Vinny Mulvey Fitness

Kinesio Taping Offer

vinny — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 20:49:00 +0000

Stuck for time? Call into me for 10 minutes and get taped up with Kinesio Tape to help with any injuries or ailments you may have. Special rate of €5

Next Running Camp : Wednesday 27th July

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 07:42:24 +0000

New vinny mulvey fitness camp starting Wednesday 27th July in the phoenix park. Beginners and more experienced runners are welcome to attend. This class will be held every Wednesday evening for 6 weeks. All 6 sessions is 60 euro. Classes will meet at the car park of the popes cross on Wednesdays at 7.30pm.

For reservations or queries info@vinnymulveyfitness.com or 086-3933537

Sports Massage and Remedial Therapy

admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:42:37 +0000

Get Back

vinny — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:55:24 +0000

I’ve been getting dog’s abuse from a few different people in the last while for not updating my blog, and I deserve it! Why keep a blog and only write in it every month or 2, or 3!!!??? The truth is I feel that I haven’t had too much happening in my running (or lack thereof) which would merit blogging.
Since Christmas I haven’t had a great time with my shin but I’m still not giving up on getting back. As I said before, I decided not to put any time limits or goals on things and just get out there and try and enjoy my running, with no pressure. I’ve been trying this but getting lazy, if I’m honest.
Ever since I’ve been young I have always trained with some goal in mind. Before I ran I played football and always showed up for training with a hunger to succeed in order to perform in the matches. It was the same when I turned my hand to running, and I would imagine most people are the same. The reason I always got out of bed to train was because of a race coming up or a goal in mind, whether that’s to win the under 15 Dublin’s or to finish top 20 at European Cross. What I’m getting at is that in the last few months my motivation has been like a roller coaster. One week I’m pumped up and visualising racing again, the next week I’m wondering will I ever run properly again and what’s the point in getting out for runs? But I have to keep believing I will get back. I know I’ve said it so many times on this blog over the last 2 years but I have never not meant it. As a good friend of mine said to me last week after I had to stop on a 5 mile run with pain, “running will break your heart more than any woman ever will!”….
I started doing rehab again with Martina McCarthy at DCU a few weeks ago and it really seems to be helping. She has me doing a lot of lateral exercises to open up my hips. I have been using the TRX and I have to say, it really is brilliant. My core strength has improved as a result, so hopefully I ever do get back, all this strength work will stand to me.
Last time I wrote on the blog, LFC were looking at the possibility of relegation. I know that sounds a bit silly, but it’s true. Now, only 6 weeks later, we are looking at top 6 and have an outside change of 4th. Anything is possible with the King on board. He has brought back pride and passion to the club and I haven’t felt this good about the club since Istanbul 2005. We have brought in 2 great signings in my opinion and got rid of a sulking Judas in Torres. There really is a great feeling around Anfield again and just shows that you can never stop believing, whether its football or running you’re talking about. Don’t let go of your dreams!!!

Romantic Ireland’s Dead And Gone…

vinny — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 01:22:07 +0000

I’ve decided I’m gonna try and make more of an effort to try and update the oul blog. I’ve become really slack of late, with regards to updates. Since I wrote the last day, things have gotten better, and more back to normal. I’m just back from the pub with my coach John Downes and he pointed out to me in The Ashbourne House, that I need to update my blog a bit more. For someone like John, who is rarely on the Internet, to say that, it means that I really have been neglecting my blogging duties. Anyway, after a few pints of St. Jame’s Gate, I decided he was right….
I saw Anthony on Monday and on Tuesday I ran an easy 5 miles with my buddy Steo, in the Phoenix Park. It was such a relief to be running on grass again, as opposed to ice and concrete. I was delighted to be out there running again after a few days off, but more importantly, I felt no pain in my shin. I felt like running for an hour (or more!) but I have to be disciplined.
Today I met John Downes in the Phoenix Park and we ran for just under an hour. Again, I had no pain, so I was over the moon! We ran about 7.30 pace (I’m guessing because I was on the M50, halfway to the park when I realised I forgot my Garmin), all on grass. After the run, I went to work in the gym at DCU and I jumped in the ice bath and jacuzzi for a while. It’s nice to have that option there at my disposal, if I want it, I suppose.
John came down to Ashbourne tonight and I gave him a good rubdown, and then we went up the road for a few beers. John was having a bit of IT Band Friction syndrome but I sorted it out for him easily enough – he might say I put him through a bit of pain though!! We went up to the local in Ashbourne and talked about my plan for the next few months. I have found that while I’ve been injured it’s very hard to come up with a proper plan because we don’t know if I’m going to break down again or not. The truth is that we are playing it by ear and obviously hoping that I don’t break down again. For now the plan is to just jog and try to get up to somewhere around 60 miles a week. If I can start the new year with that goal in mind, I think I could be getting back into shape by the summer. It’s a long hard road back when you’ve been injured for nearly 2 years, but that’s the way it is, and nothing can change that. John reckons I won’t be back to a decent level of running for another 10 months, and I have to agree with him. Cardiovascularly, I might be able to lash out a few weeks of mileage, but physically and mentally, I have a lot of work to do until I am strong and confident enough to race properly.
When we were up in the pub, Liverpool were playing at home against FC Utrecht in the Europa League. Liverpool are already through, and FC Utrecht and out, so it was a bit of a nothing match. That’s why I thought Liverpool might have gone out all guns blazing, in order to try and restore a bit of morale, pride and stability in the side. But no. It was one of the most boring performances I have watched since Ireland played against Egypt in the world cup in 199o. I, and every single person in the pub watching match, was bored senseless. It’s going to be a long time until Liverpool start making any impression in Europe, or England for that matter.
I know it is getting neat the end of the year, and top 10 and top 50 lists are going to be popping up all over the place. That’s why I need to come up with a top 10 list of my favourite songs, albums, and films of 2010. That’s for the next blog entry, but if you feel you want to suggest a song, album or film, just email me and I’ll definitely have a look. I think Rubberbandits song Horse Outside has an outside chance of making it onto the list. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just google it!

Long Time No Blog…

vinny — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:05:32 +0000

AGAIN, its been a while. Things were going well there for a while and I was starting to get in a decent few miles (50 per week) but the leg has been acting up on me again the last week and I was also sick with a cold last week, so the mileage has taken a hit. Hopefully its only a blip. How annoying was all that snow? Ruins everything, it does! I ran through it for the first few days and then I got sick, which was probably the best time to get sick, I suppose. Then when all the snow became compacted and icy, that’s when the trouble started.
I was running on the beach at Dollymount last week when my shin started to really kill me. I had to stop and walk back to the car for the last few miles. The good thing is that the pain is not in the area where I had my operation. It felt more like the tibialis and extensor tendons in my shin had locked up. I saw Anthony Geoghegan today and he thinks thats exactly what happened, so my hunch was right. It shows I’m becoming more aware of how injuries feel, which is useful for what I’m doing these days with sports massage!
For anyone that doesn’t know, I’m currently studying and practicing on Dave and Tina Corcoran’s massage course. You can have a look at their site here. On that note, as I am just starting out, I am offering 2 free sports rubs for those who read my blog (this is limited to the first 15 people who get in touch with me and quote the blog entry). Being brutally honest, it is a good way for me to get word out there that I’m doing sports massage, builds up a client base, and its good practice for me!
Anyway, back to my running….I haven’t ran since last Thursday, due to the pain in my shin. Anthony told me to take today off and try jogging tomorrow. I think what happened was that I was running on the ice last week and wasn’t landing properly (I was basically shitting myself that I would fall!) and, because of that, my muscles were working differently than if I was running on grass. I also found that my hips were working overtime in the snow and ice. A lot of runners I have talked to have had similar experiences. I don’t know how people raced in the conditions at the Inter Counties in Derry a few weeks ago; I’m sure there were some sore legs after that race.
So, where do I find myself at the moment? I think if I can sort this tendonitis out in the next week I should be able to get back up to 50 miles per week and hopefully start some tempo runs in the new year. Last thing I want to do is rush back, but on the other hand, its been nearly 2 years now since Ive ran competitively. That’s depressing.
Watching the European Cross Country Champs yesterday really got me fired up and I want to race that race again. Well done to the U23 team, who won the team gold, and specifically, well done to misters Rooney and Dooney for flying the flag for Raheny.
What didn’t get me fired up this weekend was watching Liverpool lose to Newcastle. The less said the better! At least my fantasy football team, Bimbo’s Burgers seems to be going well. The last few years have been a disaster for Bimbo’s Burgers but they are flying this year, but still well behind Mark Kirwan’s The Mickey Dazzlers. We won’t go into where that phrase came from – that’s for another day!
Lastly, on Friday I took my Advanced Level STOTT Pilatesexam in Dunboyne. It was fairly intense going and I didn’t get out of there for 4 hours! I won’t get my results for another few weeks via email but I think I did OK, so fingers crossed!!!

Waiting For This Madness To End

vinny — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:12:06 +0000

The last few days have been going well with regards to running. I’ve had some good and some bad days over the last few weeks, but most days have been good. Last week I had to stop on my run with Sean as my shin was sore, but since that things have gone well. I ran 8 miles with Sean on Friday and that’s the furthest I’ve gone since my operation, so I was really happy with that. I’m gonna try and get up towards 50 miles per week over the next month but I’m finding when I go over 40 miles my body doesn’t like it! Its crazy to think that in the past I have ran 3 times that in a week and now I’m struggling with 40, but I suppose my body is just trying to adapt again. I can’t get greedy with the miles or impatient. Just have to keep at it and hope things get better over time. The rehab I’ve been doing the last week seems to be helping so I’m not going to neglect that side of things again.
I wasn’t going to mention Liverpool FC in this post but I kind of feel like I have to vent my frustration. No need to go into the details because everybody knows how shocking they are at the moment. A few weeks ago I thinking things couldn’t get any worse as we were 2nd from bottom in the league. Then they started to get their act together and move up the league with 3 games without a loss including a win against Chelsea…then we played Wigan and Stoke….typical Liverpool is all I’ll say!! Is it the management? The players? The general atmosphere at Anfield? Who knows? I’m delighted that Gillett and Hicks are gone and hopefully Henry can pump a bit of money into the club andturn things around. It takes time I suppose. West Ham next week…if we lose to them, well, lets not contemplate that!
Yesterday I spent the day down in Nenagh coaching and talking to Pulse Triathlon Club at their winter training weekend. I really enjoyed it and it really hit home how hard those guys train. I showed them some dynamic drills, some mobility exercises, some dynamic stretches and then I put them through their paces on the track for an 8 x 3 minute interval session. The recovery was 2 minutes, so their total time for the session was 40 minutes. Usually that would be enough for me to do in one day but they then did a bike session a few hours later and then a pool session after that! Sebastian Locteau is coaching a lot of the athletes in the club. He also manages the website www.runireland.com – check it out if you don’t know it already. He made up a short video of some of the training day yesterday here.

I’m Still Here

vinny — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:05:42 +0000

Hello, hello! Looks like its time for my monthly update! I got a text today from Sean Connolly saying I’m getting lazy with the blog, so I thought to myself, right I better get back on this thing. So, where am I at? What’s going on these days?
I had my operation on my lateral and anterior compartments about 12 weeks ago now and I’m back running (if you can call it that!) for roughly 6 weeks. All I can say is that it has been a rocky road back. The first 3 weeks or so I just jogged and didn’t pay any heed to pace or distance. I just ran how I felt and tried to increase the minutes every few days. I took every Wednesday off and got myofascial release therapy off Anthony Geoghegan in Carlow every Tuesday. I also got soft tissue release massage off Dave Corcoran every Thursday. Its a lot of effort, time and energy but I feel that its worth it and that it will make all the difference in contributing to me getting back after Christmas. Then after about 3 weeks of running, I made the classic mistake that just about every runner I know commits – once I started to get a few miles under my belt, I stopped doing rehab on my shin. It started to get a little sore again on the runs, which was quite depressing. Since last week I have gotten back into the rehab and I’m feeling all the better for it.
I have a few issues to work on. Obviously, there is the weakness in the anterior and posterior tibialis – I have been doing some eccentric theraband exercises to help with that. I am also targeting the hips very much. I am doing some eccentric exercises there too but I am concentrating on building up the glutes and external hip rotators. I have an external rotation going on in my foot and lower leg, so I am doing some tube walking with a thera band to try and activate the muscles in the hip responsible for this. I am also doing some general strengthening exercises for the hamstrings, quads, calves and hip flexors. This involves using medicine balls and dumbbells. Stuff such as one legged squats, one legged deadlifts etc. Lastly, I am doing a lot of core strengthening at the moment. I don’t consciously have to focus on this part too much as I am teaching Pilates 4 times a week and usually I like to participate in my classes in order to show proper technique, and I also get a workout in myself. So, thats a lot of stuff which I have promised myself I will do most days of the week. It will make all the difference. I have to say that Anthony and Dave have really helped me out in the last 6 weeks with some excellent treatments and advice.
Another reason, I suppose, for the lack of posting on the blog is that I have started a sports massage and remedial therapy course with Dave Corcoran and NRST. I have to say, it really is brilliant and presently I am giving free sports massage to people until I am qualified if they are interested (I accept donations for my course books however, but no obligation!!). This will allow me to get some much needed practice in and it allows me to help people out. I have been working on some athletes in the past month as well as teaching Pilates, running camps and also personal training, so things have been a bit hectic.
Getting back to running, I am currently running around 40 miles per week and just getting through the runs. Some days I feel great on the runs and others are a struggle. Breathing wise, I feel fit and could run 5 min pace if my body allowed me, but that is the problem. My shin is still weak and is only over an operation so I need to be careful. I am praying that I get back because I am so hungry for competition and racing. I have come to realise in the last 18 months that I really love the sport of running. If I didn’t, I reckon I would have packed it in months ago. And that’s the truth. I have to believe that I will get back, so for now I’m just gonna keep on keeping on…..
Lastly, I have a new Pilates class starting this coming Sunday in DCU if anyone is interested. Contact me if you want to sign up. 3 places left.

10-10-10

vinny — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 22:29:35 +0000

October 10th, where is this year going? As soon as we know it, it will be Christmas and then 2011, so its time to get my skates on and start training again. It has been 8 weeks since my surgery and the leg has been feeling good lately so in the last week I decided to start back light jogging. The surgeon told me that it would be about 6 or 7 weeks after surgery when I could run and then it would take about 6 to 8 weeks of easy running until I start to feel strong again. That will bring me up to the first week of December.
I have ran 6 out of the last 7 days and I have to say I’m very happy withhow things are going. It feels like I am running with a new leg. There is no pain when I’m running, just a little tightness from the scar tissue that has formed around my tibialis and peronealson my left leg. Massage should take care of that. I was seeing a physio at the Sports Surgery Clinic for the last 6 weeks. He did a great job of getting me back to full mobility and almost back to full strength; the rest will come in time from more rehab and running. I am planning on seeing Star Geoghegan in Carlow this week as well as Dave Corcoran. I also have an appointment booked in with Martina Mc Carthy to progress my rehab and try and prevent further injuries as I get back to full fitness. I know it is going to take a few months, but I’m positive and eager, which have to count for something.
The last week has consisted of easy 20 min runs on grass and I plan to increase that gradually, week by week. This week I will step up to 30 min runs and see how I get on…..
As far as work is concerned, things are going well. I started a new running camp in the Phoenix Park yesterday, which went well. I am starting a new Level 1 Pilates class in early November in DCU too, which I’m excited about. It is limited to 20 people and I have 10 registered already, so if you or anyone you know is interested, contact me before it fills up!!! I have found Pilates to be really helpful for running (and other sports) and I really found a huge difference in my posture, breathing and core strength after I started it for the first time about 3 years ago.
Also, I should mention that there will be a new exciting video blog starting on my site very soon, so watch this space…..all I’ll say is that it won’t be me blogging, but somebody else!!
Lastly, I want to send my prayers and positive vibes out to Mike Power (Arkansas Alum), who has just started chemotherapy for testicular cancer in the last week. Hang in there buddy!

Return Of The Stingray Guitar

vinny — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:11:13 +0000

September 1st!! Where is the time going? Summer over and all the kids back in school. I returned to work this week after a few weeks off after my surgery. Have to say its good to get back to some sense of normality. I got my stitches out my leg removed yesterday and the wound has healed nicely. My tibialis is still sore when I dorsiflex my foot and I also feel a bit of pain in the lateral compartment but day by day things are improving.
I have been cycling most days for the last 2 weeks. I started off very easy at the start with 10 and 15 minute cycles and now I am up to 40 mins at around 18 miles per hour, or so the exercise bike says. The main thing is that I’m mobilising my ankle joint and using the muscles a little bit in the process. I’m also getting the heart rate up too. Yesterday I got my heart rate up over 170 bpm for the last 15 mins, which felt tough but I love it! In fact, the hardest part is not coping with the heart rate – I’m used to that from years of training and I thrive on it. The hardest part is getting used to pain in my ass from the saddle! The saddle on the bike is quite hard and I can feel it right on my Ischium bones (sitting bones). That goes away after a while though. Just takes some getting used to. Its kind of like when you start to learn to play the guitar and your fingers are so sore and sometimes red raw, but eventually your body adapts!
So, where am I at with the injury? I saw the surgeon yesterday and got the stitches removed, as I said already. He thinks that the wound has healed well although there is still quite a bit of swelling and bruising in the area. I still have some trouble moving the ankle around so to help me do this I have taken it upon myself to regularly draw the letters of the alphabet with my ankle in order to strenghten the area up, get some blood into the area and also to mobilise the ankle. I am seeing a physiotherapist at the sports surgery clinic in Santry on Friday. He deals specifically with rehab after fascia operations. I’m hoping I can get strong again and start to jog in about 5 weeks. I’m just praying that when i start back the pain is gone or has decreased somewhat.
Keith Kelly was home for a few days last week and I drove up to his house on Monday to see him. Its always great to see him and his family. As per usual, we ended up yapping for hours about music, running, cycling, and a few other things. Myself and Keith have had lots of injuries and neither of us have ran much since Irish National Cross Country Champs in March 2009. Keith won that day and I was 3rd and we both did a cool down on the track in Santry after the race and talked about the possibilities for the year and how we both wanted to run Euro Cross in Dublin in December 2009. My point is that we couldn’t have known then that we would barely run for the rest of the year and that people never know what is down the road. We have to enjoy everything as much as we can while it happens because we don’t know what tomorrow brings. I remember the day after I won the National Cross Country Champs in 2006 I went for a run with my old coach Dick Hooper. As we were running Dick said to me “enjoy this moment because you don’t know what’s down the road and you never know when you might win another national title”. I remember thinking “yeh right, I’m not resting on my laurels, I’m gonna win another 2 or 3 of these in the next few years”, but Dick was right. I haven’t won it since and have spent more time since then sidelined than competing. Its a funny ould world, as they say!
Well, that’s all folks! Back into the gym today for some more biking and sweating!