Bah

Feeling a bit rubbish today - a bit of a sore throat and a sniffy nose (my weekly 'cold') but also my right hip is super sore. No idea why - it was fine last night - but this morning it was really painful, and it's been sore all day.

Booooo

So many posts, so little time....

Wednesday already - where is the time going?

Recovered well from the race on Sunday - hardly ached at all on Monday, which was great - only problems were my right shoulder (still) and lovely big blood blisters on the end of my two 'index' toes. mmmm. They go well with the already blackened nails on those particular digits though which is nice.

Rest day on Monday.

Yesterday I was thinking about running, but my legs were a little tired feeling, and perhaps a touch more achy than on Monday (as is the way with these things) and then, excellently, a lunch date opportunity presented itself which meant that I had the perfect excuse to cycle over to BAE in Farnborough (cross training) instead of running! Brilliant.

I had lunch in the Park Centre (took a picture for you) with Louise, a friend I made when I worked in internal audit at BAE. Louise is great, her half marathon PB is just over 75 minutes (20 minutes faster than me!) but she is always incredibly supportive, enthusiastic and generally brilliant in making me feel great about how I am doing. She also had some great tips for pacing strategies and the like for marathon day (she is an expert!), which was fab, she paid for my lunch, and of course her company was smashing - all in all - a great trip out :)

I made sure I cycled home the long way (8miles) to justify the trip as cross training - and reckoned it worked out at about 45 minutes of cycling over all - and I was going fairly quickly.

Today. Went up to the gym to do my intervals - 10 x 400m (@15.5kph) with 400m RI.

I wrote 400m RI on my arm (I write what & how fast so I don't forget), but was convinced that couldn't be right, so I ended up doing only 200m RI! Hmm.

Anyway, I did all 10 intervals - with a 1% incline - and didn't die. By the last one I did think I might die, or fall off the treadmill, but I didn't, so that's good news. I like 400m intervals, but today 10 was pretty tough - glad to have got it done.

My legs? Tired still after the weekend - and my right knee (my historically 'bad' one) was feeling a bit odd - but otherwise, all as expected. I will be keeping an eye on my knee and making sure to do more stretching (promise) over the next couple of days. Can't risk getting injured at this stage in the game.

8 miles at PMP to look forward to on Friday now, then a day on my feet teaching at the OU on Saturday, then 20 miles on Sunday. Easy.

Big goal for this week though - to actually do the 8 miles at PMP and NO FASTER. I am getting really concerned that my inability to slow down is going to be my downfall in the marathon (because I will run out of gas too early), so I really need to practice running at the right pace.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Reading Half Marathon #2

For all of you that are wondering (and I know there are many of you) - Jon also did Reading yesterday, ran all the way round and finished in a very respectable 2hrs 3 minutes.

On the basis that he has run once (last weekend) in the last, let's say, 3 months - I think that is sickeningly good.

Damn him.

:)

Reading Half Marathon

One of my all time favourite events today - the Reading Half Marathon.

Most brilliant because you finish by running into the Madjeski Stadium, which is full of spectators, all cheering & stuff - amazing, just like being in the olympics - makes you feel great!!

Anyway, I was a bit worried.

I did 10 miles on Thursday - did them too fast (obviously) and was a bit concerned that I had worn my legs out (they felt very tired yesterday), also I managed to go over on my left ankle while we were visiting Petworth Park yesterday (making use of our new National Trust membership!), the clocks went back last night, I had stomach ache............etc. So, I wasn't sure how it was going to go.

Anyway. We got parked up and bussed to the start - I managed to get a race number (despite apparently sending 2 out to me - I never actually received one) and after a good 15 minute wait we managed to get our bag into the baggage tent. When we got to the start area we split up - I went into the 1:30 - 1:40 area, Jon disappeared off up the back :)

Quite a conjested start - reasonably narrow, and, as usual, plenty of people being a bit optimistic and starting too far up the field. Still, it does have the advantage of slowing me down (a bit) in the first mile!

I was basically running too fast - but I felt great, and even when I tried to slow down, I just sped back up again - plus, going slower didn't seem to be any easier - so I decided to just keep going, and then slow down naturally when I got tired. It seemed to pay off I think - I was going really well to about 10 miles, and then I started to flag a bit - but managed not to slow too much.

Lots of great things about the course at Reading - only a couple of small hills, lots of crowd support and a couple of brass bands (brilliant).

Anyway. From the 10 mile point you end up on the A33 - a dual carriageway - which everyone, apart from me I think - hates. I like it - you just get your head down and get on with it - and you know it's nearly over. The much worse bit is the last 2 miles, running through Green Park, a business area with not much in the way of support, and that feeling that you really want it to be over now. Please.

Still, a small slope out of there (so cruel), round the back of the stadium, in through the big doors, down onto a track alongside the pitch and through to the finish. My time? A rather marvellous 1:35:49 - 4minutes faster than Fleet 2 weeks ago - and 11 minutes faster than my time at Reading last year!! Brilliant. I was well chuffed.

I can even gloss over the fact that I was beaten over the last 400 m by a man dressed as a penguin! All big respect to him though - that is one fast penguin :)

On a mission

I was cross-training today, wanted to go out on my bike (well, not strictly wanted - but you know what I mean) - decided I needed a purpose.

Is a funny thing - when I go out for a run, I just "go out for a run" - obviously no purpose, just running round in a circle. When I go out on my bike, I like to have a reason.

So, today I decided I would cycle up to Reading - or nearly Reading - to check out the carpark we are booked into for the half marathon on Sunday, and whether or not it has height barriers (you just don't notice these things until it becomes a problem!).

The answer is - no it doesn't.

I'm sure you will be relieved to hear.

It was 'only' 21km each way - but my legs told me it was much further, and also - oddly - it was uphill all the way in both directions and the wind was in my face all the time. How can that be so? :) My cycling legs continue to be rubbish.

Still, it was 1hr 40 minutes of exercise - and now I can rest easy about whether the van is going to get in the car park or not.

Phew!

I got my number!

Well, my marathon registration letter arrived yesterday with my race number on it (52359) - plus a copy of the 'Marathon News' with all kind of useful 'tips' and information about race day - things like the availability of toilets (v. important), whether the water will be in bottles or cups (bottles), where to go, what to do, what to expect, etc. I loved it - I like to know all that kind of thing, stops me worrying!

Anyway, I will be running from the red start (depends on your number) with 20,000 other people! All getting a bit close and a bit real now. Am very much excited - but also really quite nervous. :)

And today I did my intervals - my last lot of 1600's - 3 x 1600m with 400m RI - I hate 1600's (they seem to go on forever) so I am glad to see the back of them. Happy to have done the session though - wasn't sure how keen my legs would be after the big run on Sunday - and they were tired, but managed to keep going admirably.

Current worst complaints - my stomach/insides are still upset with me after Sunday (I couldn't eat a thing all of Sunday night - very unusual), I have a blister on my left foot which is a bit sore and my shoulder is still incredibly painful.

Luckily - my legs are fine though.
Which is nice.

3 laps to heaven!

Didn't get out for my run until nearly 3pm as I was waiting for Tom (who is also doing the marathon) to arrive and join the fun.

Also, Jon had been persuaded to come out for the first, 8 mile lap, in a last minute, panic attempt at 'training' for next weekends Reading Half Marathon (picture is him finishing at Reading a couple of years ago)- so I had plenty of company!

It's hard going out so late - there is a lot of hanging around before hand, and you really have to think about eating (what and when) and it's usually nice to get the run over and done with so you can stop worring about it! Still, company was a good thing, so I really shouldn't complain.

Anyway - we went out and did the first 8 miles, and it went pretty well. We got rained on in the last couple of miles, and the temperature dropped about 4 degrees to 6 deg C - so it wasn't too pleasant at that point. Still, it was really nice to have company - although sickeningly Jon (who hasn't run for months) was going really well, and managed the 8 without too much trouble. How can that be?

We left Jon at home after that first lap - I got a bottle of water to help my energy gels down - and me & Tom carried on for our next lap - ~6 miles. Tom started struggling a bit quite soon after that - having trouble with his legs - he managed to make it round that 2nd lap, but decided to call it a day when we got back to the house - leaving just me!

So I had one more lap to go - just over 6 miles, and I was feeling pretty good.

My last lap was really pretty fine - I sped up a bit, and 'burned' round to get home in 3 hours over all. Turned out I had run 34.3km (21.3miles) - so my furthest ever - and, as a double bonus, if I had needed to run another 5 miles - I reckon I could!! How brilliant is that?

I am very pleased :)

Early bird!

See that - it's only 9am and I am done with my run home and eating my porridge already! Unheard of.

Still, lots to do today - so I decided that the only way to make sure that I did my run, and didn't worry about it all day was to get my lazy ar$e out of bed and do it first thing. A good choice.

Hard work though - my body wasn't really that keen - but such a beautiful day: clear blue sky, fresh breeze, marvellous.

Some annoying things - my foot pod decided to pack up about 400m from the house (on the way out) which meant that I didn't know how fast I was going. It was a tempo run - 2km warm up, 8km quick - but without my watch to rein me in, I was definately going too fast - and by the time I reached the hill (about half way!) I was already suffering for it. Still, I know that if I can make it up the hill I will be fine as it's pretty much downhill all the way from there on!

Also annoying, people going to work in their cars - running me over at junctions, not signalling so I don't know whether they are going to run me over or not, piling out of driveways nearly taking me out, etc. Grrrrr. Shouted at a few people today!!

I survived though - and great to have got the run out of the way and in the bag.
Brilliant.

Oh, and I did intervals on Wednesday - 1km, 2km, 1km, 1km with 400 RI - all on the treadmill, all good and fine and suprisingly lovely.

I rested yesterday - trying not to think about the cold that I think I might have :( Am taking lots of vitamins though, and thinking mainly positive thoughts - have had 3 colds in 3 weeks so it seems, but haven't actually had to miss a day of training yet (touch wood).

If only Jon would stop bringing home these nasty London germs.

Bike miles

Didn't really feel like running today - legs still a bit tight after the weekend - so I decided to go out on my bike.

Was a very sunny afternoon, and it seemed a shame to waste it - so I headed off........ didn't really have a plan.

Ended up going to Ascot and back the long way really - taking in a bit of off-road on my way back! Decided that a 'short-cut' through Bracknell Forest (where I got lost running last week) was a good idea - and loads more fun that cycling all the way round the woods on the increasingly busy and stupidly undulating road.

I was right - it was fun, especially on all that mud and gravel on a road bike - didn't stop me overtaking some mountain bike boys going up a hill though - much to my amusement and their suprise as I gave them a cheery "afternoon" and carried on past them on my spindly tyres. Hee hee. :)

And - I didn't even get lost - infact to my suprise and delight I found my way perfectly. It was obviously my day !

Anyway 20 miles, lots of hills 1hour 15 minutes of exercise.
Legs tired now!

I took this rather un-lovely photo on my return - it's a serious business, as you can see from my not so cheery face - but what I really wanted to do was get the new gate in the shot. See it there on the left, just behind my lovely bike? All Jon's own work - and rather smashing/super functional!

Just wanted to share that with you.

Also, the Fleet Half Marathon results were published today - and rather marvellously I was 50th senior lady (that is under-35) out of 702, and 489th out of 2166 overall - one of my best ever results that is, so I'm well chuffed :)

(and I'm not even going to mention how much I beat Alison by - because she told me off for gloating too much. Ho ho ho :) (sorry Alison))

Fleet Half Marathon

So, today was the Fleet half marathon.

With an 11:30am start - it was quite a late one, which I think makes eating and drinking before hand quite tricky because you don't want to eat too early so that the 'effects' wear off too soon - also, the late start meant that it was quite warm by the off.

Dilemmas of the morning - which shoes to wear (new white Nikes) and whether to take a drink with me (I did).

Anyway, we got to Fleet at about 10:30am and finally found a nice parking space for the van. Jon and my friend Nic had come along on cheering duties - which was really cool - although I didn't do much chatting to them before the race, I'm not very good before a run - all I can think about is what's to come!

So - a picture of me before the start, looking cheerful and enjoying the sunshine.

Of course, my race plan was to NOT go off too fast, hopefully knock out a nice consistent pace of 8min/miles (planned marathon place), maybe get a bit of a PB, but finish feeling like I had more to give - with the Reading Half Marathon in a couple of weeks as my real focus for fast time getting.

To try and 'help' I started a bit further back in the field - we were wearing timing chips, so our time from start line to finish line was being measured: at big races where it can take minutes to get over the start line and there is chip timing - I never really worry about the gun time (shown on the big clock).

So, the first mile was too fast - despite having to dodge round all the over slow people that were a bit optimistic in their estimated times - and the second mile was even faster. I had my first cheer from Nic & Jon at about 1 mile which was nice, and then I saw them again just after 3 miles and they took a picture of me looking pretty fresh and cheery (it was early days!).

From there we headed into Elvetham Heath where I spotted Alison from the Cove Joggers up ahead. We have a little friendly rivalry (nothing official though you understand) going on - we are the same age and pretty similar running wise, although she has done quite a lot of marathons - all in really good times - so she definately has the advantage over me on that! Anyway, I didn't really want to catch up or pass her. I knew I was going too fast already, and if I caught her up I was going to have to keep on going fast (or faster) which was not good.

I did catch her though - she said something about going to fast, I agreed, but still ploughed on! Stupid really.

Nothing much went on until just before 7 miles where there was a big group of cheerers - friends of Nics who I met last night at a Barn Dance in Hartley Witney (great pre-race training!) - and they gave me a great boost with a MASSIVE cheer! Brilliant stuff.

Also, more cheers between 7 & 8 miles, and another photo, when I unexpectedly saw Nic & Jon again - they were doing a great job on the cheering team - and I felt very well supported :)

I had a bit of a lull between 8 & 9 miles - which was probably because it was mostly up hill - and after that it seemed to be 2 minutes good, 2 minutes bad - and counting down every step of the way.

By 11 miles I was really looking forward to it being over - I thought I had blown it by going too fast, and I was going to end up shuffling the last couple of miles.

There was bit of downhill soon after that though and that perked me up for a bit, and then I concentrated on catching some people ahead of me, and then I saw Jon & Nic again (more photos - still smiling) and then there was a small uphill slope (so mean) and then ........... it was nearly all over.

As I went past the 13 mile markand could see the finish gantry, my time was 1:39 exactly - I wasn't sure if I could make the final 0.1mile in less than a minute - but I really pushed it (overtaking 3 people on the way) and came in at 1:39:44!!

This was a PB by 4 minutes over my time at the Marlow Half in November (that was hilly though) and just took me under my secretly hoped for goal of 1:40 :) Brilliant!

I was well chuffed. Also good was that Alison came in behind me - only just - but definitely behind. Sorry Alison - no doubt you will kick my ass all over the London Marathon - but today, I 'won' :)

Race over, cheering squad located - we headed off to the pub for lunch. Sitting in the sunshine, enjoying a bit of food, marvelling at my new PB - everything was right with the world.

You can't beat that post-race glow :)

Lost again?

How can it be?

Today was lovely - sunny, blue skies - not too much work on the cards, how could I not go out and make the most of it?

About 3pm I finally dragged myself away from my computer and went up to Bracknell forest - running from here to there is about 3km, my usual 'route' is about 10km and then 3km home should have given me my required 16km (10 miles).

I am doing the Fleet half marathon on Sunday - which has made my training this week a bit complicated - but to cut a long story short, I decided to run today at a slowish pace and do Sunday's half at PMP (planned marathon pace).

So, I set off - too fast, obviously - and never really slowed down. I got to the 10km point in a time that I would have been pleased with in a 10km race this time last year, but wasn't really feeling like slowing down - well, apart from on the hilly bits - and then I got lost!

Every time I go up the woods I get lost.

Usually I carry a map and a compass just in case - but I was sure I knew where I was going this time - infact, this time was really bad because I had been feeling smug about nearly being out of the woods and not getting lost - and then I took the wrong turn! Worse still, after realising I wasn't on the path I should have been on I tried to fix it by taking another left and a right to get on the right track, and then 'suddenly' I was running up an unfamiliar hill (north face of the Eiger stylee), and then past a bunch of army chaps 'hiding' in the ferns, and then I was considering turning left but decided to go with right, and then - much to my amazement, I was right back where I started and wasn't lost any more :)

Bonus!

And it only added another 1km onto the total.

So, I got home a bit muddy and a bit tired - 17.8km (11 miles) in 1hr 25 minutes - too fast & too far - but it was sunny, hilly, muddy & fun, so no complaints from me!

Hills

I have gone a bit 'off plan' with my intervals the last couple of weeks - and today was no exception.

I decided I didn't really fancy what was on the schedule (6 x 1200m), but that what I wanted to do was hills!

I know - never before have I said that, but today I decided that was what was required.

So, I trotted off (3.7km) to the hill I had in mind, and then I ran up it and then jogged back down it 12 times in all!

It was quite tough, and I'm sure the residents of the street I was on thought I was a bit bonkers - but who cares?

I split the session it into 3 sets of 4 repetitions - and after every set I had a walking rest interval, but in between all the other repetitions I jogged. The last rep of each set was the killer - my legs just didn't feel like moving me - but I did it, and was pretty consistent time wise for each one as well.

A job well done - and it did create a great looking graph on my running gadget (red is altitude, blue is speed).

The hill turned out to be 300m worth of running - so not quite as far as I thought, but at the time it was plenty, especially as I had another 4.3km to run home - taking in another hill on the way :)

It was just that kind of day!

Misplaced............

At this time, 7 weeks from today I will have finished the marathon (hopefully) and will be sitting quietly somewhere enjoying a celebratory beer!

Which will be nice.

Today though - long run day.

Due to my crusty lungs I wasn't sure how it was going to pan out today. Yesterday was a 'rest' day - although I was subjected to a full day of wedding focused shopping in Leeds with my sister, mum & the other 2 of my sister's bridesmaids - so it wasn't really all that restful :) I felt pretty ropey all day though - at one point I felt a bit seasick - dizzy and queasy, and my lungs were a bit sore, which wasn't great.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and was 'testing' my lungs by taking massive breaths and see if they hurt at all. All it did was make me feel a bit light headed, and I decided that I was just being a bit soft, and that at least I should go out and do something of a run - with the plan that I could head home early, or stop after one lap if I wasn't feeling up to doing the full distance.

Today's planned distance was 18 miles. I had planned a lap of 10 miles and a lap of 8 miles - taking in mostly country roads - a couple of which I had never been down before - and avoiding the main highways for fear of being mown down by seaside bound tourists.

So - I set off just before 10am (a little later than planned) and everything was good. I had a bottle of water and a couple of gels with me - I had left a bottle with energy drink at my Mum's to collect at the end of my first lap.

It was a bit cold, but not too bad, and it wasn't raining (so much for the grim north eh?).

I was going too fast - and kept slowing myself down, but I felt alright. I was enjoying the quiet and the countryside, I was finding my way with no trouble - even on the roads I hadn't been on before (no map) - and then........... I came out somewhere I wasn't expecting, infact, I was about 3 miles away from where I had been expecting to be!

Whilst not strictly 'lost' I was definately 'misplaced'!!

So, what to do? After running up and down this road a couple of times to check out my options (should I go back, should I carry on....), it seemed pretty clear that all I could do was plough on - which I did. Unfortunately my foot pod (the part of my running gadget that tells me how far I have been and how fast I am going) chose that precise moment to run out of battery - 15km into my run! Great. Also, my new alternative route meant running up an excessively large hill, and then for about a mile along the main road - right in the face of all those seaside bound Wessies I had been trying to avoid! Also great.

Still, I didn't die - and I did get back on track, and back to the house, but my first lap ended at about 14 miles! Still, on the upside that meant that I only had another 4 to go, on the downside, I didn't know where to run to do that distance - so I just headed back out the same way I had in the morning, and hoped that by cutting it short at a certain point it would work out alright.

It did work out OK - although I ended up running down another main road, and then a bit of offroad alongside the Driffield canal which brought me out at Riverhead (in the picture on a slightly sunnier day!).

Overall I did somewhere between 19 & 20 miles (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=747803) - which was a bit further than I intended - but I felt pretty good, I was actually faster (I think) than I had been at the race last weekend, and I did it!

Also, I missed the rain by approximately 3 minutes. How brilliant (and unlikely) is that?

Hard work.........

So a beautiful day in sunny Driffield - a little bit of working in bed, and then up and out for a run by 11am.

Today I was due to do my postponed intervals from Tuesday - I was a bit worried because when woke up my lungs were still feeling pretty shredded, and the intervals were really tough looking - so I thought I would just go out and see how it went.

First difficulty round here is finding somewhere to run. Driffield is about 4 miles round if you run all the way round the outside - not great for intervals. Finding a straight road to run up and down is also a challenge - especially one either with pavements or with little enough traffic to make the chances of death low.

Anyway, I selected Spellergate as my road for running - I thought it was pretty flat (that is another problem - hills!) and knew it was very quiet. It was about 1km to the start of the road, my plan was then to run about 2.5km up the road, turn round and do my first 2km interval and my 400m RI, turn and go back, etc.......

So, first things first - it was pretty much 2.5km up hill once I got to Spellergate, how did I not notice this before? Also, about 1km in I realised I was overheating - so had to whip my kit off (lucky it was quiet) to remove my long sleeved base layer. That done, I got to the top of the hill, turned round and started my first interval.

I quickly realised that I wasn't going to manage what I was supposed to do - the 2km interval was going to be hard, the 3km interval that was supposed to follow it - which was going to end up being up hill - was going to be even harder, and my lungs weren't happy. So I changed things a bit. I did 2 x 1km intervals with 200m RI, then 4 x 800m intervals with 200m RI.

On the uphill intervals I just couldn't go fast enough (unsuprising) on the downhill intervals i was going a bit fast - so I reckon it all evened itself out in the end.

I was absolutely knackered by the end of it though (picture of me looking tired in the countryside - rest intervals are now photo intervals!) - but reckon that, despite not doing what was on the plan (this was my first 'miss') I did something equivalent.

It was very good support for doing intervals on the treadmill though - not so easy to bail out!!

But I did it, and was quite pleased with myself - considering.

A gentle 1.5km jog back to my mum's house and I was ready for a shower and lunch.

I had a great idea while I was showering - I had heard some talk of a place near by that did a great afternoon tea - so I suggested that maybe we (me, Helen, Mum & George) might head out there for a late lunch. It didn't take much persuasion - and by 3pm we were tucking into a huge pile of sandwiches and cakes.

Despite boasting that I could see away any manner of cakes that were put in front of me - I totally failed. Just too much sugar!

Great way to refuel though.

:)

A little evening stroll

Today I was skivving off work early to go up to sunny Driffield with my sister and her fiance Andrew.

We got here at 9pm, but there had been some earlier talk of a small run when we arrived - so even though it was so late, me & Andrew did indeed get changed and go out for a brief 5km trot around town - see what was new (nothing), stretch our legs and get a bit of air. Marvellous.

Of course I shouldn't have been running today - it was a X-training day - but a slow run is allowed now and then as cross-training, I think, and if I hadn't run then I wouldn't have done anything at all - so how can it harm?

Only bad thing was that my lungs are feeling a bit 'stiff' so I was having a bit of breathing trouble. Is clearly the overhang from my 'mini-cold' and is not very good. :(

Picture here is Andrew - a self-portrait he drew on a balloon at my birthday party the other week! Stunning.