Trish does the London Marathon.............

I DID IT!

2007-04-22T21:01:00.000Z

So, here I am then - back from the big smoke, (battered) feet up on the coffee table watching the marathon highlights on the telly box!

My legs are a bit sore (not looking forward to the next couple of day - stairs are already something of an issue), I have some hard core chaffing on my side from my waist bag and I managed to bleed through my lovely white trainers, but other than that - not too bad.

But, how was it?

Well, Tom & I were up at 5am and out of the house and on route to Farnborough station for 6am to catch the coach to London with a load of other marathon nutters. The coach was great - very stress free, and a great option especially because the trains from Farnborough (and pretty much everywhere in the country it seemed) were all screwed up with 'works' of one sort or another. Anyway, the coach was blissful.

We arrived at the start area at about 8:15 and headed off to our starting areas - Tom on Blue, me on Red.

So we said goodbye, and I went off.......

Put my bag on the baggage lorry (they take the bags from start to finish) and sat in the shade and waited. (Picture of me waiting - note my lovely green hair!)

At 9:30 I headed into my 'pen' - pen 4 - and tried to get quite near to the front so I could see the 8 min/mile pacing chap in the pen in front of me.

At about 9:40 they moved us out to the start area, and at 9:45 exactly we set off!

I guess I was reasonably close to the front, so it only took me a minute or so to cross the line, but not so close that I had the opportunity to run off like a whippet (a good thing)

I managed to catch the pacer, and ran with him and his posse for about 3 miles, and then got a bit fed up with tripping over people so I went ahead a bit (only a bit, I was very conservative).

I was a bit worried from the start though - I just never felt good at all. Usually you get a bit of time where you feel fantastic - fresh legs, excitement of the race, etc. - but not today. Not sure what the problem was (something very similar happened when I did the Paris Marathon) - could have been the heat, eating too much/too little, too much/ too little tapering, or something completely different - but I know that I was finding it hard running 8 min/miles even in the early miles, and that is 45 seconds a mile slower than I ran the Reading half a few weeks ago!

Anyway, it was incredible - the crowds, the noise, the party atmosphere - all exactly as I was expecting. And wearing your name on your shirt - like having your own supporters all the way round, amazing!

The first real landmark for me was tower bridge - just after that is 13 miles and the half way point, also just after that was my support team - Jon, Helen, Andrew, Nic, Archie & Tish. Helen had made a banner - which was great because it meant that I spotted them. That was the problem with so many people shouting your name - you just couldn't tell when it might be someone you knew, and when it was people just cheering you because your name was on your shirt!

Anyway, going past the support group was great, and just a bit further down that road was a massive Macmillan supporters group who gave me a huge cheer as well - much appreciated.

From the half way point I just started to get slower - it was so hot, and so hard - I was taking water at every station, and taking an energy gel every 4 miles (rather than having lucozade drink), but it wasn't helping. I managed to talk myself round canary wharf without walking - although I was REALLY tempted by that point - but when I hit mile 20, I admit that I did walk through the water station - necking the whole 330ml bottle before setting off again, I pretty much did the same at every water station (1 mile apart) after that.

I was a bit sorry for myself - disappointed that I didn't run all the way round - but when I did get running again I was moving pretty quickly, so overall I don't think my time suffered any more than it would if I had just run more slowly for the whole time - and it meant that I could have a proper drink.

I really didn't want to get outside the 3:45 target I had set myself, I didn't want to let down all the people who have sponsored me, or myself I suppose - although you can't tell what is going to happen on the day, I wanted to do well.

Part of the problem with a marathon is that there is a lot of training involved for one event - and if doesn't go right, it's not like a half or a 10k, you can't really have another go at it in a couple of weeks, so it feels like you have wasted your time almost if you don't do as well as you hoped (if you see what I mean). I think all these things prey on your mind, and sometimes you talk yourself into slowing down or walking or whatever, when really you could have kept going and would have been fine - once you start thinking "I can't do this", you find that you act accordingly.

Anyway, saw the supporters again at the 22mile point, and then it was just the final push for home.

Another thing about having your name on your shirt - when you have a little walk, EVERYONE is shouting for you to start going again - in one way, a little annoying, in another a definite spur to get going again - and a big cheer from the crowd when you do!

So, I ran the final 2 miles without stopping (although it wasn't pretty) and I started thinking to myself "this is it, I'm going to finish the London Marathon - I'M GOING TO DO IT" and the crowd get bigger and bigger, and more noisy and then it was "800m to go" and we can see Buckingham Palace, and then we are in front of Buckingham Palace and it is only 300m to go as you turn into Birdcage walk and you can see the massive finish gantry with the photographers across the top, the clocks, the people - the end!!

My time? 3:39:23 - easily under my 3:45 target - and making me 5,091st out of 35669 total runners, and 665th out of 10,851 ladies - which isn't bad.

I reckon on a different day, I should get much closer to 3:30, but I am trying not to feel disappointed that I didn't do it this time.

Once you get through the finish line you get your medal (a marvellous feeling), and then I had a bit of an 'episode' - suddenly discovered I couldn't breath and was quickly hustled into a waiting wheelchair by the lovely St John's people while I regained myself. Met up with Alison (3:28 - well done!) and crazy Alan who was marshalling between the medals and the baggage lorries.

Got my bag, headed into the Macmillan recovery centre for a massage and a cup of tea, met up with the cheering squad outside, Tom joined us looking a bit sorry for himself (4:30 - not a good day!), we got some lunch and came home.

Did I enjoy it? Hmm. Well, it was tough - so in that sense, no - but, it was amazing in terms of the event: well organised (brilliant in fact), incredible support (practically the whole 26 mile route is lined with supporters, in some places 5+ people deep), the bands, the people in costumes, the sense of achievement, being part of something so well known......... definately something I am glad I did.

Would I do it again? My first reaction is definately NO - but having secured my good for age time today (sub 3:45) that does mean that I will get a guaranteed entry for next year - if I want one! Will I be able to resist? We will have to wait and see :)

For now though, it is bed time - time to crawl up the stairs and rest - can't wait.

And that's it - another blog draws quietly to a close.

Thankyou to everyone that has supported me, both financially, in terms of charitable donations, and with moral support - so many texts & emails with good wishes, made me feel quite emotional at times (it's been a funny week!) - and it's all hugely appreciated.

Speak soon
Trish
x

The night before.......

2007-04-21T19:19:00.000Z

So, in just less than 10 hours time, Tom and I will be catching the coach from Farnborough to London and the start of the London Marathon!

Yesterday we went up to the London Excel centre to collect our numbers, chips and goody bags - enjoyed a bit of a sit about in the sunshine (see the photo - Tom is 'hiding' behind my hair!), had a look at the huge number of stalls selling 'stuff', enjoyed our £5 pasta meal (see Tom tucking into his on the left there), and came home again.

Lots of water drinking and carb eating and sitting down last night - resting the legs.

Today we didn't do much - a trip to Sainsburys for last minute snacks, picking up Tom's girlfriend Tish from the station, the two little girls from next door brought me some 'good luck' cards they had made for me (so cute), crazy Alan came by to wish me luck, and we a quick tour into Cambo to purchase some green colour hairspray!

Since then it has been water drinking and carb eating, resting and feeling a bit sleepy, bag packing, bimbling, and general preparations.

Have trialled the green hairspray - it's pretty good and should help me stand out in the crowds - so watch out for it!

Am feeling oddly calm, which is interesting considering the ups and downs I've had this week.

Fingers crossed though - it's all going to be good.

If you are reading this and going to be looking out for me - I will be wearing my Macmillan green running vest, with "TRISH" on it (see the photo in an earlier post), my hair will be in bunches & sprayed green and i will have my sunnies with the orange lenses on - surely that should be enough to go on?

I am race number 52359.

Will let you know how I get on!

A bit more like it

2007-04-19T17:41:00.000Z

Just back from my last run before Sunday - a nice brisk 3 miler. Was supposed to be done at my planned marathon pace (which is 8 min/ mile - and yes, that is 3:30 pace), but I just felt so GREAT that I might have gone a little bit faster at times.

Very relieved - all of my recent runs seem to have been terrible for one reason or another, but just now I felt like a runner again :)

Hope this is a good sign for Sunday.

In other fascinating news - I just worked out that I have run 443 miles and spent 58 hours doing so since the training programme started on 1 January. Doesn't seem that much really!

Stuff

2007-04-19T08:29:00.000Z

Got a 3 mile run to do later - but already there is stuff to talk about.

I received a 'care package' this morning from my lovely friends Julie & Robin in Sweden. It had all the essentials - vaseline, blister patches, chocolate, lucky knickers - and was a really lovely thought, so thanks for that guys :)

Also, I have just ironed my name onto my running vest - discovering that if you get the iron too close to the existing words, they melt! Silly me. Never had my name on a running top though, so that is something else that is new and exciting.

Tom is arriving in the morning and we are going to the expo tomorrow afternoon to collect our race numbers, timing chips & hopefully lots of freebies. Am going to try and resist spending a fortune on running kit (especially NO trainers!), but you know how it is........

Tapering of an alcoholic kind....

2007-04-18T07:31:00.000Z

Ok, so I have singularly failed to go on the wagon at any point in my training - but you should be impressed, I am at least tapering my drinking!

Went up to London last night to meet a couple of friends of mine - Jon, who I met and lived with while we were both trainee accountants in Nottingham and his 'suprise' wife, Shern. I say 'suprise' wife as they got married in Vegas earlier this month (it was planned) but nobody knew it was going to happen! Amazing.

Anyway, they live in Australia, so we get to see them only when they are over for a visit - and yesterday they were in London, so Jon & I went to meet up with them.

I had lager shandy. See how restrained I am?

I feel a bit ropey this morning - am trying to convince self that it is because it was very smokey in the pub last night and it IS NOT a cold - but am increasingly paranoid about getting ill.

:(

Was a fun evening though - and glad I made the effort to go (it's so easy not to bother) - saw this on the way back to Waterloo though - on the outside of the London Marathon shop - it's a countdown timer to the start of the race!!! OOOOooooo. How did it get to be so soon?

Quicky - quickly (or something)

2007-04-17T17:03:00.000Z

did my intervals today - last ones - and some lovely 400's to finish it all off.

Decided to go crazy and do them outside on the track by the gym today - since it was still so sunny.

The track is an old one, it isn't really used any more as there is a swanky rubbery one just across the field - but it is open for anyone to have a go on, and it's perfect for what I wanted!

So, a warm up of 5 laps and then straight into it.

6 x 400ms with 2 min rest intervals - aiming for 1:34min/lap

Did them in:
1. 1:29.9 (fresh legs)
2. 1:32.7 (more conservative)
3. 1:31.0 (feeling the burn)
4. 1:30.5 (over half way)
5. 1:30.0 (sometimes I suprise myself)
6. 1:30.3 (last gasp effort)

Fantastic, and then lots of lovely grass to lie down and stretch on!

In other news, my sponsorship total continues to grow as a number of latecomers join the fun - thanks you guys, it is greatly appreciated!

Still keeping an eagle eye on the weather forecasts for the weekend, but they are so variable that it probably isn't worth the stress.

Jon has organised the cheering squad - currently comprised him, my sister & andrew, Nic & my lovely inlaws. If anyone else fancies a day trip to London to cheer on 35,000 nutters running 26.2miles 'for fun' and wants to meet up with these lovely folks - the plan is to rendez-vous at Tower Hill tube station at 10.30am.

There you have it.

Now, I must shower and then I am going into London to meet an old chum of mine. No beer though. Probably.

:)

The last of the long runs

2007-04-15T19:24:00.000Z

'Just' the 10 miles today. Left it till 6pm - feeling a little 'sleepy' from last night's beers and then it was way too warm to go running - so I just rested up until it was time to go.

Found it very hard work when I did get going - it's a bit disappointing really, because you definately think - well it's only 10 miles, should be easy - but it just isn't (I think I said about this already).

Overall though, I did average slightly faster than planned marathon pace, and it was hot, and there were hills, and I had beers last night - so .......... well, it's still not good for morale I can tell you!

Anyway, it's done now - just 2 more short runs to do next week, and then - the BIG DAY!

This time next week I will no doubt be enjoying a lovely pint of shandy (or 2) and wearing my medal with pride. All I need to do is get through the next 6 days without injuring myself or getting a cold or anything stupid like that - and I will get round!

So exciting.

Golfing

2007-04-14T18:36:00.000Z

A beautiful sunny day so Jon & I went up the road for a game of golf.

We haven't played in years really - and you could tell. I was totally hopeless, and got my arse well and truly kicked (7 holes to 2), but at least I didn't have to play any shots out of a tree - like jon did (picture!).

A nice activity though - took us a couple of hours to go round (was only 9-holes) and very quiet. Fab.

A nice pint of shandy in the clubhouse afterwards, and then home to get changed and go out for another couple of bevvies and a nice dinner.

I decided that going on the wagon was a pointless exercise, and instead have been tapering my drinking in the same way I am tapering my training mileage. :)

Fundraising target - ACHIEVED!

2007-04-13T09:04:00.000Z

As of this morning, my fund raising target of £1000 has been achieved!

This is fantastic news - and I am really grateful for the generousity of everyone that has supported me. Thankyou.

Macmillan Cancer Support will benefit greatly from your donations, but it also acts as a fantastic incentive for me - both throughout the training process and on the day itself - I don't want to let anyone down!

Thanks again guys - you're great :)

Too excited to work!

2007-04-12T16:29:00.000Z

OK, so it doesn't take much to distract me from my work, but at the moment it seems extra bad. Too much marathon madness - stuff to read, stuff to obsess about, running to be done, kit choices to be made, injuries to manufacture .............. and so it goes on.

Today I did actually run - 10.5km: 3km warm up, 5km fast, 2.5km cool down.

It was very hot and some how it seemed that every man and his dog was out chopping his trees back - which was just great for my tree pollen related hayfever! Anyway, it was hard work but fine - I tired quite a bit on the hill, but at least I know that once that is over and done with, it is pretty much 4km downhill to home!

Made sure to have a big lunch after that as I had 2 hours of dentistry to look forward to this afternoon - a couple of root canal fillings (great) and I was pretty sure that I would be so full of local anaesthetic that dinner might not be an option: absolutely right, can't feel a thing all down the left side of my face. Nice.

Plans are coming along though for marathon weekend - I have bagged my friend Tom and I a place on the coach leaving from Farnborough to take us to the event (thanks Alan!), so we know we are going to get there. The coach does leave at 6am though - so today's thought is - what am I going to do with my porridge? It will be far too early to eat it when we leave the house, so I will have to take it with me for later. Nightmare.

Also, today I am wondering what sort of pace should I be running at? Difficult to know how fast I could do it (as I haven't run that far in training) - is a delicate balance between going fast enough to feel that I did my best and not too fast so that I die at around 16 miles with 10 left to go!

So difficult.

Ahhhh, that's better!

2007-04-10T17:40:00.000Z

Cycled to Aldershot (7km), locked up the bike, did outdoor running intervals up and down Queen's Avenue (lovely, nearly flat, straight road), cycled home.

Intervals: 5 x 1km (3:52, 4:02, 3:58, 3:58, 4:00) with 400m walk/jog rest intervals.

Was alright - not easy, but not terrible either - and over so quickly!

Feeling much more positive now, legs felt much less rubbish than on my last couple of outings.
Brilliant.

In other news, once the Easter weekend was over, I had all good intentions of going on the wagon - unfortunately it looks like that is already blown as I have a beer appointment with one of my old work chums this evening. So weak :)

Easter bunny

2007-04-09T16:53:00.000Z

On friday morning I decided to do my 13 mile run - previously timetabled for Sunday - and discovered something I really should have known - an evening of beer, curry & antihistimines is not a good base for a 13 mile run in the sunshine!!

It was awful. Truly horrid from start to finish.

I set off down the road, and usually I am leaping and bounding and having to slow myself down - today I wasn't. I think part of the problem was that in my head I expected the run to be a breeze - it was 'only' 13 miles after all - but it really wasn't.

So disappointing.

The only compensation was that I actually managed to get round and home and hit an average pace spot on what I was aiming for. A miracle really - but no way could I have gone any further! Very worrying.

After the run, stretch, shower, etc - me & jon loaded up the van and headed off to the New Forest for a couple of nights.

It was great - love that van - very relaxing.

Didn't do much, went for a bit of a cycle (good old Top Bike) and a stroll on Saturday - definately counted as cross-training - sat around a lot, enjoyed the sunshine, read our books, drank some wine........ perfect really :)

On Sunday morning we headed back home - we had visitors arriving, my mum & george, helen & andrew and michael - all coming for a roast dinner and new back garden admiring.

I had time before they arrived to get out for my run - 5 miles at mid-tempo pace. Not too bad, definately felt better than I had on Friday, but still not as sprightly as I have been on past runs - quite hard work. Saying that though, it was REALLY hot and I wonder how much affect taking anti-hayfever drugs is having.
Anyway, I actually did 10km (~6 miles) and was slightly quicker than I needed to be, so it was all fine.

I got home to find the guests had arrived - and Andrew (soon to be brother-in-law) said he wanted to go out for a little run, so I volunteered to cycle round with him, show him the way and use it as a bit of a cool down. We did 3.5 miles - I was on Top Bike, he was running - I was cold when we got back!!

Anyway, the garden & new furniture was admired, there was a good roast dinner on Sunday, too much wine, some drinking games, chips & bread at 11pm and then bed at 2am.

A great weekend, a real mix of stuff - and FANTASTIC weather.

I must admit to hoping that the sunshine doesn't last though (sorry) - or at least disappears for a few hours on 22nd April - running 26.2 miles in the kind of heat we had over the weekend would not be fun!

Less than 2 weeks to go.......... oooer!

Tapertastic!

2007-04-04T17:38:00.000Z

The last couple of weeks before a marathon are when you do your 'taper' - basically reducing your mileage, letting your legs recover and get benefit from all the training you have done so that you arrive fresh & ready to go on race day.

Brilliant.

What it seems to mean so far is more eating! I could eat for England - even more than usual. It is very interesting.

Not really noticing the 'reduced mileage' yet though - today's session was intervals (as it always is) and it was the hardest yet I think - 8 x 800m with 200m RI. So tough. I admit to having the incline on 0% today as well, my legs just couldn't take any more than that, so I did cheat a bit I suppose.

Still - I did all 8 repetitions, I did think of bailing out at 6, but carried on to the end like a true hero! :)

In other news, my sponsorship total is nearing my target, and with the news that my future brother-in-law Andrew has whipped up £60 of donations from assorted friends and family, I think I am going to make it!

Thanks again to everyone who has donated so far - is fantastic !!

All downhill (3 weeks to go!)

2007-04-01T18:50:00.000Z

Friday I ran 8 miles. It was supposed to be at planned marathon pace - but I did it a touch faster.

Not as crazy as usual though because I felt absolutely shattered. My legs felt like bits of wood & every incline was a chore - also it was raining (a lot) and I didn't really feel like running.

Poor old me eh?

Ha.

Not expecting any sympathy as is clearly all self-inflicted - and by all accounts, feeling the strain at this stage of the training programme is pretty normal: it's hard work after all. Also, I think the half marathon last weekend took more out of me than I had appreciated - and that's why my legs are so lifeless.

Anyway, that was in the bag.

Yesterday I cycled to the station (and home later on) - but at only 2 miles each way, I'm not really sure it counts as 'cross training' - but maybe combined with the 5 hours of standing that I did while teaching my OU class, and the walk to/from the tube to the college I might just get away with it :)

Today - the big day - last 20 miler on the plan. Not a great start as I felt tired, legs still knackered, a bit wheezy (am starting to think it might be hay fever) and it was sunshine city. I had a new plan for today - laps of 10, 6.5 and 4.5 miles (I know - that makes 21 miles). My 10 mile lap went reasonably well - I was going a bit fast, and the first couple of miles were a gradual climb straight into the wind ( not nice). By the time I got home though - I was already thinking about stopping! Not good.

The second lap - same 2 miles up hill into the wind, starting to feel really sorry for myself by now - considering turning back and going home. Decided that if I could get to the top of the hill, I would be fine. Got to the top of the hill - enjoyed the downhill that came after it - shuffled back round to the house.

Seriously considered stopping - it was already 16.5 miles after all.

Decided that I would be super disappointed in myself if I did stop - set off for my final lap.

Took decision that a 3.5 mile lap would be fine (and less hilly), although first 2 miles were still a gradual uphill and all the way along I was thinking about stopping & walking - who would know, can the extra couple of miles really make any difference, etc.
I didn't stop though - and having got to the top of the hill (and in reality, it's not really very much in the way of incline - it just felt like it) and being on my way home - I started speeding up!! So much for being knackered.
Kept talking to myself all the way home (if I make it to 30km I will stop and walk, at 30km now - it's too far to walk, if I make it to 31km I'll walk, at 31km now - I'm so close to homeI may as well keep going.....) and was thrilled to clock exactly 32.2km to the front door - 20miles precisely!!

Very happy with that - I felt so tired, and wanted to stop so badly that I think I couldn't possibly feel any worse - and if I can manage 20 miles while feeling like that - hopefully with rested legs and the excitement of race day, I should be OK! Fingers crossed.

Only 3 weeks to go!

Bah

2007-03-29T20:26:00.000Z

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....

2007-03-28T16:53:00.000Z

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

2007-03-26T15:23:00.000Z

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

2007-03-25T15:56:00.000Z

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

2007-03-21T18:35:00.000Z

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!

2007-03-20T17:47:00.000Z

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!

2007-03-18T21:46:00.000Z

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!

2007-03-16T09:04:00.000Z

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

2007-03-13T17:38:00.000Z

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

2007-03-11T16:11:00.000Z

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?

2007-03-08T21:56:00.000Z

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

2007-03-06T22:04:00.000Z

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............

2007-03-04T15:26:00.000Z

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.........

2007-03-02T17:39:00.000Z

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

2007-03-01T23:21:00.000Z

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.

More trainers...........

2007-02-28T19:05:00.000Z

My name's Trish and I'm addicted to buying trainers. :)

A nice man called at my door today and delivered what has to be the BIGGEST box containing trainers I have ever seen.

In my defence - there were actually only 4 pairs in there, and I didn't intend to keep them all - I just wanted to try a few things on, you know how it is?

In the case for the prosecution (in this case Jon, who has told me it is now a case of one pair in = one pair out !), when I actually counted how many pairs of trainers I already own, I was quite suprised to find that it was actually 9 pairs. OK, OK that's NINE pairs - yes, that is a lot, but - you know - they are all special.

It is my only vice really - and it's not like I don't use them or anything. Mostly.

Anyway, skipping on from deviances, I liked 2 pairs out of the 4 - one is another pair of Frees (I love them and they are quite difficult to get hold of, and all number of other excuses if you need them) and the others are these in the picture - Nike Air Zoom Skylon Triax. A bit like the Frees (clearly the soles have been given the treatment), and still pretty minimalist - but with more cushioning. I thought they might be good for my longer runs - give my poor leggies a bit more protection from the nasty road.

So, I took them out for a run - I nearly wasn't running, not sure if I was still ill or whatever - but the new shoes said run, so I ran! And it was alright. I did my tempo run today - going to save intervals until Friday - and I was quite fast really - especially considering my mini-cold and race weary legs. Very pleased.

And the new shoes? Well, they are very springy - and I don't like them as much as my Nike Frees - but they are also very comfortable and light and I think with a bit of wearing in, they might be a good option for the marathon.

They don't have my name on though, and they are not orange - which is a shame...........

Thankyou!

2007-02-27T18:33:00.000Z

A big thankyou to everyone that has sponsored me so far on this 'mission' - I passed the £500 mark today - half way to my self-imposed target of £1,000 - so it's looking good, and every contribution is really MASSIVELY appreciated.

What isn't appreciated is my evil husband and his wicked germs - I am fighting off a cold that he brought home to share with me last week (thanks Jon!), so decided to take an extra day of rest today in the hope that I will be fighting fit and ready to go tomorrow.

Fingers crossed eh?

Bramley - 20 mile race - good grief!

2007-02-25T16:18:00.000Z

By 9:15am Tom and I were in the car and on our way down the M3 towards Basingstoke - fully fuelled and looking forward to the Bramley 20 mile race we were heading for.

Ha.

The reality is that we were taking turns to list our various ailments / aches / pains / other excuses for why we weren't going to do very well.

This is not a new thing though - is what you do before any race, is like a soothing ritual, and also does ensure (if you cover all the bases) that if things do go REALLY badly that you can refer back to this earlier conversation "see, I told you I was going to have trouble with.........."

Anyway, by 10am we were parked up and walking to the start - when we got there, pretty suprised to find a 20 minute long queue for depositing our bags, but we managed to do that and get in a quick toilet stop before the off.

Naturally I did the first mile too fast (7:18), and despite slowing down, also did the 2nd (7:28) and third (7:38) too fast as well - by the 4th mile I thought I had cracked it - as I did 8:01, but then the 5th I was back to 7:45!

I didn't really have a plan (which may have been my downfall) but I knew I was going too fast - so I did slow down a bit.

Still, I went through the 10 mile mark (which was tough because it was a 2 lap race, and there were lots of people doing just 10 miles) in 1:18, and after that it was pretty much 8:30 min/mile all the way - one part conscious decision to slow down, one part being a bit tired.

Anyway, the 2nd lap was much slower - and I had a few "what was I thinking?" moments, was overtaken by lots of people, and spent some time fantasising about faking a plastic cup based injury so I could stop - but I finished in a not too shabby 2:43.44 (by my watch) and definately didn't feel as dead at the end as I have in previous runs of that length.

Am not sure whether I could have gone any faster, but also not sure whether running more slowly at the beginning would have helped.

It is a tricky one - in shorter races, 10km let's say, I have experimented and found that if I start more slowly, I just get more slow - I don't suddenly find that I have loads of energy left in my legs and put in a stunning second half.

So my theory was - if I run faster at the start, and then just slow down as I get tired - surely I will come off better overall. It does seem to work for shorter distances - not so convinced at the longer ones!

Maybe next time I will try the slower start (yeah right).

It clearly does work for some though - I saw Alison from the Cove Joggers at the race today, and she had started pretty slowly, and then put in a few sub 8 minute miles over the back end of the race - and she was looking pretty chirpy on it.

Anyway, I was finished - got my goody bag, and some water and then went to see Tom in. He apparently had thought I was running behind him all the way round (we got split up at the start) so was pretty suprised to see me cheering for him at the finish! He was just 5 minutes behind me, and pretty happy with the result.

The 10 minute walk back to the car seemed to be about 10 miles, and we were both feeling the pain a bit by then - 20 miles is a long way you know!

Investigation into the contents of the goodie bag brought some joy though - Tom was thrilled to find a mars bar (just the thought of eating so soon after a race makes me feel ill), and I was pretty impressed with the race momento - a towel with the race logo on it! Never had that before.

Trip home was the usual race post-mortem, a stop in Sainsburys for cake, then back to the house for cheesey baked beans on toast and some sitting down.

Job done!

This week I have been mostly.......................not blogging!

2007-02-23T14:50:00.000Z

I know, I know - very slack, but sometimes the week just whizzes by, and you can't catch a minute to sit down and blog.

This week has been like that - I don't know where it has gone, and here we are at Friday again!

So, how has my training been going? Not bad as it goes.

On Monday (a day of rest) I appreciated how beneficial running more slowly is, because I hardly ached at all after my 16 mile run the day before. Although at the time it was still tough, definately less tired and less sore the next day - which was great.

By Tuesday I was ready for my intervals - and super ready because it was 400m intervals! I LOVE 400m intervals. They are run faster than the longer intervals - but are just long enough so that you are stopping by the time you are feeling the strain. Marvellous.

The session was 2 x (6 x 400m) with 1.5 minute RI between reps, and 2.5 minutes between the 2 sets. It was great - hard - but great, AND I managed to do them all with the incline set to 1%! Go me :)

On Wednesday I did some cycling. I cycled over to Farnborough (which was incredibly hard because I was running late so had to cycle as fast as I could!) to meet the lovely Louise for lunch in the BAE canteen. That was most pleasant - had a good catch up , a nice bit of salad bar, saw a few other people to say hello too - marvellous.

Cycled home from there - going to put a total of 40 minutes cycling on the training log.

Also, on the way to Farnborough narrowly missed getting dead. At one point you have to move over a bit in the left hand lane due to parked cars, I glanced over my right shoulder just before I was going to move out --- and there was a HUGE Range Rover about 5 cm from my back wheel!! If I had wobbled, I would have been a goner.

Moron.

Often I think it is a good job you can't see behind you when you are cycling - there must be many situations like that which would totally put you off cycling if you realised how often you were close to being wiped out!

Still - I'm not dead, so that's a bonus.

Thursday - tempo run day - and also (at the moment) massage day. Went down to Guildford again for a sports massage. This week I had my legs pummelled by Matt - a very muscular young man, who I was a bit worried was going to snap me - luckily he didn't, although he was quite rigourous - and I came out feeling pretty good. So that was nice :)

Of course I hadn't managed to get my act together and go running before that - so I ended up not running till 6 pm (still haven't quite got into a routine with this working from home), and I have come to the conclusion that running after massage is not too great.

Still, I managed to do my session - 3km warm up, 5 km at short tempo pace (4:30min/km) 3km warm down, and my 5km at quick pace was only 20 seconds slower than it was the other week when I did it - and that week I felt amazing for some reason. Yesterday felt quite tough - especially up the hill - and I thought I was quite a bit slower, so 20 seconds wasn't too bad.

Today, I have just got back from playing badminton over in Farnborough with Mike who I used to work with. I did get my ass wupped - 4 games to nothing (I was close in the 3rd game mind) - but it was great, I really enjoyed it. Am now trying to ignore the fact that my left ankle is sore and my back feels like it is broken :)

Hopefully there will be a next time though - and I will aim to win at least one game then - I think I was just too easy on him this time :)

So, I am looking forward to doing my 20 mile race on Sunday (resting tomorrow I think!), with Tom (who has been a bit ill this week) and Jon (who is doing the 10mile run - and has also been a bit ill this week). I am trying not to get ill - no time for that, I have a marathon training programme to follow!

So, more about the race after the event on Sunday - hopefully I will get round OK, certainly treating it like a training run, rather than an actual 'race' - and it has to be more 'fun' than running laps around here?

Till then though - enjoy your weekend!

A lovely bit of company.............

2007-02-18T12:48:00.000Z

So after a nice rest day yesterday, this morning I actually managed to haul myself out of bed at 7am and was hanging around in Oak Farm School by 7:45am waiting for some Cove Joggers to arrive and take me running!

Yes, today I went running with a running club - a first for me - and it was very nice.

I ran with Brian, Alan and Jon (left to right in the photo) and we did just over 16 miles (3 more than on the programme) in around 2hrs 20 minutes.

It was a nice route - taking in road and a bit of off road up in Sandhurst woods - so a bit hilly, but good and varied.

I was feeling pretty tired by the end of the run, but there was cups of tea and biscuits with the chaps and several more of the club at the end, which was marvellous and revived the spirits.

It was really great to have a bit of company, and another bonus was that I was finished with my run and back home by 11:30am - whereas normally I am still dithering about and not even out of the door by that time.

Brilliant.
Thanks guys!

Friday fun

2007-02-16T19:56:00.000Z

There are many great things about working from home - but there are also a few problems.

Aside from occasionally going quietly mad from the lack of noise or people to talk to (messenger is good, but sometimes you need to actually talk to people), there is the danger of staying in bed all day, potential for eating everything in the fridge, occasions where you sit at the computer all day without moving - and my new downfall - non-stop internet shopping !!

Because I know that I will be in when the post-man calls, I have been going shopping mad.

Today I took delivery of some new t-shirts from a place called 'on-fire'. Mostly they were a total bargain - £4 a throw in the sale - but I did pay full price for one, because I liked the slogan on the front - could be my training motto I thought :)

In other postie related news - my Polar running gadget was returned from Polar complete with new battery - so I was ready for today's session.

Left my run until quite late - had some work that I wanted to get done before I went out, and then I was eating so I had to wait a couple of hours after that........ I did go though.

Today's session was billed as 8 miles, 1 mile warm-up, 6 miles at Long Tempo pace (4:48min/km or 7:46min/mile), 1 mile cool down.

I set off at a gentle pace, did 2km at that speed and then ramped it up for the next 10km, then slowed down to a walk for the last 500m or so.

It's funny - when I set off I couldn't imagine going any faster than I was, but when the time came to go faster - I just went faster, too fast in fact! The last couple of km were pretty tough - I had big stomach cramp for some reason, but I cracked on and got it finished. Good for me eh?

And a treat for you today - the map of my route :

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=710834

I am good to you.

Massage

2007-02-15T19:03:00.000Z

Before christmas I did a course to qualify me to be a gym instructor - another string to the MV bow - and most of the people on the course went on to do the personal training qualification and then sports massage.

Anyway, on Thursdays they practice their massage techniques and need people to practice on - so someone gave me a call and asked if I was interested. Brilliant. Free massage!

So, I went up to Guildford Spectrum Centre - apparently " The most exciting leisure complex in the UK" (certainly looks exciting in the picture to the left there!)- and Claire gave me a leg massage.

Quite marvellous.

It was confirmed that my IT band (diagram below to show you what I am on about) is v. tight on my left hand side - which is likely to be the cause of my knee pain - but apart from that, my legs were pretty knot free, which is brilliant.

Felt great after that - and nice to see how everyone is getting on (very well) - so worth the trip.

Cross training today - intended to go swimming but forgot to take my membership card with me, so came home instead and did weights. Lovely.

More intervals - but getting harder!

2007-02-14T16:01:00.000Z

...........or so it seems.

For the last couple of weeks it seems that I am finding the intervals more difficult - even when the session is one I have done before.

Saying that though, I thought the one I did today I had done before (6 x 800m) but having checked the plan, the one I was thinking of was actually 4 x800m - so that makes me feel a bit better.

Still, I have found that I just can't cope with the treadmill being on an incline any more!

Let me explain. Running on a treadmill with zero incline is - apparently - slower than if you run at that effort on the road - because there is no wind-resistance to overcome on a treadmill. So, to compensate for that, the accepted thing to do is put the treadmill at a 1% incline.

(here is a link to a chart which tells you what incline you need.......... http://www.trinewbies.com/run_treadmill_chart.asp )
The first couple of weeks I was doing these sessions I managed that just fine, but the last couple of weeks I just haven't been able to - or I have managed for a couple of repetitions, but then had to put the incline down to zero again.

This means that I am - I guess - doing my intervals slower than I should be. But then, I wonder how much it matters - it really kills me to do, and it's faster than I normally run, so surely it is still doing it's job?

Also, I discovered the other week that if I put one of my hands on the bar at the front of the treadmill, that makes running easier (?) - so trying not to do that when I get tired is a bit of a challenge. A bad habit.

Anyway, I did the 6 intervals, had a good stretch afterwards - glad to find that my knee is feeling alright - and then I was off home: another session completed!

Creaky

2007-02-13T18:36:00.000Z

So today my plan was to go over to the Farnborough Aerospace Centre and take part in the monthly 'Hare and Hounds' handicap race as an alternative to the intervals that were on my plan. I thought it might be quite interesting to see how much faster I am than the last time I did it - must be nearly 4 years ago!

The best laid plans though!

This morning I got up and my left knee was still grumbling, after being a bit uncomfortable all night (it hurts most when I am lying down!), so I decided (for once) to do the sensible thing and not run.

Look at me go eh?

Can you imagine how bad it would be if I had to bail out at this point?
Very bad.

So - better an extra day off running than risk an injury. And, infact, it isn't really a day off running because I will go tomorrow instead - it is just a rearrangement of the programme (see how flexible I am?) and a shame that I didn't get to do the race.

Still. There is always next month :)

Couldn't just sit around though - that isn't allowed for on the programme - so I went out on my bike instead (doesn't bother the knee which is lucky!). Went out for an hour - did about 16 miles I suppose, and didn't even get killed, although the way people drive around here it was a close call a couple of times - there just isn't quite enough room on some of the roads for me AND 2 cars - but it doesn't stop people trying to squeeze by!

Was nice fun though, and a change from running. Not easy mind you.

So, please admire my bicycle (above - not Topbike - not sure knee could cope with that kind of punishment!) and also our new-look back garden - now complete with gravel.

Amazing.

Isn't Sunday supposed to be a day of rest?

2007-02-11T18:18:00.000Z

I wasn't sure what I was doing today - 18 or 20 miles was my rough plan - but I wasn't definate when I set off.

It was one of those days when I just didn't feel good from the start: Some days you feel like you are flying along and it is so easy, other days (like today) it feels like a slog.

Made harder by not having my gadget so I didn't know how fast I was going (sometimes it helps because it shows you that the reason it is feeling so tough is because you are going too fast!), I just didn't get into the groove at all.

I did one lap of 10km and stopped at the house to get a drink (hidden round the back to stop the squirrels), I then persuaded myself around the longer 13km circuit, but when I got back to the house I felt like sitting down and giving up.

I'm sure a lot of it is about mental attitude, and today mine was very bad - "how can I possibly run 26 miles", " I can't do this", "my legs hurt", "I could just stop now", etc.

Anyway, I stopped at the house and had a drink, a bit of a stretch, a short catch up with Jon and then........... I went on my way. I was so tempted to stop - it would have been 15 miles after all - but then, I knew I would be disappointed, so I thought I would just run to the end of Frimley road (another mile) and then I could always run back.

When I got there I managed to talk myself round to the next turning point, and then I thought if I could run until I had been going 2hrs 30 minutes then it would be OK, and then to the bottom of the hill, and then to the top of the hill, and then............ well, I managed to keep it going until I had been going 2 hrs 50 minutes - which turned out to be 31.6km (19.5miles) - which on the one hand I was very pleased with, and on the other - slightly disappointed because if I had just managed to carry on for another 5 minutes I would have broken the 20 mile mark!

Stupid but true.

Also, I was quite a bit slower this week than last - no real explanation for it, just feeling more knackered on the way round.

Will it ever feel easy?

That's the bad thing (mentally) - you think that if you can run 20 miles, surely running 13 miles will be easy - so how come I was still so tired all the way through my run?? Doesn't seem fair somehow.

Still, on the upside - I did do my 20 miles, which means that I can enjoy next week's 'step-back' of only 13 miles (how nice will that be?) before my next 20 miler which will actually be a race at Bramley the weekend of 25th Feb. That will hopefully be better (surely it has to be more interesting?) than running laps!

Golf as cross training?

2007-02-09T16:00:00.000Z

I'm not convinced - but that was today's activity.

Last night we went to High Wycombe to suprise my future brother-in-law for his 29th birthday. There was curry and beer involved and it was very nice.

Today though, Andrew finished work at lunch-time and I was hanging around (finished my work last night) so we went to the driving range so I could try out my new golf clubs (lovely christmas present).

It was good - Andrew gave me a few tips - and I was hitting the balls quite consistently, if not amazingly. Tiring stuff though - so I reckon it does count as cross-training, it does now anyway :)

A run and a rant

2007-02-08T17:36:00.000Z

You know things have gone a bit far when the first thing you think of when you wake up and see snow isn't "woo-hoo no school" or "let's get outside and make snowmen/go sledging/ have a snowball fight" but "oh - no, how am I going to do my run"!!

That's what I was thinking this morning, but luckily by the time I got around to running the snow had turned to freezing rain and the pavements were pretty clear.

Of course freezing rain isn't much fun, but once you get running you don't really notice these things and to be honest I had much bigger problems.

Here's a tip for you - don't go out for a run at 3:30pm on a school day unless you want to spend the whole journey dodging randomly moving kids, or worse, idiot parents driving oversized cars, parking all over the pavements, speeding out of junctions or blocking the roads.

I'm sure that all these people have good reason for collecting their children in cars, but it's so dangerous. I was running past a school up one road - which only has a footpath on one side of it - and you could barely get one person past the cars they were parked so far onto the pavement, never mind one runner and gaggles of children. And what happens when people are parking up or leaving a space? They just blast in or out without much looking at what is going on, they are so fixated on what's going on in their cars - rather than outside them.

I'm alright, I can look after myself - but what about all those kids milling around? I'm amazed there aren't more accidents.

Rant over.

Makes me so cross though.

Did 5 miles at my mid-tempo pace which is 4:40min/km (7:31 min/mile) and despite going off too fast, having a couple of evil hills to cope with, and not having my gadget to tell me how I was doing (it's been sent off to have a new battery fitted), I somehow managed to hit exactly the right speed overall!

Marvellous.

Tuesday intervals

2007-02-06T17:45:00.000Z

I had a rest day yesterday to get over my Sunday epic.

Didn't feel too bad, still getting a bit of trouble with my left knee - just along the outside - which I suspect is something to do with my IT band (can't beat a bit of self-diagnosis) so I am stretching it and being a bit careful. Doesn't bother me when I am running, or even walking, mainly it hurts when I stand up from a crouching position or - oddly - when I am lying in bed!

Still, apart from that and a bit of tightness in my calf muscles and my shoulders (?), pretty much unscathed!

Today was about the same - but today I had to do intervals.

I probably mentioned, I joined a gym pretty much just so I can use a treadmill for my intervals. The gym's not too bad - there is a picture so you can see for yourself - (I was on the treadmill just this side of that pillar to the left of the shot) - and it is only £22/month which includes full use of the 50m pool as well! It is the Aldershot Garrison Gym - not flash, but it does the job!

Anyway, intervals work along the lines that you push yourself hard for a short period of time, take a short recovery interval, then push hard again, recover, etc...... and it is supposed to be super excellent for improving your fitness pretty quickly.

The type of intervals on my programme tend to be something along the lines of run intervals of distances from 400m - 1600m with rest intervals (RI - jog or - more usually - walking) of 200 - 400m.

The pace I have to run the intervals at varies - getting faster the shorter the interval. For 1600m intervals I have to run at a speed of 14.5 km/h for the 400m intervals I have to run at 15.5km/hr!

Todays was an unusual one:

10 minutes warm up
2 x 1200m with 2 minute RI
4 x 800m with 2 minute RI
10 minute cool down.

The main reason I do intervals on a treadmill is because they are hard, and I am soft. That just about sums it up, but what I mean is that you are going fast and it makes you tired - and it is really difficult (I find) to keep pushing yourself when it starts to hurt.
On a treadmill you don' t have any choice, you either keep running - or you fall off!!

It's a killer, but it seems to work. Despite thinking I wasn't going to get to the end of my 10minute warm-up without wanting to go home, I managed that and all of the intervals.

One small confession though - I did have to take the incline off for the last 2 x 800m - I had it set on 1% to compensate for the lack of wind resistance (makes it more like being outside) but I was feeling like I was going to fall off backwards, so I put it flat. A slight cheat - but better than packing it in altogether!

To be honest, if anyone had told me 2 months ago that I would be able to run 20 miles on a Sunday and then go and do an interval session 2 days later, I would have said they were delusional - but that's what's happening!

Brilliant.

20 miles - did I do it?

2007-02-04T21:24:00.000Z

I finally left the house at about 12:30pm after having porridge with raisins for breakfast, a banana for a post-breakfast snack, and 250ml of energy drink while I was dithering about getting ready.

Jon took my 'before' photo (left) - I appreciate it's not a particularly good look, and I didn't realise how un-colour co-ordinated I was until I just looked at it - but hey, who cares?

I am wearing my new Macmillan running vest - getting it worn in before the marathon comes - my skins leggings (about which I have mixed feelings) and my lovely personalised Nike Free trainers.

I am also modelling our new paving round the back of our house in the photo - it was finished on Friday and we are very fond of it!

Anyway, on to the running. Today I decided to do 3 laps again - 1 x 8 miles, 2 x 6 miles to get my 20 miles in. I put 2 bottles of energy drink out by our front gate for me to pick up on my way round, and took one with me to start with.

I set off and felt tired pretty much from the start. I think the weights on Friday and cycling yesterday really made my legs weary, and I was probably going a bit quickly - just for a change. I was a bit worried though, some bits of that first lap were pretty tricky - the hilly bits really did for me, and I was breathing pretty hard, and by the time I got back to the house first time I had only done 13 km out of my planned 32km!

The next problem was that when I got to the house my drinks were gone!!! I couldn't believe it. When I finally realised that Jon hadn't moved them or anything - they were vanished - I dashed into the house, found my remaining sachet of energy drink and made up another 500ml bottle to take back out with me. I also left a bottle of plain water in the hall to pick up on my last lap.

That whole thing really threw me - where did the bottles go? I mean, did someone really steal them?

Worst thing was getting going again after my impromptu stop - but at least I had managed to pick up more drink - I think I really needed the extra energy to keep me going.

So. Back on the road, and my next lap of 10km. Nothing too remarkable - I was glad to get to the top of the hill and enjoyed the subsequent down hill, but by the time I was getting close to the house, I was thinking about packing it in. That would have given me 24km (~15miles), which wasn't bad.

Of course I didn't stop!!
Did you think I would have done?

I stopped briefly to pick up my water bottle, and carried on.

It was getting really hard by then - but I slowed down a bit, got my head down, and pushed on. I didn't have to go so far on that last lap - because I ended up only needing 8km by the time I got home the 2nd time. Bonus!

I took a bit of a shortcut to stop me having to walk so far home (I was planning on stopping as soon as I hit the 32km, wherever I was), but that meant running up a short steep hill - which nearly had me on my knees! My legs were REALLY tired by then, and I couldn't wait to get to my last 2km which I knew were going to be downhill!

Even then though, I wasn't quick even on that last downhill stretch, and when I hit 32km (which is actually 200m short of 20miles if we are being picky) I stopped!

I was done.

I walked the last kilometer home, limped into the shower, didn't take an 'after' photo (too tired), had home-made vegetable soup and a cup of tea for 'lunch', found the sofa and that was me.

I did it!!

Cycling legs

2007-02-03T16:12:00.000Z

I have just been out for a spin on my bicycle.
Did about 18 miles or so - and it was very hard work.
Unfortunately my cycling legs are rubbish - all that hard work I put in on Top Bike over the summer - all gone!!

Still, it was lovely - such a beautiful day - and it was fun, and made a change from running, so well worth it.

Also, I did weights yesterday, so I am putting some of the blame for my slight rubbishness on that - my quads are sore from doing squats, and my arms and shoulders................oooooo

20 mile run on the agenda for tomorrow.
Will I do it?

February begins...........

2007-02-01T18:33:00.000Z

So, according to my newly installed google countdown timer (thanks for that one Tom - now I can obsess about it every second of the day!), it is now 2 months 18 days 16 hours 27 minutes and 56 seconds (and counting) until the marathon kicks off.

Simultaneously seems like ages, and yet not that far away!

I was really tempted not to run today - despite the programme - because I have had a killer headache, and boogly feeling eyes all day. To start with i thought it was the result of the 2 glasses of wine I had last night, but it lasted all day - and I'm not that much of a lightweight - so I surmised that maybe wasn't the problem.

Anyway, I did run, and it was great - really quick, even up the hill - so feeling sooper pleased with myself now :)

Also, I am going to yoga this evening - trying something new, and hoping it will compensate for my complete rubbishness when it comes to stretching!

Intervals

2007-01-30T13:12:00.000Z

3 x 1600m intervals with 400m rest intervals @ 14.5km/hr completed on the treadmill (incline set to 1% to compensate for the lack of wind resistance)

V. hard work - didn't think I was going to manage it, and had to cover over the display because the distance was going up so slowly I couldn't bear it.

Future aims for these intervals - jog the recoveries! At the moment I have to walk, and gasp, and hold onto the railings like some knackered old dear (no comments please!).

Aching slightly from yesterday's weights - which is, I think, a good thing.

Weights session #1

2007-01-29T11:00:00.000Z

Actually used the new weights - brilliant - really felt like I had done a good workout, didn't have to go anywhere.

Need to get some better / quicker to release collars for them, and a pad for the bar to protect my back/neck when I have the weights on my shoulders for squats - but otherwise, a good investment.

Weights

2007-01-28T20:16:00.000Z

The other weekend I bought some weights off ebay.

There was method in my madness - resistance training (working with weights) is, apparently, the most amazing thing since sliced bread, and I thought that if I had some of mine, I might actually use them.

Anyway, we went and picked them up yesterday (they cost me £26) and today I used them for the first time.

They are a great solution to my cross-training nightmare. A full body session of weights takes 30 minutes, I don't have to go anywhere and it is really good for me.

Brilliant.

Woo Hoooooo!

2007-01-28T15:00:00.000Z

Today I ran 30km - which is 18.6 miles to any imperialists!

It took me 2 hours and 38 minutes.
I did it in 3 laps of 10km each - passing the house each time.
Jon joined me for the middle lap.
I wore my new Macmillan Cancer Support running vest
I was tired but extremely pleased at the end.

After the nightmare of the other week when I had to catch the bus home when I failed to run the 17 miles that was on my programme, I was a bit worried about how today would go. That was one of the reasons I decided to do laps - at least that way if something did go wrong, I should never be more than about 2 miles from home at any point.

Also, but running laps it meant that I didn't need to carry any water - I just tucked a couple of water bottles up on top of the hedge outside our house, and picked one up each time I went by. A much better option and, I guess, more like it will be in the actual marathon.

The picture above is the information download from my running gadget - the very marvellous Polar S625x which I have had for nearly 3 years now, and am, on and off, thinking about trading for something newer and more sparkly. But, I do love it - and it produces such pretty pictures! The red line on the graph is altitude(looks more impressive than it actually is in terms of height climbed!), the blue is my speed. Just thought you might like to see it :)

Not too much in the way of soreness after the run - as is usually the case, my feet are the worst victims, both sides are quite sore, and my knees feel a bit creaky, otherwise - not too bad.

I am, despite doing nothing but stuffing my face since I got home, absolutely starving though!!!

More cake............

Charity chosen..........

2007-01-27T06:00:00.000Z

I got back home ( a mere 5 hours after leaving Malmo - not bad I thought) to find that my 'pack' had arrived from my chosen charity.

I didn't mention the charity thing before I don't think.

Well, I thought that since I had got my own place in the marathon (remember? the BAD white tracksuit thing?) and running 26.2 miles is VERY hard work, that I should really use it as an excuse to raise money for a good cause.

The problem then was - which good cause to support.

There are so many.

After much to-ing and fro-ing, I decided to support Macmillan Cancer Support - because, unfortunately, it seems like lots of people I know have been affected by the big C - and Macmillan do lots of great work in supporting them.

So I have put together my sponsorship page : http://www.justgiving.com/trishmonks and I hope that lots of people will support me, and Macmillan in this crazy adventure!

Home time...........

2007-01-26T13:06:00.000Z

Home time today - but not before I did my 6 mile tempo run.

It was a tropical 2 deg C today - but unfortunately, due to a little snow 'n' thaw - it was incredibly slippy out there, oh, and it was blowing a small gale.

Still, nothing ventured and all that - once I was out there it was fine, and once I was on my way back down towards the house with the wind finally on my back (how could it be in front of me for the other 3 sides of the rectangle??) it was all good.

That done, I was showered, packed and off home (eventually).

What a lovely week I had though.

Decorating as cross training

2007-01-25T12:59:00.000Z

Does it count? It was certainly hard work - so I'm sure it counts for something.

Today we decorated the nearly nursery (nearly because there is not quite a baby to put in it!) which took us about 5 hours longer than we thought it would!

Looked great though - a big improvement over the initial purpleness of it - oh, and we MADE those curtains! How rock 'n' roll is that?

Chilly

2007-01-24T12:55:00.000Z

Intervals completed - 4 x 1k with 400m rest intervals.
It was -2 deg C.
It was a bit slippy
I was glad to get it done and inside for a cup of tea.

As an added bonus, we went to Ikea (which is exactly the same as at home) and had meatballs for lunch!

How Swedish is that?

Sweden!

2007-01-23T12:49:00.000Z

I flew to Sweden yesterday to visit Julie, so here I am.

I was supposed to run today - according to the programme - but instead we went for a 2 hour walk around where Julie is living, which I'm sure definately counts as cross training!

Got to run tomorrow though - and a bit worried due to the slippiness of the underfoot.
Could be exciting.

Bleurgh

2007-01-21T12:43:00.000Z

Despite going to bed at the relatively sensible time of 3am (the rest of the party continued past 5am!), getting up at 9am to go and do an 8 mile run wasn't really high on my agenda this morning.

But, I paid my money, I was going to do it - also, it was on the training plan, and Tom was going too - so I had to drag myself out of the nice warm bed in the van (yes, we were sleeping in the street outside our own house!) and get ready to run.

The race was from Lakeside (where they have the darts) and was a mixture of road and canal tow path.
It wasn't too bad - the worst bit was definately the long slow uphill at about 7 miles, just when you are really starting to feel tired - great timing!

I finished in 63 minutes, which made me 4th senior lady (out of 57 before anyone asks whether there were only 4 ladies!), so I reckon without the weekend of beer and stupidly late night, I might have won me a prize.

Still, it was a good trip out, and both Tom & I felt pretty good with the world when we got back to the house to find that most people were still in bed - which was a bonus because the shower was free!

Enjoyed the rest of the day - sunday lunch in the pub, tea and cake for afters, everyone pushed off by dinner time.

Exhausted now!

Happy Birthday to me!

2007-01-20T22:38:00.000Z

Can you believe I hadn't had any alcohol since New Year's day till now? Amazing. Me neither. Making up for it this weekend though - perfect preparation for tomorrow's race :)

Lots of people joined me for my celebrations - and it was lovely to see everyone.

32? Ancient.

Bugger

2007-01-18T22:31:00.000Z

Today I was going to run 17 miles.

Because of a race I am doing on Sunday, and it being my birthday weekend and we are expecting lots of guests and drinking and the like, I swapped my long run for today.

After last week's glorious and triumphant 15 miler, I was feeling pretty confident that I could do the distance. But today wasn't the day for it.

I knew I shouldn't have done it.

I got up early to eat and do some work, but it was really, really windy outside, so I was going to bale out and postpone till tomorrow.

I shillied and shallyed around for ages - hours in fact - before deciding that I was going to run after all, but by then the food that I had eaten as preparation was wearing off, but it was too late to eat.

I went anyway.

The weather was terrible - sooooo windy it was amazing - and I was getting slower and slower, and I started getting stomach cramps that made it feel like I couldn't breath.

Eventually, after narrowly missing being taken out by a flying estate agents sign that was blown across the road - post and all - about 5m ahead of me, and turning directly into the wind, I stopped. I just couldn't go on any further.

Some of this is phsychological - I know that - you start thinking you can't do it, and eventually that voice gets louder and louder until you are stopped, but some of it was that my stomach was so sore, running was really uncomfortable.

I think it was the combination of wearing my waistbelt with 1.5liters of water in it - pressing on my stomach - and not having eaten anything close enough to the time, not to mention the 'usual' jiggling that goes on with a run of that length.

Whatever the reason, I was really disappointed - I 'only' made it to 8.5 miles, and then had to walk to the nearest bus stop to catch a bus home.

Dreadful :(

Lack of cross training!!

2007-01-17T22:26:00.000Z

So far this week I have completely failed to do any cross-training, although I am remaining hopeful and convinced that the hour I spent on the Playstation dance mat on Monday night counts in some way - it is certainly very hard work - honest!!

I did manage my interval session yesterday though - in the gym - and it was pretty good. It was one of those that I thought would be pretty easy before I started, but it turned out to be anything but. A big advantage of the treadmill though is that you just can't slack off - or you fall off!

I did slot in a 1km swim after that session as well - so maybe that counts as cross-training, although strictly it's supposed to have been on a different day.

must try harder.

End of the week

2007-01-14T22:08:00.000Z

This week has gone pretty well - I've done some cross training, my tempo run on thursday went well, and yesterdays long run of 15 miles was fab.

It was really hard work - let's not pretend that it wasn't - but I did it, too quickly (that is possible you know), but pretty consistent pace wise and I am happy.

I made this run into a double loop so that I did a 9 mile loop, and then came back past the house and picked Jon up so he could accompany me for the next 6 miles. Nice to have a bit of company, even though I wasn't really up for much chatting - especially as the first mile after meeting Jon is up hill - and that really hit me quite hard.

Still - the mileage is building, and I'm feeling positive.

My worst problem at the moment? Sore feet. Stupid but important - I must look into doing something about it somehow.

Did my run on Saturday (Sunday is the usual day) this week so that we could head off for the night in the van! Ended up near Swanage (actually slept in a car park in Wareham - and yes, we are basically gypsies), and had a lovely time - including some stunning weather and a good stroll round Corfe Castle today.

We love that van - even if it is covered in blobs of lovely, rust stopping, non-colour matched, Hammerite at the moment.

Cross training

2007-01-10T22:02:00.000Z

1 hour of badminton with Jon - haven't played for years, really enjoyed it, especially as I won!!
Jolly hard work though.

Intervals

2007-01-09T22:00:00.000Z

First interval session at the gym on the treadmill - 4 x 800m - much 'easier' (although still very hard, if you see what I mean) doing it on the 'mill than on the road - and a really good session.

Also did an upper body weights session.

Go me.

Training partner

2007-01-08T21:52:00.000Z

Before I forget, I have to mention my friend Tom, as he is also running the marathon this year, and is my virtual (and sometimes real life) training partner.

We (or rather I) have set up an online spreadsheet using the rather marvellous Google Docs & Spreadsheets, which has both our our training programmes in, and then we are both going to update it as we complete our sessions - providing motivation (you don't want to be seen to be falling behind) and a record of what we did.

So far it's working great.

Away from home

2007-01-07T21:40:00.000Z

No matter that we were away for the weekend - the marathon training programme stops for no-one.

We had a great weekend in Hereford, Jon's mum was really suprised to see us waiting for her in the pub where we were eating dinner, which was fab, and then it was just great to catch up with the family and hang about.

Of course my run was on my mind for much of the time - and setting it up was a bit of a challenge, finding 6 miles of route where I wasn't going to get mown down by passing Herefordians was the first problem, but was resolved by my being dropped off out of town, doing my run into and through Hereford, and then meeting Jon and his brother James in a carpark somewhere.

The run went great - really good, I felt like I was flying! Marvellous.

My shoes

2007-01-05T21:37:00.000Z

Just incase I haven't shown you before - these are my marathon training shoes!

They are a pair of Nike Free 5.02 's and I designed them myself on the Nike ID website, and yes, I did chose for them to be orange, and yes, that is my name on the side :)

Don't you just love them?

13 miles today

2007-01-04T21:25:00.000Z

Because we are going to Hereford for the weekend, for a suprise meal for my mother-in-law's birthday, I decided to switch my long run from the weekend to be today instead - so 13 miles was on the menu.

I was fairly happy to be doing that distance, I thought I should be able to do it pretty comfortably, and I was right, it was fine - better than fine in fact.

I did an average pace of 5min/km (I know, I know, I mix my measurement units up a lot), which gave me a time for the distance that i would have been ecstatic to get in a half marathon race 12 months ago! It's incredible - and I'm convinced I owe it all to Top-Bike!

My training plan

2007-01-02T21:17:00.000Z

Today was my first planned training session.

I am going to be following the Furman Institute's "FIRST to finish" training programme, which is essentially 3 days of running per week (compared with a more 'traditional' training programme which would be 5 or 6 days), with one interval session, a tempo run and a long run. Also, I am supposed to do 3 sessions of cross-training, which is - inevitably - going to be the bit that I struggle with.

Today's session was intervals - 3 x 1600m at a pretty feisty pace, with 10 minutes warm up and cool down, and 400m rest intervals between each interval.

It was rubbish to be honest - I warmed up by running from the house out onto the footpath that runs along the A30 (about a mile away) - thinking that would be a good place to run as it is a nice straight road. Somehow I forgot that, depsite being a nice straight stretch of road, it is also a bit of a hill! This meant that my first and third intervals were up hill - very tough.

I have to admit that I only managed to run at the right pace for the downhill interval - the other 2 I slowed down in the middle because it was just too hard. I was very disappointed - especially because this was the first session of my training programme - such a bad start!

I learned a lesson though - intervals will be much easier to do on a treadmill, and that's where I plan to do them from now on. Mostly because I will be forced into maintaining the right place - no going off too fast (a classic) and if I go too slowly I will fall of the back of the 'mill!!

You live and learn.

And so it begins...........

2007-01-01T20:45:00.000Z

Conveniently my 16 week training programme starts today - 1st January 2007 - and even better, the first thing on it is a rest day!

This is a very lucky thing - New Year's Eve celebrations have never (as far as I know) been a good start to anybodies training regime - all that wine/beer/drinking games - as far removed from good hydration and carbo loading as you can get, despite being more fun.

Still, today's the day when it all begins - 16 weeks from now, on 22nd April 2007, I will be lining up on the start-line of the London Marathon, and then running 26.2 miles with 40,000 other people.

Scary.

Even scarier? The shell suit that I had to wear at last year's London Marathon in order to get the place run this year (picture below)!

Actually, shell suit aside, that was a great experience, spending 4 hours putting medals on marathon finishers - quite fantastic!