook pages, you will know that I have begun to refocus my training towards improving my diet and mentality. I am trying to proactively be more positive and not focus on the negative.  I find the mental side of training quite hard in particular when it comes to restricting my diet. It has taken me over 6 months to be comfortable with my training and to keep my motivation alive. It can be so hard to lose your motivation after a bad day or week but I have learned to keep my focus and to go out for a run, regardless of how tired I am. As I mentioned in my last update post, link here, I have made my vision board and I will use this to keep my motivation and let it be my daily reminder of where I want to get to.

 

Week 1 Feedback

 

Following the first week, of my new focus, I felt great. I ran the Killarney 10K on the Saturday, link here, and I ate extremely healthily all week. Every evening I call to my Mother-in-Law’s house to collect my son (I work until 6 and the crèche closes at 6 so she collects him every evening!) where I will have dinner and we’d usually have a cup of tea and a few biscuits afterwards. I’m delighted to say that I did not indulge in the biscuits at all during week 1! It’s a habit that we’ve gotten in to and if I’m honest I really don’t need them so I’ve now cut them out.

 

Jumping on the scales I was still the same weight as my first weigh in. It’s frustrating because I weighed myself half way through the week and I was down 3 lbs! I was on cloud 9 after this but it didn’t last and it’s my own fault. We went to a local fundraiser on theSaturday night, after the Killarney 10K, and I indulged in a few glasses of wine and quite honestly I didn’t watch what I was eating on Sunday. I know that it’s good to have a “Cheat” meal but Sunday for me was a “Cheat” Day!

 

Week 2 Feedback

 

Week 2 was a good week and a bad week! I started off the week on a high with my new Running Strength & Conditioning Class with Crème Dela Crème Fitness (I will go into more shortly) on the Monday night. I then ran once more during the week and ate well all week. I was careful to be good food wise as that weekend was my sisters Hen Party in Cork so I knew that I would throw all my healthy eating out the window for that weekend. Now I wouldn’t way that I was very bad but I wasn’t overly cautious about what I ate or drank! This had an effect on the scales as I, once again, did not manage to shed anything. It’s disappointing but on the plus side I did start to feel better in my clothes.  I finished off the week on a high, though, getting up early on Sunday morning and running 5 K in the hotel gym. I was delighted with myself for that because it was a mad weekend so I needed to finish it off on a positive note. It would have been so much easier to curl up on the couch and feel sorry for myself but I’m glad that I found the motivation from somewhere to go for my run.

 

 

Week 3 Feedback

 

Unfortunately we had no class this particular week so I just tried to refocus and train as normal. Food wise I was good, again, watching what I was eating and generally making the healthy choice. I definitely noticed a change in my energy levels and also in my clothes. I was also down 2 lbs so that was a huge positive. On the Sunday I ran the Milford 4 Mile Road Race, link here, and managed to sprint finish. I was on a high following the race.

 

As it was a bank holiday I met my husband and a few friends for some drinks. To be honest I didn’t feel bad for having a few drinks because I don’t go out much in general and I have been pretty good with my diet and exercise lately. It was a great night and end to a good week.

 

Week 4 Feedback

 

Following the Bank Holiday Sunday night out I know that I needed to get my motivation back and refocus my energies on being healthy. That night I went to the Running Strength & Conditioning Class and pushed myself so hard, knowing that I had been out the night before and needing the kick-start my week on a positive. The class, once again, was tough and I probably sweated half of my body weight but that feeling afterwards is always worth it.

 

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to be good all week, I only managed one 5K run and my diet wasn’t the best, but not the worst, all week. I am disappointed in myself now as I didn’t lose anything on the scales. This is what will push me for the coming week. I have a lot of ground to make up and I am dee-termined to make a difference! One positive that I can take from the week was that my aunt, who lives away so I only see her once every 2 months, told me that my shoulders look great! She said that I have begun to tone up in that area. It made my week hearing that so thank you Rese!

 

Running Strength & Conditioning Classes

 

 

 

I have always been told that in order to increase my stamina, when running, and to progress my training, I need to incorporate other forms of training like interval training or circuit training. It’s funny because I had just uploaded my blog post when I noticed a local trainer promoting a new fitness class on Monday nights. It was like fate!

 

Crème Dela Crème Fitness is run by Kieran Doyle and he is based in Newcastlewest. I had went to Kieran’s Boxercise classes, 3 days per week, the year that I got married and I loved it. His classes are so intense and I would often say “Why am I doing this to myself”, but the reason was that they were working. I would walk out of the gym looking like I had just stepped out of the shower. The sweat was pumping out through me but it felt so good because I say some great results and received some amazing compliments.

 

Kieran started a new weekly training class specifically aimed at runners, so of course I signed up! The Running Strength & Conditioning class takes place on Monday nights 8-9pm and it costs €7. The first week that I went to the class I was quote intimidated because I didn’t know anyone else in the class, apart from Kieran, but the buzz was great. Kieran pushes everyone so hard to ensure that you are getting the most out of the class. This is exactly what I need because I can allow myself to give up at times, in particular when I am lacking my motivation.

 

The class started up with a 15 minute intense warm up and within a couple of minutes I could definitely feel my heart rate rising and my body loosening  and warming up.  Once warmed up, we began a mini circuit for 3 rounds of 1 minute each, with no break. This circuit included:

1.       Squat Jumps over a rope

2.       Tricep dips (Rather than just dipping down, we had to push ourselves back up so that propelled our bodies up, using our full strength)

 

Following this we began the most intense circuit training that I have ever done! There was 14 in the class so we each started at a different station and worked out on each station for 1 minute with a 20 second break before moving on to the next station. The second round was for 30 seconds, followed by a 10 second break and the final round was for 15 seconds with no break. The circuit included (I apologise in advance for my lack of technical terms!!!):

1.       Deadlifts

2.       Burpees

3.       Crunches

4.       Medicine ball sit ups

5.       Sprint on the spot

6.       Squat

7.       Squat holds

8.       Squats while lifting a bar over our heads

9.       Squats with dumbbells

10.   Plank Jack

11.   Squat Jumps

12.   Body Twist with weight

13.   Side squats with dumbbells

14.   Toe Touches

 

I genuinely had forgotten how tough the classes, at Crème Dela Crème Fitness, were. I woke up the following morning and felt a little bit stiff but as the day went on I got stiffer and stiffer and by Tuesday morning I was walking like a penguin! Kieran had made up complete a full cool down so I cannot fault him for me being stiff. This was all due to my lack of fitness. It’s amazing how fit you think you are and then you try something slightly different and you realise just how unfit you actually are.

 

Taking part in this class has made me realise just how important it is to vary your training in order to be the best and the fittest that you can. This particular programme is for 6 weeks but I think that I will be continuing with a class once a week as part of my training. The one good thing about Kieran as a trainer, aside from the fact that he is like a drill sergeant pushing you to your limits, is that he is great to give good advice. I don’t me just general advice, Kieran will give advice knowing you and your fitness level. I’ve known him for a number of years now, from participating in different classes, and I find that the advice that he has given me has always been spot on. He is the type of trainer that knows everyone’s personal limits and will push you until you have reached that limit. He will keep pushing you further and further at each class and it pays off.

 

 

To say that I am enjoying the classes is an understatement. I love getting out on a Monday night, when I would normally be lazy after work. I love that feeling following the class and I find that I always sleep better that night. Mentally it helps too as I am so used to training by myself and this is a welcome change.

 

What's Next

 

As I mentioned in last week’s post I will be ruining in the Curraghchase 10K at the weekend. This will be my first 10K since starting the classes so I’m interested to see how I get on. As normal I will post about my experience running the 10K next Monday night.

 

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Twitter: @deeglamglow

Instagram: @deeglamglow

Facebook:www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

Milford 4 Mile Road Race

Hi Everyone!

What else would you do on a bank holiday Sunday, only go running?! The Milford 4 Mile Road Race took place in Milford, North County Cork, on Sunday morning at 11am. 

Proceeds from the race, along with some other events, went to The Shane Fitzgibbon Rehab Fund, click here for more details.

The Route

(Thanks to corkrunning.blogspot.ie for the image)

On the Charleville road, in Milford, there is a long steep hill, Kilbolane Hill, and this was our starting point. Luckily though, we started half way up this hill. Anyone that knows the area would be aware of this hill I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that this is a tough hill to climb, at any stage of the race. We ran up Kilbolane Hill, turning right at the top and ran along this road for 1 1/2 miles. This was the flattest part of the route and at the end of this road we once again turned right on to the Dromcollogher Road. We, at this stage, faced into another hill but this one was not as steep but it was long. Shortly before the 3 mile mark we turned right again and faced the toughest part of the race, in my opinion anyway.

 

Running up another long, steep hill, this was both mentally and physically, the toughest part of the race. A lot of people opted to walk at this point and to be honest I wouldn’t have blamed them. What goes up must come down and this was so true because there was an extremely long descent back into Milford village where the spectators waited for the walkers and runners to arrive back home.

 

My 4 Miles

 

Once I said that I had signed up for the Milford 4 Mile Road Race, it felt like I was constantly being told how "tough" this particular race was. This was no help to me at all and as a result I was filled with nerves prior to the race. I was hardly able to drink water the closer it got to the start time. It didn’t help that my partner in crime, my sister Orla, was not running with me. Physically I felt ready but mentally I was a mess and needed all the words of encouragement that I could get.

 

I wanted to be super prepared so I registered, and donated money, online a few says beforehand so on the morning I was at the Primary School at 9.30 to collect my race number. I live so close to Milford village that I was able to head away again until 10.30 when I arrived back, parked the car and began my warm up. I ran up and down the road and stretched as much as possible. The turnout was huge. We were standing at the start line and there was a sea of people all the way back down Kilbolane Hill. It's great to see such a worthy cause so well supported and I was proud to be part of it.

 

It took me 1 1/2 miles to settle into the race properly and after that I was fine. I was able to enjoy the race and not let any negativity get to me. Yes the hills were tough but I battled on because I didn’t want to  allow myself to walk. That last hill was a killer but I kept telling myself that there would have to be a downhill run at some point. Once I reached the top of the hill I could see Milford Church below in the distance and I began my descent. I passed a lovely woman handing out water, from her house, to the runners and I also met plenty of spectators telling me that I only had a short distance to go and so not to give up!

 

I rounded the final corner and had approx 200 yards to go. I could see people crossing the finish line and I thought to myself "I'll make a run for it". Boy did i! I ran so fast I felt like I could make the next Olympic Team (Well I know that’s an exaggeration but that’s how good I felt!). I passed a number of people who had ran past me on that horrible last hill. I was running so fast to the finish line that I actually got a round of applause from the spectators. I was on Cloud 9! It was the best finish I have ever had and all weekend long I was on a high because of it! I finished the race in 42 mins 31 secs. I know this isn't my fastest time but the buzz afterwards, for me, was amazing.

 

If I could pull any negative from the race, it would be that the number bibs were stick-on so they had fallen off a number of runners within the first mile. I, luckily, always keep safety pins in my car so I had my number pinned on. The organisers did a great job, though, and had steward's at every bend and gap on the road. Afterwards they had enough refreshments to feed an army!

What's Next

Next up for me is The Curraghchase 10K. This race will be taking place in the beautiful Curraghchase, just outside Limerick City, on the 16th of August. My aim for this race is to run it in under 1:05:00, see you there!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

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