Fairfield Broomall/ Newtown Sq – a hotel that really is home from home.

6th Feb 2025

Of course no trip to Philly would ever be complete without an emotional reunion with JP! This man is the reason we keep returning to the Fairfield Broomall/Newtown Sq, time after time. I’ve never known such a friendly, kind, and conscientious staff member as Joseph Patrick Monaghan, always gives up the warmest welcome! which is so nice after a long flight from the UK. He is a credit to the Fairfield hotel, and the Marriott corporation.

It’s like waking up to sunshine no matter the weather, coming down to breakfast is just a joy!

**A note I wrote for JP (after the holiday) as a means of token appreciation for all of his kindness**

We had a fun gift exchange, I got him a few souvenirs from Dublin (including the cute shamrock badge on his lapel) I was NOT expecting my NFC Champions T-shirt! which was a lovely surprise.💚

Fairfield offers the best breakfast, with almost everything to offer and I like to sit in one of the booths at the back by the window. I like to start the day with a light breakfast (I have quite an OCD 10-step routine) which this hotel well caters for.

Coffee (time to catch up on Eagles news/Good Day Philadelphia – Fox 29)
Toast with Smuckers grape Jelly
Cereal (sometimes Oatmeal, sometimes Cheerios, sometimes Raisin Bran)
Turkey/pork sausage with scrambled eggs (sometimes boiled) and salsa and Tabasco sauce
Bagel with Philadelphia
Fresh fruit (melon, orange, grapes, apple & banana) with yogurt
Waffle with maple syrup
Fruit juice
More coffee
Water

**The second booth (at the back, on the right, by the window) is usually my spot.**

It’s so nice to wake up this each morning, and enjoy a nice relaxing breakfast whilst planning what to do with our day. This is why I like to stay in the suburbs, away from the hustle and bustle of Center City. A chance to unwind, and focus on the important things – eating and sleeping 😊 two of the most fundamental aspects of self-care that I often neglect when I’m back home working, and generally going through the everyday humdrum motions.

The Fairfield is always a nice comfortable stay, and they cater for our every need. We usually stay in a suite, but this time just went for a room with 2 queen beds which was fine. Cost varies, but generally we usually pay around $170-$200 per night (including breakfast), and it gives us everything we need. Such friendly and efficient staff, we love it here.

The hotel has a range of superb fitness and leisure facilities. I often do a treadmill run/light gym workout before breakfast nice and early when it’s quiet, and it’s so nice to go for a dip in the pool afterwards – I usually have it to myself in the winter months – and it’s super warm!

Fairfield Broomall/Newtown Sq is conveniently located off Highway 476, and is approximately a 20 minute drive from the airport, or Center City so a lovely getaway if you’re visiting Philadelphia with lots of nice trails to explore nearby too (on of my main criteria when booking trips – places to run!)

*Next blog is about our brewery tour of Media, PA 😀🍻

Dublin – Philly ☘️🇺🇸

5th Feb 2025

So the Eagles were off to the Super Bowl! and I was off to Philly, for our ceremonial ‘watch party’ with my Buddies in Barnaby’s Havertown. This time, flying from Dublin (doing US immigration this end so as to spare us the faff of it all after a long haul flight!) So much easier, and more economical to do it this way, avoiding uk air passenger duty.

American Airlines flight AA0723

It was a smooth flight, slept some of the way, and read a bit of my Neil Young book. Touched down in Philly just after 4.30pm, straight through… no border control/ customs to deal with, it was all super fast getting through arrivals. Walked across the lot over to Avis (few mins walk) and straight onto I95 to Broomall.

Twenty minutes and we were at our hotel. The Fairfield Broomall/Newtown Sq always feels like home from home, always such a warm welcome (special thanks to Victor and Shakina for a super quick check-in!) straight up into our room to get changed before heading out to Barnaby’s for drinks and food.

Barnabys Havertown is my happy place, and I’ll let you decide for yourself why you think that is when you see these photos…. the cheesesteak nachos are the just the best!! and what better to wash them down with than a Levante NEIPA, brewed in West Chester, PA. This was hands down my favourite beer of the holiday! (although I didn’t know it yet at this point, so of course must sample many more over the next 7 days….)

We managed to get our usual spot at the bar on the corner as you first walk in, and I was complimented on my sweatshirt by Erin, and got chatting for a while with Mikes relatives (bartender). This place feels more ‘local’ to me, than bars back home, somewhere I feel free to relax away from all the usual pressures and free of any kind of conformity. The chance to cut loose, and vibe with friends/strangers over a beer or two and talk about the Eagles for 3 hours straight. Bliss!

✩* 🎀 𝐼’𝓋𝑒 𝑔💞𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌❁𝓇𝓁𝒹, 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈…
𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒷🍪𝓎𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝒾𝓇𝓁𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝒻𝓊𝓇𝓁𝑒𝒹… 🎀 *✩

– Neil Young, Philadelphia.

Acclimation

Running can be a lot like mountaineering when you think about it, the patience and discipline you need to get to where you want to be. Rush it you fail. Take your time, get it right and you achieve.

The physiological adaptations come about through correct prep, training, and adjusting to new environments. These environments can be likened to base camp, where altitude will bring about changes in physiological functions such as increased red blood cells hemoglobin (Hb) and mitochondria required for what is being asked of the body to perform under those conditions. Without going to in-depth with all the sport science ‘nitty gritty’, these adaptations can be very similar to those of an athlete undertaking a vigorous training regime.

It is only following a period of rest and recovery when we begin to reap the benefits of such intense training. Just like mountaineers, dedicated athletes should train smart and trust in the process whilst recognising that they may need to temporarily consolidate during this acclamation phase before pushing on to the next level. This can be anywhere from a few days, to a few weeks (and possibly longer, depending on the athlete).

Observing a plateau in performance may be frustrating, but this is often the bridge to Becoming a stronger and more efficient athlete thus leading to improved performance long-term and running those PB’s that we desire.

5k time down to 20:33 – need to consolidate before pushing on **#trusttheprocess**

Recovery Running 🏃🏼‍♀️

RECOVERY RUNNING – Easy means EASY. This is the time in between sessions when the body adapts to the demands of training, and it’s only when we get this recovery period right that we improve.

Recovery running should feel super slow, this is prime time to flush the lactic acid out the legs and loosen out.

Never feel guilty for running slow, I know when to run at 6min miling, I know when to run at 10min miling. there’s a time and a place for everything.

Recovery days also means fuelling the body right!! Ensure you’re getting sufficient protein for muscle growth and repair, carbohydrate for energy, and electrolytes to replenish salts & minerals (vital for muscle function!) do.not.scrimp.on.calories.

Train – overload – recover – adapt – improve – perform. ☑️

✨ℝ𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕕𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕤 🪄✨

#trainsmart #recover #fuelup #easymeanseasy

Hamstring rehab day 2

Today I managed to do double the amount of running than I did yesterday – more PROGRESS!! 🙌

Lunch run – just a very easy mile.

Evening run – 2.5 miles with Zach (#crippled club) watched on sidelines whilst squad did the session. Very easy, on grass. Broke it up with some brief bouts of walking (up the hills) left hammy twinging. Did a thorough w/u – lots of dynamic stretching: Leg swings, inchworms, can-cans, straight leg drills etc…

Good news! I heard from the hospital today – 2 x letters. One to see my Trauma & Orthopedic consultant, one for an MRI. Hopefully will have some answers soon 🤞🏽

Hamstring Rehab Day 1

A POSITIVE day!! managed my first run in a week – a VERY easy 15 minute jog (1.5miles) Pleased to say, this went well! Leg held up ok, no pain, nor stiffness in right hamstring. Got some tightness in my left hammy/glute but that is probably from compensating and walking on crutches last week (more pressure on that leg whilst I wasn’t weight bearing on the R)

Gym session – Light stretching/hamstring flexibility/strengthening exercises

Theraband stretch (progressive)
Wall sit hamstring stretch
Hamstring oscillations (with stability ball)

CORE:

Plank
Med ball overhead crunches
Russian twists
Flutter kicks

All in all, a good day. Gonna call this progress!

Hamstring Injury

It’s been a week to the day since my injury, and I’ve been too depressed to write before now so here’s what the last 7 days have been about for me.

Following the Market Drayton 10k on the 8th May, I have been suffering with pain, and stiffness at the back of my right knee/hamstring. I foolishly did a recovery run the day after the race, despite it being uncomfortable which only exacerbated it further (rookie!)

Tuesday morning I struggled to even get out of bed, and hobbled about in the hope that it would pass. It didn’t. I strapped it up with K-tape, did the whole RICE thing… no improvement. I cried myself to sleep in pain that night, not helping that Zuzu dive-bombed me and Harry jumped on my leg before bed!

Wednesday morning I had an external meeting at work and honestly didn’t know how I’d drive myself there. But I did, despite struggling to have the strength in my leg to use the brake/accelerator. My colleague told me to go home as I looked so unwell from the pain/lack of sleep! I stayed for the meeting, but as I got up to leave, my leg went from under me – it completly gave out. This resulted in a trip to A&E, and although I was worried about a tear, they were more concerned about a stress fracture. So following X-rays, assessments, etc I was referred to Trauma & Orthopedics to determine what’s going on in there. Still waiting now for the results from this! (although the Dr on shift at the time said they could not see any significant break, but they needed to look closer at it to see if there is a hairline fracture) but I understand these cannot always be picked up on a X-ray, nor in the early stages of a SF.

Anyhow, following a few subsequent days of pain, I am pleased to report a significant improvement in mobility! So, I’m off the crutches and walking with what resembles a normal gait. I’ve been blessed with some well educated friends, colleagues, and medical professionals which has helped me to determine the cause of my injury and reach a ‘potential’ diagnosis – suggesting it’s not a straight forward hamstring strain and the rehab will be quite specific and intensive.

So, it’s looking like an MTJ injury (myotendinous junction), basically a strain on the interface between muscle and tendon in the back of my leg behind the femur (the bone they thought I may have had a fracture). The ‘squidgy’ feeling every time I sit down is most likely a build up/ sac of collagen/fluid/scar tissue which is all part of the healing process. I need to consider massage/ultrasound to help break this down, as well as potentially acupuncture.

It will be a long road back with lots of patience and self-discipline required! I do intend to document my rehab programme so watch this space if you or someone you know struggles with hamstrings as I will have to follow a series of stretching/strength exercises as I build back.

Thank you to everyone for their kind messages of support, it’s been a difficult time mentally through this as my wings have been clipped and forced to rest. But, as we all now without REST the body can’t heal! so this marks the start of my recovery.

Can You Perform Off 30 Miles Per Week?

So the question keep asking myself is “can you perform off 30 miles per week?” (if your goal is to run races up to 10k – Well, I guess it’s debatable, depending on what you want to achieve. Some people will call me lazy, but all runners are different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ training regime. I believe in keeping things fresh. I love that feeling of overload, but this needs to be followed by adequate recovery to allow the body to adapt and improve (down to a molecular level). Recovery time means making the most of rest days – which is my time to relax, and do things I enjoy e.g read, listen to music, watch movies. I use active recovery (e.g. walking the dogs) as an opportunity to flush the lactate out my legs, and recharge in preparation for the next session.

Sure, i’ve ran 50 mile weeks on training camps… and although it is easy to do whilst you’re there – it’s a different story when you’re back home, back to the daily grind, trying to achieve that work-life balance trying to juggle everything whilst being up against the clock most days. We need to factor in all these other commitments, to prevent us overtraining which can lead to burnout.

Obviously, several variables would need to be taken into account. For example, gender differences, physiology, age, talent/ability level, time/work constraints, and medical conditions. It would also depend on what other training you are doing. For example, I am doing a lot of strength work at the moment, which all takes its toll on energy levels and counts towards the calorie deficit. For someone who struggles to consume many calories, I find it a struggle to do any more mileage due to this. I believe that my racing weight is around 110llbs. It’s a fine line keeping it at this, and I find that running 30 mile weeks enables me to control this well. Any more, and I lose weight (and quite often muscle, because I cannot put protein back quick enough to meet the training demands). Any less mileage, and I lose endurance. So for me, 30 is the magic number – that sweet spot.

I’ve always been a low-mileage kinda girl, even when I was running at by best I was only banking between 30-35mpw and I ran an 81min HM off that. I guess we are all different tho right? I mean, some people will need to be hammering out the miles to feel good, conditioned, and race well. Others do bare minimum mileage, and still perform.

Note: Due to a 12 month lay-off to recharge I lost a lot of fitness. Since the tail end of last year, I have put in a good stint of base training, ticking off successful mesocycles – building a consistent block of 30 mile weeks. I have incorporated a lot of core stability work and strength training, which has helped me massively and prevented injury.

It is from this consistency that will be the crucial test. It’s been a while since I put my proverbial ‘head on the chopping block’ – so to speak. I have done a few recent virtual challenges, no nick licks, but not raced seriously for months/years. Quite excited (albeit nervous) in anticipation of this coming weekends run out in the EA 5K Championships. So let’s see how that works out for me….will keep you posted.

The Power of Positive Self-Talk

Perhaps it’s best to begin firstly by talking about the damaging effects of negative self-talk and how detrimental it has been to my running. I will then speak about how this may be reversible through positive self-talk.

For three years now, I’ve had an irrational fear of 10K’s following a bad experience on the track. I was twenty-three laps into a county 10,000m race, when I become physiologically and psychologically challenged…two laps away from a Staffs medal, and I just bummed out. Turns out, maintaining sub 6min/mi splits for 5.5 miles running in circles around a track takes it’s toll on the mind as well as the legs. I’d given just about everything i’d got, and had nothing left. Stepping off the track was the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do but I was broken and beat. This was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had as an athlete.

Following this event, it has led to a downward spiral of negative self talk and lack of self-belief. Consequently I have developed a huge fear of racing. I have not ventured back on to the track to race, nor have I raced 10k distance on the road. It’s been like a swear word to me whenever anyone even suggested it.

Since then i’ve lost confidence, belief in myself, as well as my running mojo in general. I lost that big part of me that was a ‘racer’. I’d always consider myself to be ‘race-fit’ and never question if I could complete any distance up to half marathon. I’d think nothing of rocking up to a race line last minute on a Sunday morning, without any prior planning and often end up with a top 3 performance or run a PB’s. I used to take for granted that I could go out and run 10k in sub40 without even trying. Now, I’d be happy with any time, so long as I cracked the distance. These days, it takes me months to pluck up the courage to race and many times i’ve talked myself out of it before I even get to the start line. Consequently, I have lost speed as well as endurance as a result of not racing and therefore despite training going well I question whether I am race fit.

Today, as a result of being invited as a guest runner to a local multi-terrain 10k race (and also inspired by #sayskyracing) I put my head on the chopping block and just went for it. Regardless of time, nor position in this virtual race, I was determined to conquer the distance again. Not surprising, the first 3 miles were a doddle. I wasn’t 100% certain of the route as a lot of it was off-road through fields and going it alone meant I had to keep my head. As soon as I hit the 4 mile point, that’s when the negativity set in… “this is the furthest you’ve raced in a while”… then the 5 mile point…“Can you do this?” and “If I drop out now, I may not ever pluck up the courage to ever race 10k again”

I instantly challenged this dialogue and simply replaced it with positive self-talk “You’ve got the pace-judgment spot on”, “You’ve been running more or less this distance in training” and “You’re running well within yourself”. I bought inspiration to the forefront of my mind – namely the ladies I have been coaching. Ladies who have continue to achieve and perform these last few months. Ladies I have nothing but respect for due to their commitment and determination. I used mental imagery to put them there at the finish line cheering me on.

Crushing the 10k distance is a massive milestone for me, and I am so glad I challenged myself and my thoughts to smash my goal. Proof today that the impact of sports psychology is huge, and can make such a positive impact on performance when used constructively. Self-Talk and Imagery can be such a beneficial tool and help you towards your goals.

Athletes notes: “You’ve got to keep believing in yourself, and keep challenging yourself if you’re going to achieve your goals”

Coaches notes: “You’ve overcome huge psychological barriers, which is a massive positive, and this will hopefully give you the confidence to commit to future races over this type of distance with the potential to push harder and faster when racing returns”

Carioca Drill

Stretches and loosens muscles in the hips, groin and abs ➡️ Strengthens the quads, calves & hip abductors ➡️ Improves balance and coordination that build better footwork and agility ➡️Improves your hips range of motion
•
How to: 👉🏼 Start with feet hope width apart then move laterally to the left, crossing your right leg first in front and then behind your left leg. Swivel your hips and swing your arms continuously until you reach a nice fluid motion. Switch direction after 10-15sec.