On Monday I entered the Turkey Trot half marathon. Yes, really. When I filled in my details on line I did think 'what the hell am I doing!!' But over the past 2 weeks since the Great North Run I haven't really done much exercise and I feel like a sloth. I liked what running was doing to my body, I liked that I slept well every night and I liked the feeling of achievement when I finished a session.
So I'm going to do another one. This time it's personal, looking back at the GNR I think I could have shaved a couple of minutes off just by stopping moaning in the last 2 miles! (Flino would agree!!). I need something to focus on to stop me wittering about everything else. I've had a couple of weeks rest and now I'm back on it.
I'm on a train at the moment on the way back from a meeting in London. When I get home I'm going to run 4 miles. Even if it's raining.
Friday 28 September 2012
Monday 17 September 2012
Finished?
So I've done it. It's over. Yesterday I ran 13.1 miles (well 13.3 but more on that later) for Rainbows Childrens Hospice. A massive thank you to everyone that has sponsored me - it's not too late to do so if you've got a spare £1 or two, you can use this link.
I was nervous yesterday morning, I woke up much earlier than the alarm and lay there thinking of miles and hills. At breakfast, where I was very pleased to find the hotel had porridge, Flino & I discovered we'd both dreamt of trying to get through a tunnel but things kept blocking our way - weird anxiety dreams!
We'd booked shuttle bus tickets to the start of the race so had to leave the hotel at 7.50am. This got us to the start area far too early so we had a wander round, covered up in some Asics foil blankets that were being given away.
Nerves are strange things, I couldn't stop yawning and had to go for a wee about 5 times. Why, at events where there are portaloos do us British only form 3 orderly queues outside a row of about 15 portaloos? Why don't we queue outside each one - surely that would make the whole process quicker? Or at least seem quicker.
It was soon time to get to our allotted start 'pens'. There were huge screens between the pens so we could see the start of the wheelchair race and the elite athetes. When they showed the Elite Mens start line I was proud to see my brother's friend Jon Gilby! He finished 32nd in an amazing time of 1hr 7mins 36seconds ( I was at around 6.5 miles then!).
Once the gun had gone off it took us about 12 minutes to actually cross the starting line. The race has to start on a motorway as it's the only 'space' big enough for 50,000 runners.
The first few miles seemed to fly by despite the rain and I was surprised how quickly we got to 6 miles. I was feeling good and the supporters, bands and other runners served as a great distraction. It was at about 10 miles that I started to feel the pain. My legs hurt, the course started to incline and I could feel myself starting to panic. I think if it hadn't been for Flino motivating me I would have stopped to walk. But I didn't stop, I reached the 12 mile marker and could see the sea where I knew the finish line was.
The last mile is all downhill which on paper sounds great but in reality hurts your knees! There were so many supporters on the sidelines, the noise was incredible. Those 1600 metres lasted a lifetime and I admit that I cried for most them. I managed a very pathetic spint over the finish line and thought I was going to throw up.
So these were my splits:
Mile 1 - 9.12
Mile 2 - 9.45
Mile 3 - 9.51
Mile 4 - 9.52
Mile 5 - 9.55
Mile 6 - 9.34
Mile 7 - 9.29
Mile 8 - 9.39
Mile 9 - 10.10
Mile 10 - 9.57
Mile 11 - 10.23
Mile 12 - 9.36
Mile 13 - 9.49 *and a bit
Final time 2.09.47
My watch clocked me at 2.08.13 at 13.2 miles but that was before the official finish.
If I hadn't been such a drama queen I probably could have finished a minute or two quicker!!
We got our finishers goodie bag, put the t-shirts on and then went to meet the other Derwent Runners at the Rainbows tent in the Charity Village. A lovely woman from Rainbows gave me a cup of tea which made me very happy. It was great to see the other Hoops and find out how they'd got on. We'd all done well especially Matt who had done a new PB of 1.18! Brilliant.
So that was it. Finished, training done, half marathon in under 2hrs 10minutes, goal acheived.
I couldn't have done without help & support from a lot of people - Flino who puts up with the majority of my moaning & whittling, Rob for writing my training plan, Rachel & Lee for looking after Frank and the Hoops - Matt, Suse, Carolyn, Adel, Bee, Rachel, Matt B. Also thanks to everyone that sent me a message before or after the race yesterday, I've got such lovely lovely friends & family.
I'm at home today, my legs hurt but I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. And thinking about how I can get to run under 2 hours.....
I was nervous yesterday morning, I woke up much earlier than the alarm and lay there thinking of miles and hills. At breakfast, where I was very pleased to find the hotel had porridge, Flino & I discovered we'd both dreamt of trying to get through a tunnel but things kept blocking our way - weird anxiety dreams!
We'd booked shuttle bus tickets to the start of the race so had to leave the hotel at 7.50am. This got us to the start area far too early so we had a wander round, covered up in some Asics foil blankets that were being given away.
Nerves are strange things, I couldn't stop yawning and had to go for a wee about 5 times. Why, at events where there are portaloos do us British only form 3 orderly queues outside a row of about 15 portaloos? Why don't we queue outside each one - surely that would make the whole process quicker? Or at least seem quicker.
It was soon time to get to our allotted start 'pens'. There were huge screens between the pens so we could see the start of the wheelchair race and the elite athetes. When they showed the Elite Mens start line I was proud to see my brother's friend Jon Gilby! He finished 32nd in an amazing time of 1hr 7mins 36seconds ( I was at around 6.5 miles then!).
Once the gun had gone off it took us about 12 minutes to actually cross the starting line. The race has to start on a motorway as it's the only 'space' big enough for 50,000 runners.
The first few miles seemed to fly by despite the rain and I was surprised how quickly we got to 6 miles. I was feeling good and the supporters, bands and other runners served as a great distraction. It was at about 10 miles that I started to feel the pain. My legs hurt, the course started to incline and I could feel myself starting to panic. I think if it hadn't been for Flino motivating me I would have stopped to walk. But I didn't stop, I reached the 12 mile marker and could see the sea where I knew the finish line was.
The last mile is all downhill which on paper sounds great but in reality hurts your knees! There were so many supporters on the sidelines, the noise was incredible. Those 1600 metres lasted a lifetime and I admit that I cried for most them. I managed a very pathetic spint over the finish line and thought I was going to throw up.
So these were my splits:
Mile 1 - 9.12
Mile 2 - 9.45
Mile 3 - 9.51
Mile 4 - 9.52
Mile 5 - 9.55
Mile 6 - 9.34
Mile 7 - 9.29
Mile 8 - 9.39
Mile 9 - 10.10
Mile 10 - 9.57
Mile 11 - 10.23
Mile 12 - 9.36
Mile 13 - 9.49 *and a bit
Final time 2.09.47
My watch clocked me at 2.08.13 at 13.2 miles but that was before the official finish.
If I hadn't been such a drama queen I probably could have finished a minute or two quicker!!
We got our finishers goodie bag, put the t-shirts on and then went to meet the other Derwent Runners at the Rainbows tent in the Charity Village. A lovely woman from Rainbows gave me a cup of tea which made me very happy. It was great to see the other Hoops and find out how they'd got on. We'd all done well especially Matt who had done a new PB of 1.18! Brilliant.
So that was it. Finished, training done, half marathon in under 2hrs 10minutes, goal acheived.
I couldn't have done without help & support from a lot of people - Flino who puts up with the majority of my moaning & whittling, Rob for writing my training plan, Rachel & Lee for looking after Frank and the Hoops - Matt, Suse, Carolyn, Adel, Bee, Rachel, Matt B. Also thanks to everyone that sent me a message before or after the race yesterday, I've got such lovely lovely friends & family.
I'm at home today, my legs hurt but I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. And thinking about how I can get to run under 2 hours.....
Saturday 15 September 2012
Pre race nerves....
So it's Saturday night, almost 9pm and I'm sat in a hotel room near the Metro Centre. My number is pinned to my vest, my watch is charged up, I've eaten noodles & chicken for dinner and I've been drinking lots of water all day.
I've done every training session that was on The Plan. Every mile that Rob planned for me, I've ran. I've stayed in when my friends were going out, I didn't drink alcohol for a month & my jeans are definitely feeling bigger.
I've done everything I can to prepare which is more than I can say for any other race I've ever done (about 5 in total!). All in all I'm pretty excited about the 13.1 miles ahead of me tomorrow. Let's see how I feel at the end...
I've done every training session that was on The Plan. Every mile that Rob planned for me, I've ran. I've stayed in when my friends were going out, I didn't drink alcohol for a month & my jeans are definitely feeling bigger.
I've done everything I can to prepare which is more than I can say for any other race I've ever done (about 5 in total!). All in all I'm pretty excited about the 13.1 miles ahead of me tomorrow. Let's see how I feel at the end...
Friday 7 September 2012
Getting Hooked
It's Saturday morning, 7.30am and I've been up for 2 hours already. I'm not even planning on doing a long run today. Frank the wake up call dog is the culprit. Now he's back asleep in his basket & I'm too wide awake to go back to bed. I've been Googling 'How to get your puppy to sleep longer' ......
I've not ran much this week. 35 minutes on Monday and then 8 miles on Thursday after work. I had to really motivate myself to do the 8 miles. It was sunny, I'd not had the greatest day at work and a week of 5.30 alarm calls had taken it's toll. I left the office with heavy legs, ran a mile, did some stretches and then things started to feel better. I just ran up the river path for a couple of miles, round the empty roads of what I think will one day be a business park (strange at the moment, roads are ready, there's a pub but nothing else!) then I turned around and headed back into Derby. I got into town and thought about running straight home but that would only have got me to 6 miles so I ran into Darley Park. A drunk man walking past me told me to 'never stop believing' so I took his advice and managed the full 8 miles!
When I stopped I thought about the first time I ran 8 miles which was about a month ago. It seemed like a bit deal then, a long run. And I'd just done it after work. Just a little jog on the way home!
I've got to do 35 minutes today, a couple more jogs in the week and then it will be time for the Big Day. I get butterflies thinking about it. In some ways I'd like another month so I can get a little bit faster but then again I'd just like to get it over with. To have done it, to be sat down next Sunday thinking I've just ran a half marathon.
A couple of people have asked whether I'll stick to running regularly afterwards. I'd like to say yes, I like what running has done to my body, I'm thinner, I look more toned, I'm proud that I've stuck to the plan, I feel like I'm becoming a 'runner' rather than someone that just pretends now & again. I'll need to find a new challenge though, having a training plan and something to aim for is what has pushed me. Maybe this is what people called 'Getting Hooked'.
I've not ran much this week. 35 minutes on Monday and then 8 miles on Thursday after work. I had to really motivate myself to do the 8 miles. It was sunny, I'd not had the greatest day at work and a week of 5.30 alarm calls had taken it's toll. I left the office with heavy legs, ran a mile, did some stretches and then things started to feel better. I just ran up the river path for a couple of miles, round the empty roads of what I think will one day be a business park (strange at the moment, roads are ready, there's a pub but nothing else!) then I turned around and headed back into Derby. I got into town and thought about running straight home but that would only have got me to 6 miles so I ran into Darley Park. A drunk man walking past me told me to 'never stop believing' so I took his advice and managed the full 8 miles!
When I stopped I thought about the first time I ran 8 miles which was about a month ago. It seemed like a bit deal then, a long run. And I'd just done it after work. Just a little jog on the way home!
I've got to do 35 minutes today, a couple more jogs in the week and then it will be time for the Big Day. I get butterflies thinking about it. In some ways I'd like another month so I can get a little bit faster but then again I'd just like to get it over with. To have done it, to be sat down next Sunday thinking I've just ran a half marathon.
A couple of people have asked whether I'll stick to running regularly afterwards. I'd like to say yes, I like what running has done to my body, I'm thinner, I look more toned, I'm proud that I've stuck to the plan, I feel like I'm becoming a 'runner' rather than someone that just pretends now & again. I'll need to find a new challenge though, having a training plan and something to aim for is what has pushed me. Maybe this is what people called 'Getting Hooked'.
Monday 3 September 2012
Last long run
Last week was hard. Hard to fit my training in, hard to make sure Frank was getting the attention & time from us that he deserves, I was up early every day and I am well known to be incredibly grumpy when I'm tired.
I ran on Monday - did my planned 35 minutes. Then on Tuesday I was meant to do 2x4 miles at 9 minute mile pace with 5 minutes recovery. I didn't do it but planned to do the session on Wednesday. I thought I'd run home from work & fit it in then. I can't remember now why that didn't work out but I ended up not running. By Thursday I was irritated and angry with myself for not doing the planned session & I was due to do intervals. So I ran from home to Pride Park (3 miles). Did the interval session (5x3 minutes at 7.30 minute miles with 90 seconds recovery) and then ran home. It wasn't what was on the plan but it was the best I could do.
Yesterday I ran 12 miles. Flino came with me to be my pacemaker - he's brilliant at running almost perfect splits. Compared to last week's 11 miler yesterday's run was a breeze! We ran up through Mackworth, onto the cycle track to Mickleover and then down the old railway track to Etwall, once we'd done 6 miles we turned round and came back again.
The first 3.5 miles are a steady uphill so I had to work hard at keeping to my pace. Once we got on the railway path it flattened out & we ran along having a conversation about great it will be when Frank is big enough to come out running with us. I didn't have my watch on, I wanted to just run for 2 hours without thinking about pace, miles or time.
We reached the halfway point and I was feeling pretty good. Flino did a great job of keeping me motivated and the time seemed to be flying by. I had a wobble around 10 miles the end seemed to be just too far away but other than that I managed. I felt tired, of course, at the end but much better than I did at the end of last weeks 11 miles.
I ate some soup when I got home, had a shower and then went to sleep for an hour. Later on I made Cottage Pie - it tasted amazing by the time I got to eat it. So I had 2 portions. And a Magnum. The week didn't seem so hard after all.
I ran on Monday - did my planned 35 minutes. Then on Tuesday I was meant to do 2x4 miles at 9 minute mile pace with 5 minutes recovery. I didn't do it but planned to do the session on Wednesday. I thought I'd run home from work & fit it in then. I can't remember now why that didn't work out but I ended up not running. By Thursday I was irritated and angry with myself for not doing the planned session & I was due to do intervals. So I ran from home to Pride Park (3 miles). Did the interval session (5x3 minutes at 7.30 minute miles with 90 seconds recovery) and then ran home. It wasn't what was on the plan but it was the best I could do.
Yesterday I ran 12 miles. Flino came with me to be my pacemaker - he's brilliant at running almost perfect splits. Compared to last week's 11 miler yesterday's run was a breeze! We ran up through Mackworth, onto the cycle track to Mickleover and then down the old railway track to Etwall, once we'd done 6 miles we turned round and came back again.
The first 3.5 miles are a steady uphill so I had to work hard at keeping to my pace. Once we got on the railway path it flattened out & we ran along having a conversation about great it will be when Frank is big enough to come out running with us. I didn't have my watch on, I wanted to just run for 2 hours without thinking about pace, miles or time.
We reached the halfway point and I was feeling pretty good. Flino did a great job of keeping me motivated and the time seemed to be flying by. I had a wobble around 10 miles the end seemed to be just too far away but other than that I managed. I felt tired, of course, at the end but much better than I did at the end of last weeks 11 miles.
I ate some soup when I got home, had a shower and then went to sleep for an hour. Later on I made Cottage Pie - it tasted amazing by the time I got to eat it. So I had 2 portions. And a Magnum. The week didn't seem so hard after all.
Sunday 26 August 2012
Strong is the new skinny...
Usually on a weekend morning you might find me reading the papers, having a coffee or sleeping in. 10 years ago on a Sunday morning at this time I would have just got in from a night out. This morning I was in the garden with Frank at 6am and yesterday I had run 11 miles by 10am! I hate admitting it but I think I'm almost a grown up now.....
So, 11 miles. I got up at 6.30, ate some scrambled egg on toast as we'd run out of porridge, drank some water, mopped the floor a few a more times after Frank and eventually got out of the door just in time to meet Adele, Sues & Carolyn at Darley Park.
The route was - Darley, Allestree, Duffield, Milford, Makney, Little Eaton, Darley. There were a couple of good hills thrown in as well. I hate hills. Rob explained to me last night this was all to do with my threshold levels. Basically, I've not been running enough miles for long enough so whenever I have to exert extra effort i.e. a hill, my legs & the rest of my body have to slow down. That's the non scientific answer anyway.
Running with other people definitely made the time pass quicker, even though we weren't doing much talking. I felt fine until we got to the last bit through Little Eaton and then I had to rely on some motivation from Carolyn and Suse to get me up Ford Lane hill.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.30
Mile 2 10.26
Mile 3 9.56
Mile 4 10.10
Mile 5 10.12
Mile 6 10.06
Mile 7 9.58
Mile 8 10.01
Mile 9 10.16
Mile 10 11.07 *Ford Lane hill
Mile 11 10.37
Overall average pace was 10.17, total time 1.53 and the best bit, 1306 calories burnt.
When I finished running I walked (well in a fashion) down Broadway to get home. In 2 weeks time I have to run 2 more miles but 2 weeks ago I had only run 9 miles so I know I can do it. I think, being realistic, my target time of 2 hours is possibly not going to happen given that would mean me running at 9.07 pace for the full 13 miles. 2 hours 10 mins is more likely. Flino is going to run with me so I can be sure of running even splits - he's the human metronome.
This week coming is the last, possibly hardest so far, full week of training:
Monday 35 minutes at 9.45
Tuesday 2 x 4 miles at 9 min mile pace with 5 mins recovery
Thursday 5 x 3 mins at 8 min mile pace with 90 seconds walk recovery
Saturday 2 hour run
I've been finding inspiration recently from this blog. Strong is the new skinny. We all need healthy, positive role models, not famous for fifteen minutes fakers. Like my Gran used to say "It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice".
The whole point of this run is to raise money for Rainbows. The hospice is the only one of its kind in the East Midlands, it offers valuable support for life limited children and their families. So for anyone that is reading this you can sponsor me here. I'm sure you'll agree it's a very worthy cause.
So, 11 miles. I got up at 6.30, ate some scrambled egg on toast as we'd run out of porridge, drank some water, mopped the floor a few a more times after Frank and eventually got out of the door just in time to meet Adele, Sues & Carolyn at Darley Park.
The route was - Darley, Allestree, Duffield, Milford, Makney, Little Eaton, Darley. There were a couple of good hills thrown in as well. I hate hills. Rob explained to me last night this was all to do with my threshold levels. Basically, I've not been running enough miles for long enough so whenever I have to exert extra effort i.e. a hill, my legs & the rest of my body have to slow down. That's the non scientific answer anyway.
Running with other people definitely made the time pass quicker, even though we weren't doing much talking. I felt fine until we got to the last bit through Little Eaton and then I had to rely on some motivation from Carolyn and Suse to get me up Ford Lane hill.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.30
Mile 2 10.26
Mile 3 9.56
Mile 4 10.10
Mile 5 10.12
Mile 6 10.06
Mile 7 9.58
Mile 8 10.01
Mile 9 10.16
Mile 10 11.07 *Ford Lane hill
Mile 11 10.37
Overall average pace was 10.17, total time 1.53 and the best bit, 1306 calories burnt.
When I finished running I walked (well in a fashion) down Broadway to get home. In 2 weeks time I have to run 2 more miles but 2 weeks ago I had only run 9 miles so I know I can do it. I think, being realistic, my target time of 2 hours is possibly not going to happen given that would mean me running at 9.07 pace for the full 13 miles. 2 hours 10 mins is more likely. Flino is going to run with me so I can be sure of running even splits - he's the human metronome.
This week coming is the last, possibly hardest so far, full week of training:
Monday 35 minutes at 9.45
Tuesday 2 x 4 miles at 9 min mile pace with 5 mins recovery
Thursday 5 x 3 mins at 8 min mile pace with 90 seconds walk recovery
Saturday 2 hour run
I've been finding inspiration recently from this blog. Strong is the new skinny. We all need healthy, positive role models, not famous for fifteen minutes fakers. Like my Gran used to say "It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice".
The whole point of this run is to raise money for Rainbows. The hospice is the only one of its kind in the East Midlands, it offers valuable support for life limited children and their families. So for anyone that is reading this you can sponsor me here. I'm sure you'll agree it's a very worthy cause.
Wednesday 22 August 2012
It's a sqeeze....
It's Thursday tomorrow, this week has passed by in a blur of Frank the dog, feeding him, clearing up after him, talking about him, worrying about him and generally becoming obsessed. Paul is away this week so I've been thrown in at the deep end, it's definitely an experience!
Having a dog has made me realise that my next door neighbours are absolutely lovely. They've checked on Frank a couple of times whilst I've been at work and were also my comfort blanket on Monday when I attempted to leave the house to go for a run - which meant leaving Frank for a whole 35 minutes.
I was glad of those 35 minutes, they made me feel calmer as I pushed my aching legs round the park. It was good to be outside, not worrying, not picking up dog mess, just concentrating on breathing. I didn't manage to get to the Derwent Runners on Tuesday night, I'd been out all day at work and didn't want to leave the little bundle of fun on his own during the evening too. I also had an insect bite on my ankle. Yes, this sounds like a poor excuse except I am a total freak when it comes to insect bites, most people get a small raised itchy lump for a couple of hours, maybe a day. I got bitten on Sunday and my ankle was still the size of an elephant this morning. I couldn't do my shoe up!
The swelling had reduced somewhat by this afternoon (I had been given some hardcore anti histamines) so after I fed Frank and wore him out enough so he was quiet, I put my trainers on and headed out. I was meant to do an hour at 9 - 9.15 pace but it was late, I hadn't had my dinner and didn't want to leave Frank for too long. In the end I did 5 miles. These were my splits:
Mile 1 - 9.58
Mile 2 - 9.15
Mile 3 - 9.13
Mile 4 - 9.48 *Darley Abbey hill
Mile 5 - 8.38
I was pretty pleased with the last mile. My legs were ok and I felt good.
Tomorrow's interval session is 10 x 1min @ faster than 8 min mile pace with 1 minute walk recovery. I want to see if I can keep each minute under 7.45 pace.
This week I've felt overwhelmed with having a dog, I've thought a few times 'what have I done?!', I'm tired, I have to plan my day to fit everything in and it seems like a chore. Tonight when I was running I remembered how I felt when I started this training and thought about how I feel about running now. In time I know I will grow to love Frank.
Having a dog has made me realise that my next door neighbours are absolutely lovely. They've checked on Frank a couple of times whilst I've been at work and were also my comfort blanket on Monday when I attempted to leave the house to go for a run - which meant leaving Frank for a whole 35 minutes.
I was glad of those 35 minutes, they made me feel calmer as I pushed my aching legs round the park. It was good to be outside, not worrying, not picking up dog mess, just concentrating on breathing. I didn't manage to get to the Derwent Runners on Tuesday night, I'd been out all day at work and didn't want to leave the little bundle of fun on his own during the evening too. I also had an insect bite on my ankle. Yes, this sounds like a poor excuse except I am a total freak when it comes to insect bites, most people get a small raised itchy lump for a couple of hours, maybe a day. I got bitten on Sunday and my ankle was still the size of an elephant this morning. I couldn't do my shoe up!
The swelling had reduced somewhat by this afternoon (I had been given some hardcore anti histamines) so after I fed Frank and wore him out enough so he was quiet, I put my trainers on and headed out. I was meant to do an hour at 9 - 9.15 pace but it was late, I hadn't had my dinner and didn't want to leave Frank for too long. In the end I did 5 miles. These were my splits:
Mile 1 - 9.58
Mile 2 - 9.15
Mile 3 - 9.13
Mile 4 - 9.48 *Darley Abbey hill
Mile 5 - 8.38
I was pretty pleased with the last mile. My legs were ok and I felt good.
Tomorrow's interval session is 10 x 1min @ faster than 8 min mile pace with 1 minute walk recovery. I want to see if I can keep each minute under 7.45 pace.
This week I've felt overwhelmed with having a dog, I've thought a few times 'what have I done?!', I'm tired, I have to plan my day to fit everything in and it seems like a chore. Tonight when I was running I remembered how I felt when I started this training and thought about how I feel about running now. In time I know I will grow to love Frank.
Sunday 19 August 2012
Talk to Frank.
Everyone, meet Frank. He's a new addition to our house!
He's a 9 week old Boxer.Not old enough to leave the house yet but old enough to have worn me out. We had chosen him earlier in the week and went to collect him on Friday evening. Since then everything has been a bit of a blur.
I went out on Thursday night, suffice to say cocktails and training do not mix. I woke up on Friday morning grumpy and dehydrated. I missed my PT session and was annoyed with myself for most of the day. I had a great night out but it would have been better for me if I had left at midnight instead of thinking I was 18 again and staying out until 2am. This is always my problem. You think I would have learnt by now.
One good thing about Friday was my appointment with Katherine. She is a massage therapist and an hour spent with her is always well worth the money. She has magic hands and whilst someone stretching out your soleus muscles might not always be comfortable, you feel great afterwards.
So having a new puppy in the house has been a huge learning curve. We've not had much sleep. On my training plan for this weekend was either a long run of 1hr 40 mins or a 10k 'race'. I opted to do the race this morning as on Saturday morning I'd had roughly 4 hours sleep.
This morning at 6am, after about 5 hours sleep, I forced myself out of bed, fed Frank and then jogged off to the River Path. The aim was to to see if I could beat my last time of 58.08.
After a mile warm up I reset my watch and increased my pace. I felt surprisingly good despite the lack of sleep and no breakfast. I tried to only look at my watch when it beeped every mile. These were my splits:
Mile 1 9.13
Mile 2 9.25
Mile 3 9.14
Mile 4 9.13
Mile 5 9.20
Mile 6 8.58
Mile 7 2.18 *0.25 of a mile
My total time was 57.41 - just a little quicker than last time and it didn't seem so painful. I was pleased with my efforts and thought that in a real race I might have even managed a little faster.
I went out on Thursday night, suffice to say cocktails and training do not mix. I woke up on Friday morning grumpy and dehydrated. I missed my PT session and was annoyed with myself for most of the day. I had a great night out but it would have been better for me if I had left at midnight instead of thinking I was 18 again and staying out until 2am. This is always my problem. You think I would have learnt by now.
One good thing about Friday was my appointment with Katherine. She is a massage therapist and an hour spent with her is always well worth the money. She has magic hands and whilst someone stretching out your soleus muscles might not always be comfortable, you feel great afterwards.
So having a new puppy in the house has been a huge learning curve. We've not had much sleep. On my training plan for this weekend was either a long run of 1hr 40 mins or a 10k 'race'. I opted to do the race this morning as on Saturday morning I'd had roughly 4 hours sleep.
This morning at 6am, after about 5 hours sleep, I forced myself out of bed, fed Frank and then jogged off to the River Path. The aim was to to see if I could beat my last time of 58.08.
After a mile warm up I reset my watch and increased my pace. I felt surprisingly good despite the lack of sleep and no breakfast. I tried to only look at my watch when it beeped every mile. These were my splits:
Mile 1 9.13
Mile 2 9.25
Mile 3 9.14
Mile 4 9.13
Mile 5 9.20
Mile 6 8.58
Mile 7 2.18 *0.25 of a mile
My total time was 57.41 - just a little quicker than last time and it didn't seem so painful. I was pleased with my efforts and thought that in a real race I might have even managed a little faster.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Get on your bike....
Tuesday went sort of like this -
Today was a rest day, I cycled to and from work, went to see a man about a dog * and had chips for my tea. Perfect.
* Yes, an actual dog, watch this space!
Get up
Cycle to work - loads of roadworks at the moment so I thought it would be quicker to cycle. I was right, 14 minutes door to door!
Work
Cycle home - it was hot
Eat some fish pie - this was a highlight, I'd made it the day before and it's event better when it's leftover.
Cycle to running club - still hot.
Attempt to run at 9 minute miles - fail miserably for the first 3 miles as it was all uphill.
By this point I was miserable. I generally hate hills. I hate the effort, I hate the way my legs won't work, I hate that I want to stop and I hate that I can't run faster! I was meant to be doing 50 minutes at 9 - 9.15 minute mile pace. The first 3 miles I was averaging 10.20 pace. Fortunately for me, another one of the Hoops offered to run with me for the last 3 miles. I was so grateful as by this point I was beginning to feel like I'd failed at my session.
We split off from the main group and ran on the road for the last miles - average pace 9.20. Much better. It was hard to keep going after the hilly start but I was pleased when I finished. This is why a running club is great, there are always people that will help & support you, dig you out of the sticky patch and motivate you to keep going. I even managed to get on the bike and cycle up the hill to go home!
* Yes, an actual dog, watch this space!
Monday 13 August 2012
Post Olympic Blues
Week 6 of the training plan has been crossed off the list & over the last 7 days I ran almost 20 miles. I think that's a record for me.
We went to London yesterday to watch the men's marathon. We found a really good spot in Westminster where the race passed us 4 times, 1 mile, 9 miles, 17 miles and 25 miles. The first time the race passed us it was just a blur of runners packed together but by 9 miles they had started to spread out. At 17 miles there was a lone Kenyan out in front and I thought the race had been decided but at 25 miles Kiprotich, Kirui and Kipsang Kiprotich were grouped together. The Ugandan Kiprotich won in 2.08. 2.08 - I could probably just manage 13 miles in the time he ran 26!!
 |
| Flino enjoying the sunshine |
The atmosphere was amazing and the crowd cheered especially loud for the 2 GB runners. I was so pleased to have gone, after watching so much of the Games on TV I just wanted to experience a small part of it. I'm genuinely sad that it's over. What an amazing show our country has put on over the past 17 days, 65 medals, 29 golds. Imagine the hard work, effort, determination, perseverance, sweat, tears and dreams. Imagine how they feel today.
I ran 3.5 miles this morning, just around the park. It was good to get my legs moving after Saturday's long run. I might have even enjoyed running this morning!
Saturday 11 August 2012
An off day
I've said before that running is like a roller coaster ride. Today was the uphill climb without any of the exciting whizzy round bits!
I think Thursday night intervals combined with Wednesday's attempt at weightlifting had taken its toll on my legs.
I had to run for 95 minutes. I chose to do the run first thing as I'd enjoyed the other early starts and had things to do for the rest of the day. I got up at 6.30, drank a glass of water, did my stretches and trotted off down Kedleston Road. Rob had told me it should be an 'easy run' and not to worry about the pace.
The first mile was slow as I waited for my heavy legs to start working. I ran through the city centre, which was a strange place to be at 7am on a Saturday morning and headed down towards the River Path at the back of the station. By the time I got to Alvaston Park at about 3.5 miles I was already finding it tough.
I carried on towards Elvaston Castle, it was cloudy and strangely warm and the miles didn't seem to be ticking by as they had been last Saturday. I don't know if it was because I knew exactly where I was going or if it was down to a late night on Thursday but I just felt like there was no rhythm to my running and that my legs didn't want to work.
I ran through the castle grounds hoping the time was almost up so I could make it up the last half mile straight to my parents house but when I looked down at my watch I still had 20 minutes to go. I carried on towards Ambaston, doubled back on myself a couple of times and finally arrived at the welcome sight of Mum & Dad's house 1hr 34mins after I first started.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.36
Mile 3 10.19
Mile 4 10.06
Mile 5 10.00
Mile 6 10.26
Mile 7 10.50
Mile 8 10.17
Mile 9 10.09
Mile 10 4.55 *half a mile
I had a fly in my eye during mile 7, that's the only excuse I can come up with for almost walking pace. The 1058 calories that my watch told me I'd burnt made me feel a little better but overall I didn't feel great. Flino assures me these off days are common and I need to persevere.
Thankfully the rest of today was great, lovely lunch with my friend & then I went to the park for an ice cream with my mum. Right now I'm sat on the sofa, drinking a beer and waiting to see if Mo can get gold in the 5000m. Tomorrow is a rest day and we're off to London to watch the Olympic Marathon - I wonder if they have off days?!
I think Thursday night intervals combined with Wednesday's attempt at weightlifting had taken its toll on my legs.
I had to run for 95 minutes. I chose to do the run first thing as I'd enjoyed the other early starts and had things to do for the rest of the day. I got up at 6.30, drank a glass of water, did my stretches and trotted off down Kedleston Road. Rob had told me it should be an 'easy run' and not to worry about the pace.
The first mile was slow as I waited for my heavy legs to start working. I ran through the city centre, which was a strange place to be at 7am on a Saturday morning and headed down towards the River Path at the back of the station. By the time I got to Alvaston Park at about 3.5 miles I was already finding it tough.
I carried on towards Elvaston Castle, it was cloudy and strangely warm and the miles didn't seem to be ticking by as they had been last Saturday. I don't know if it was because I knew exactly where I was going or if it was down to a late night on Thursday but I just felt like there was no rhythm to my running and that my legs didn't want to work.
I ran through the castle grounds hoping the time was almost up so I could make it up the last half mile straight to my parents house but when I looked down at my watch I still had 20 minutes to go. I carried on towards Ambaston, doubled back on myself a couple of times and finally arrived at the welcome sight of Mum & Dad's house 1hr 34mins after I first started.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.36
Mile 3 10.19
Mile 4 10.06
Mile 5 10.00
Mile 6 10.26
Mile 7 10.50
Mile 8 10.17
Mile 9 10.09
Mile 10 4.55 *half a mile
I had a fly in my eye during mile 7, that's the only excuse I can come up with for almost walking pace. The 1058 calories that my watch told me I'd burnt made me feel a little better but overall I didn't feel great. Flino assures me these off days are common and I need to persevere.
Thankfully the rest of today was great, lovely lunch with my friend & then I went to the park for an ice cream with my mum. Right now I'm sat on the sofa, drinking a beer and waiting to see if Mo can get gold in the 5000m. Tomorrow is a rest day and we're off to London to watch the Olympic Marathon - I wonder if they have off days?!
Wednesday 8 August 2012
Clean & Jerk
Rest day today - well a rest from running. I had a session with Rich this morning. I mentioned that I'd been watching the weightlifting so we decided to give the Clean & Jerk a go. I was pretty pleased with my 30kg effort:
Then I looked at the Olympic results for my weight category. They lift up to 165kg. Oh well - 4 years to go to Rio, I'm sure I can build it up a bit in 4 years?
We also did more plyometrics, jumping over small hurdles, using the TRX and finished off with some more powerful jumps over a step box. I noticed that my jumps have improved over the past few weeks which made me happy. They used to hurt and seem to take all my effort but today I managed to spring over the step box as well as the hurdles.
I've felt good this week, being on holiday has meant I've had plenty of sleep and have relaxed. Watching the Olympics has motivated me to try harder plus I've had a few afternoon naps!! I hope I can keep it up when I go back to work - the determination I mean, I can't imagine the afternoon naps would go down well in any office.
Interval session tomorrow with the Derwent Runners:
8 x 400m @ 8 minute mile pace with 1 minute recovery.
After the session I'm going for a drink with the lovely Sooz & Charlotte from the club. I've heard that it's important to have something to aim for when training, so I'll be focusing on a large glass of wine during every one of those 400m.
Then I looked at the Olympic results for my weight category. They lift up to 165kg. Oh well - 4 years to go to Rio, I'm sure I can build it up a bit in 4 years?
We also did more plyometrics, jumping over small hurdles, using the TRX and finished off with some more powerful jumps over a step box. I noticed that my jumps have improved over the past few weeks which made me happy. They used to hurt and seem to take all my effort but today I managed to spring over the step box as well as the hurdles.
I've felt good this week, being on holiday has meant I've had plenty of sleep and have relaxed. Watching the Olympics has motivated me to try harder plus I've had a few afternoon naps!! I hope I can keep it up when I go back to work - the determination I mean, I can't imagine the afternoon naps would go down well in any office.
Interval session tomorrow with the Derwent Runners:
8 x 400m @ 8 minute mile pace with 1 minute recovery.
After the session I'm going for a drink with the lovely Sooz & Charlotte from the club. I've heard that it's important to have something to aim for when training, so I'll be focusing on a large glass of wine during every one of those 400m.
Tuesday 7 August 2012
4 down, 9 to go
I'm still on holiday this week so managed to do my 3 mile recovery run yesterday and my faster 4 mile run this morning. It's so much easier to get up & go running when you don't have to go to work!
Yesterday Flino and I ran a steady 3 miles around Darley Park, my legs felt good after a day resting on the sofa on Sunday. The pace got quicker during the last mile and I ended up sprinting up Kedleston Road trying to keep up.
My splits were:
Mile 1 9.59
Mile 2 10.06
Mile 3 10.05
On my plan for today was -
" Warm up, 40 mins at 9 - 9.15 minute miles, cool down"
I decided to do the run this morning rather than try and fit it in with the Derwent Runners usual club run tonight as Rob had stressed the importance of them:
I wanted to make sure I ran at the right pace and had found it hard last week at the club run as I always talk too much! I also wanted to have a go at running a faster pace on my own rather than have Flino pace me.
I got up & ate my breakfast, watched some Olympic news, did some dynamic stretches - these are my favourites:
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If I do these before I run I don't get that 'lead legs' feeling.
I jogged for half a mile and then increased my pace to the prescribed 9 - 9.15. It felt surprisingly ok, I kept checking my watch to make sure I was running at the right speed and headed down City Road. I turned up Haslams Lane and into Darley Park, ran past the tennis courts and back to Chester Green. I did a loop of the Green to add on some distance and then turned back towards the car park, over the Iron Bridge and back up to home.
The last half a mile was hard, I wanted to slow down and could hear my Darth Vader breathing creeping in. I didn't have the sprint finish of yesterday but managed to keep going until the 40 minutes were up. These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.01 (including .5 mile warm up)
Mile 2 9.12
Mile 3 9.18
Mile 4 9.12
Mile 5 4.29 (.5 of a mile)
Overall I was pretty pleased with myself! Just another 9 to do at that pace....
Yesterday Flino and I ran a steady 3 miles around Darley Park, my legs felt good after a day resting on the sofa on Sunday. The pace got quicker during the last mile and I ended up sprinting up Kedleston Road trying to keep up.
My splits were:
Mile 1 9.59
Mile 2 10.06
Mile 3 10.05
On my plan for today was -
" Warm up, 40 mins at 9 - 9.15 minute miles, cool down"
I decided to do the run this morning rather than try and fit it in with the Derwent Runners usual club run tonight as Rob had stressed the importance of them:
I wanted to make sure I ran at the right pace and had found it hard last week at the club run as I always talk too much! I also wanted to have a go at running a faster pace on my own rather than have Flino pace me.
I got up & ate my breakfast, watched some Olympic news, did some dynamic stretches - these are my favourites:
.PNG)
.PNG)
I jogged for half a mile and then increased my pace to the prescribed 9 - 9.15. It felt surprisingly ok, I kept checking my watch to make sure I was running at the right speed and headed down City Road. I turned up Haslams Lane and into Darley Park, ran past the tennis courts and back to Chester Green. I did a loop of the Green to add on some distance and then turned back towards the car park, over the Iron Bridge and back up to home.
The last half a mile was hard, I wanted to slow down and could hear my Darth Vader breathing creeping in. I didn't have the sprint finish of yesterday but managed to keep going until the 40 minutes were up. These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.01 (including .5 mile warm up)
Mile 2 9.12
Mile 3 9.18
Mile 4 9.12
Mile 5 4.29 (.5 of a mile)
Overall I was pretty pleased with myself! Just another 9 to do at that pace....
Sunday 5 August 2012
Perseverance & determination
Saturday 4th August - what a day, GB athletics team win 3 gold medals within 47 minutes and I run 8 miles before 8.30am.
I set my alarm for 6.30am, got up, did some stretching, drank a glass of water and was out of the door for just after 7am. I jogged down Queensway, over Ashbourne Road and then followed the cycle path through Mickleover Meadows. I've only been that way once before on my bike so the time seemed to pass quite quickly. I got to Station Road in Mickleover at 3 miles so carried on down the cycle path towards Etwall for a mile before turning round and heading back.
I hadn't realised, until the way back, that the first half of the run had been more or less a steady incline. It meant that the 2nd half of the route seemed much easier even though it started to rain.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.43 * I was faffing about with my i-pod trying to find Deadmau5
Mile 3 10.33
Mile 4 10.34
Mile 5 9.58
Mile 6 10.16
Mile 7 10.03
Mile 8 9.41
Total calories 952
I felt good for most of the way round, I think running first thing in the morning agrees with me. I'm irritated by the fact that I don't run at a consistent pace but I guess that will come with more time. I think I could have carried on running for another couple of miles. I'm confident now that I can run the distance for the Great North Run (13.1 miles). It's all about increasing my pace so I can finish in under 2 hours.
We had our Olympic BBQ in the afternoon, family and friends came over and despite the rain, we all managed to have fun.
In the evening a group of us sat in front of the TV, cheering for Jess and Greg and hardly daring to breathe as Mo Farrah realised his dream of becoming the Olympic 10,000m champion. It was amazing to watch. My brother was actually at the stadium, I can't wait to hear about it.
I read this on Twitter earlier on today:
Beijing 2008: Ennis at home injured, Rutherford scrapes 10th place, Farrah out in the heats.
London 2012: perseverance & determination.
I set my alarm for 6.30am, got up, did some stretching, drank a glass of water and was out of the door for just after 7am. I jogged down Queensway, over Ashbourne Road and then followed the cycle path through Mickleover Meadows. I've only been that way once before on my bike so the time seemed to pass quite quickly. I got to Station Road in Mickleover at 3 miles so carried on down the cycle path towards Etwall for a mile before turning round and heading back.
I hadn't realised, until the way back, that the first half of the run had been more or less a steady incline. It meant that the 2nd half of the route seemed much easier even though it started to rain.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.43 * I was faffing about with my i-pod trying to find Deadmau5
Mile 3 10.33
Mile 4 10.34
Mile 5 9.58
Mile 6 10.16
Mile 7 10.03
Mile 8 9.41
Total calories 952
I felt good for most of the way round, I think running first thing in the morning agrees with me. I'm irritated by the fact that I don't run at a consistent pace but I guess that will come with more time. I think I could have carried on running for another couple of miles. I'm confident now that I can run the distance for the Great North Run (13.1 miles). It's all about increasing my pace so I can finish in under 2 hours.
We had our Olympic BBQ in the afternoon, family and friends came over and despite the rain, we all managed to have fun.
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| Chef Flino! |
In the evening a group of us sat in front of the TV, cheering for Jess and Greg and hardly daring to breathe as Mo Farrah realised his dream of becoming the Olympic 10,000m champion. It was amazing to watch. My brother was actually at the stadium, I can't wait to hear about it.
I read this on Twitter earlier on today:
Beijing 2008: Ennis at home injured, Rutherford scrapes 10th place, Farrah out in the heats.
London 2012: perseverance & determination.
Friday 3 August 2012
Rest Day
Our interval session last night was good. We did 6 lots of 90 second sprints with 1 minute walk recovery between each one. It was hard work and my thighs were burning on the last couple of reps. Everyone in the group said they'd 'enjoyed' the different effort you have to put into intervals and we all agreed that it's much easier to do that kind of session when there are a few of you. You can focus on other people in the group and can motivate each other. There's also less chance of you just giving up or slowing down when there are other people around!
As planned, I went out after the session. We went to Fat Cats in Derby, it's great on a Thursday night, 2 courses and a cocktail for £11.95 and then other cocktails are 2 for 1. My favourite is a classic Cosmopolitan:
Lemon vodka
Cointreau
Cranberry juice
Fresh lime juice
I made sure that I drank a lot of water between cocktails and felt ok when I woke up this morning.
I really think the past few weeks of not drinking alcohol at all, have helped me train consistently and of course, it's much easier to get up early and run if you've not had a drink. Saying all that, we're having an Olympic BBQ party tomorrow and there will definitely be a few beers involved!
Today is a rest day, the weather isn't great, I've done all my jobs and I am actually going to sit on the sofa and watch the Olympics.
Tomorrow morning is my furthest run yet - 8 miles. I'm planning on going out early, around 7am. I've planned my route and have made sure there are a couple of hills included. Once that's out of the way I can enjoy what should be one of the greatest Saturdays ever for athletics. Can't wait!
As planned, I went out after the session. We went to Fat Cats in Derby, it's great on a Thursday night, 2 courses and a cocktail for £11.95 and then other cocktails are 2 for 1. My favourite is a classic Cosmopolitan:
Lemon vodka
Cointreau
Cranberry juice
Fresh lime juice
 |
| Classic Cosmo |
I made sure that I drank a lot of water between cocktails and felt ok when I woke up this morning.
I really think the past few weeks of not drinking alcohol at all, have helped me train consistently and of course, it's much easier to get up early and run if you've not had a drink. Saying all that, we're having an Olympic BBQ party tomorrow and there will definitely be a few beers involved!
Today is a rest day, the weather isn't great, I've done all my jobs and I am actually going to sit on the sofa and watch the Olympics.
Tomorrow morning is my furthest run yet - 8 miles. I'm planning on going out early, around 7am. I've planned my route and have made sure there are a couple of hills included. Once that's out of the way I can enjoy what should be one of the greatest Saturdays ever for athletics. Can't wait!
Thursday 2 August 2012
Post run cocktails
I'm off work this week (and next), my plan was to sit & watch the Olympics. People that know me well, will know that I struggle to sit down for very long, so my vision of relaxing on the sofa with the tv for company hasn't really gone to plan. I made the mistake of making a list on Monday which has meant that I've spent most of the week so far, doing the jobs that are on that list. Our garden now looks less like a jungle though.
I managed to fit in a 35 minute run yesterday, in between digging in the garden, seeing my lovely friend Mrs Booth and making a chicken pie. It was the 'recovery run' that I should have done on Monday so was just a gentle jog. My calves were tight most of the way round even after doing some stretching but in general it was ok.
Tonight is an interval session with the Derwent Runners. We're doing:
6x90 seconds at 8 minute mile pace with 1 minute walk recovery.
I've learnt how to pre programme my fancy watch so (hopefully) it will beep at the right time. Last weeks session proved quite popular so we're expecting a good turn out.
Then, post run, I'm going to drink some cocktails with the fabulous Irene. I've not been out for what seems like ages so am looking forward to it. Drinking alcohol in general doesn't seem to mix well with running but I'm on holiday after all and Friday is a rest day so I shan't feel guilty.
I watched the legend that is Bradley Wiggins win gold in the time trial yesterday. What a massive achievement, wins the Tour de France one week & Olympic gold the next. He raced almost every day for 3 weeks and then had one week to prepare for the Olympics. I'll try to remember that on Monday when I'm moaning about a 35 minute 'recovery' run.
Tuesday 31 July 2012
The Needles
I didn't run yesterday. I thought after my herculean effort on Sunday I needed a rest even though there was a 35 minute run on the schedule.
I regretted that tonight. I was meant to do 4 miles. 1 mile warm up then 3 miles at 9 - 9.15 minute mile pace.
Mile 1 - no problem, legs felt heavy but I thought I'd give them a mile to warm up.
Mile 2 - sped up, most of it was downhill so it felt ok.
Mile 3 - legs wouldn't work, couldn't really get above 9.30.
Mile 4 - ridiculous, my calves felt like iron and I was struggling towards the end.
Perhaps I should have done the 35 minutes yesterday and got the pain out of the way? Would it have hurt more? I've heard about 'recovery' runs and always thought they sounded like a waste of time. I should have listened to Bobby!
I had an acupuncture session today. I talked to Joby about my tight shoulders and darth vader breathing when I run. She suggested I try some Tai Chi and showed me a basic move that would help to 'centre' my energy. I thought about it tonight when I was running and tried to keep my core straight and strong. I'm really interested in acupuncture and alternative therapies. I've been having sessions with Joby for over a year and have become more and more interested in it. It doesn't hurt, the needles are tiny and I get to lie still for 45 minutes!
We're decorating at the moment, today I painted a ceiling. Twice. I've never really decorated before now. It's hard work, you have to think about what your doing before you do it, you can't just rock up, splash some paint about and expect your room to look great. It's the tiny details that are important. But today, I painted a ceiling, twice and am pretty pleased with the results.
I regretted that tonight. I was meant to do 4 miles. 1 mile warm up then 3 miles at 9 - 9.15 minute mile pace.
Mile 1 - no problem, legs felt heavy but I thought I'd give them a mile to warm up.
Mile 2 - sped up, most of it was downhill so it felt ok.
Mile 3 - legs wouldn't work, couldn't really get above 9.30.
Mile 4 - ridiculous, my calves felt like iron and I was struggling towards the end.
Perhaps I should have done the 35 minutes yesterday and got the pain out of the way? Would it have hurt more? I've heard about 'recovery' runs and always thought they sounded like a waste of time. I should have listened to Bobby!
I had an acupuncture session today. I talked to Joby about my tight shoulders and darth vader breathing when I run. She suggested I try some Tai Chi and showed me a basic move that would help to 'centre' my energy. I thought about it tonight when I was running and tried to keep my core straight and strong. I'm really interested in acupuncture and alternative therapies. I've been having sessions with Joby for over a year and have become more and more interested in it. It doesn't hurt, the needles are tiny and I get to lie still for 45 minutes!
We're decorating at the moment, today I painted a ceiling. Twice. I've never really decorated before now. It's hard work, you have to think about what your doing before you do it, you can't just rock up, splash some paint about and expect your room to look great. It's the tiny details that are important. But today, I painted a ceiling, twice and am pretty pleased with the results.
Sunday 29 July 2012
Pace yourself
The Olympics have started, the opening ceremony was fantastic, I have had a drink (2 glasses of Proseco on Friday night and 2 G&T's at a party last night) and this morning I ran 10k.
The original plan was for me to do a 10k race today but the nearest event was in Wigan so Flino kindly offered to 'pace' me. Whilst I was eating my porridge this morning there was some discussion around the speed I should aim for...
Rob's suggested precision pace was 9.08 per mile. I decided that I'd do a mile warm up very slow jog down to the flat river path and then start the 10k. Flino offered to set the pace and run a little in front of me. All I had to do was to keep up.
We set off on the warm up, stopping just before a mile to do some dynamic stretches. Then it was on to the river path and the 10k began. The first 3 miles were ok, it was hot in the sun but I felt comfortable. The national BMX championships were on at Alvaston Park and there were people, bikes and dogs milling about all over the path which meant dodging, stopping and starting to make sure I didn't trip over.
When we turned around at 3 miles I began to have a mental battle with myself. I started to worry about running back past the BMX track, my shoulders tightened up and instantly my breathing become laboured. I was doubting myself.
We negotiated the park and I relaxed a little. I started reeling off names in my head of people I want to prove something to by doing this run (a tip I've stolen from Arya in Game of Thrones!) and it actually helped! My breathing slowed down and I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
The last mile was hard, I wanted to stop but Flino kept pushing me, telling me we were nearly finished. I gritted my teeth and sprinted the last 200 meters. I'd ran 10k in 58.08. These were my splits:
9.21
9.24
9.27
9.32
9.37
9.19
In the general scheme of things I know this isn't fast, but compared to last weeks 6 mile run, I was averaging 40 seconds per mile faster. This is the pace I need to run the half marathon if I want to finish in under 2 hours.
I've done 4 weeks of training now, I've ran 17 miles this week and 60 miles in the past month!
I weighed myself yesterday. 4 weeks of training, 60 miles and no alcohol. Hadn't lost a bloody pound. Oh well, on to month 2 of the plan....
The original plan was for me to do a 10k race today but the nearest event was in Wigan so Flino kindly offered to 'pace' me. Whilst I was eating my porridge this morning there was some discussion around the speed I should aim for...
Rob's suggested precision pace was 9.08 per mile. I decided that I'd do a mile warm up very slow jog down to the flat river path and then start the 10k. Flino offered to set the pace and run a little in front of me. All I had to do was to keep up.
We set off on the warm up, stopping just before a mile to do some dynamic stretches. Then it was on to the river path and the 10k began. The first 3 miles were ok, it was hot in the sun but I felt comfortable. The national BMX championships were on at Alvaston Park and there were people, bikes and dogs milling about all over the path which meant dodging, stopping and starting to make sure I didn't trip over.
When we turned around at 3 miles I began to have a mental battle with myself. I started to worry about running back past the BMX track, my shoulders tightened up and instantly my breathing become laboured. I was doubting myself.
We negotiated the park and I relaxed a little. I started reeling off names in my head of people I want to prove something to by doing this run (a tip I've stolen from Arya in Game of Thrones!) and it actually helped! My breathing slowed down and I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
The last mile was hard, I wanted to stop but Flino kept pushing me, telling me we were nearly finished. I gritted my teeth and sprinted the last 200 meters. I'd ran 10k in 58.08. These were my splits:
9.21
9.24
9.27
9.32
9.37
9.19
In the general scheme of things I know this isn't fast, but compared to last weeks 6 mile run, I was averaging 40 seconds per mile faster. This is the pace I need to run the half marathon if I want to finish in under 2 hours.
I've done 4 weeks of training now, I've ran 17 miles this week and 60 miles in the past month!
I weighed myself yesterday. 4 weeks of training, 60 miles and no alcohol. Hadn't lost a bloody pound. Oh well, on to month 2 of the plan....
Friday 27 July 2012
Greatest show on earth
I can't believe it's finally here - the 2012 London Olympics start today! I remember the day 7 years ago when London was awarded the Games. I was sat in my little terraced house watching the TV with my lodger Olivia. When they announced London had got it, we heard people cheering in the house next door too.
I can't imagine what it must feel like to be an athlete who has got to the Games. The pressure on those people who we 'expect' to win medals is huge. People's lives can really change in an instant, one minute your living your life, training hard, dreaming this dream of winning a medal, then you win, your catapulted to fame if it's a popular event like athletics, swimming, cycling. Your face is everywhere & everyone suddenly wants to know you. What about if you win a medal in a lesser known event like fencing, synchronised swimming or shooting. You've worked just as hard but the general public don't seem that interested. Do those competitors even care?
I did the planned interval session last night with some of the Derwent Runners. There was about 10 of us sprinting through the local park. It was hard work but over quickly. I like those kind of sessions.
This morning I went to train with Rich. I was moaning (as usual) that my calves hurt so we did some work on a foam roller. This lovely bit of kit is sort of like having a sports massage, only more painful. And you have to do it yourself. I used it on my calves, my IT band and my glutes. After rolling, we did some plyometric work -
Squats on a Bosu with a ViPR
Triple extension work with the TRX
Jack knifes on a swissball with press up
Double explosive jumps
Heel to bum kicks with a swissball
We finished off the session with more stretching and now my legs are feeling like my own again rather than 2 blocks of lead. It's strange that more exercise actually made me feel better!
4 weeks are up and today is the day that I can have an alcoholic drink. I made it. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy. If I hadn't left the house it would have been fine. I struggled when I was surrounded by other people having a drink. I've not started on the wine just yet but tonight, when the Olympic opening ceremony starts I'm planning on drinking some Proseco.
I've done 4 weeks of training 4 or 5 times a week. I can't remember the last time I exercised this much! Apart from the aches I actually feel great. I feel more determined than ever to complete every session on the list. I feel like I've got a purpose.
I'm very excited about the next 2 weeks, I'm off work, the Olympics is on, the weather forecast is looking good.
Let the Games begin!
I can't imagine what it must feel like to be an athlete who has got to the Games. The pressure on those people who we 'expect' to win medals is huge. People's lives can really change in an instant, one minute your living your life, training hard, dreaming this dream of winning a medal, then you win, your catapulted to fame if it's a popular event like athletics, swimming, cycling. Your face is everywhere & everyone suddenly wants to know you. What about if you win a medal in a lesser known event like fencing, synchronised swimming or shooting. You've worked just as hard but the general public don't seem that interested. Do those competitors even care?
I did the planned interval session last night with some of the Derwent Runners. There was about 10 of us sprinting through the local park. It was hard work but over quickly. I like those kind of sessions.
This morning I went to train with Rich. I was moaning (as usual) that my calves hurt so we did some work on a foam roller. This lovely bit of kit is sort of like having a sports massage, only more painful. And you have to do it yourself. I used it on my calves, my IT band and my glutes. After rolling, we did some plyometric work -
Squats on a Bosu with a ViPR
Triple extension work with the TRX
Jack knifes on a swissball with press up
Double explosive jumps
Heel to bum kicks with a swissball
We finished off the session with more stretching and now my legs are feeling like my own again rather than 2 blocks of lead. It's strange that more exercise actually made me feel better!
4 weeks are up and today is the day that I can have an alcoholic drink. I made it. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy. If I hadn't left the house it would have been fine. I struggled when I was surrounded by other people having a drink. I've not started on the wine just yet but tonight, when the Olympic opening ceremony starts I'm planning on drinking some Proseco.
I've done 4 weeks of training 4 or 5 times a week. I can't remember the last time I exercised this much! Apart from the aches I actually feel great. I feel more determined than ever to complete every session on the list. I feel like I've got a purpose.
I'm very excited about the next 2 weeks, I'm off work, the Olympics is on, the weather forecast is looking good.
Let the Games begin!
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Top 3 things
Inspired by a comment at work today here's my Top 3 Things about running:
1. Stress reduction - Gives you time to think (or forget) about your day
2. Health - Keeps me moving and gets me outside
3. Social - I've met some great friends through Derwent Runners
I'm a Libra and like to be balanced so these are the Bottom 3 Things about running:
1. Washing - there is always dirty kit to be washed
2. Effort - it's easier to lie on the sofa watching TV
3. All encompassing - it's easy to become obsessed and turn into a running bore!
I did my 3 miles today that I should have done on Monday. I ran home from work. My calves hurt. It was a nice day. My watch told me I'd run my fastest mile yet.
I did 20 minutes of stretching when I got home. Then ate chips for my tea. Like I said, being a Libra means I like to balance in my life.....
1. Stress reduction - Gives you time to think (or forget) about your day
2. Health - Keeps me moving and gets me outside
3. Social - I've met some great friends through Derwent Runners
I'm a Libra and like to be balanced so these are the Bottom 3 Things about running:
1. Washing - there is always dirty kit to be washed
2. Effort - it's easier to lie on the sofa watching TV
3. All encompassing - it's easy to become obsessed and turn into a running bore!
I did my 3 miles today that I should have done on Monday. I ran home from work. My calves hurt. It was a nice day. My watch told me I'd run my fastest mile yet.
I did 20 minutes of stretching when I got home. Then ate chips for my tea. Like I said, being a Libra means I like to balance in my life.....
Tuesday 24 July 2012
The little things
I paid attention to what I'd written yesterday and made sure I'd eaten enough during the day and had drank plenty of water.
Breakfast:
Coffee
Cornflakes with banana
Snack:
Small packet of pretzels
Water
Lunch:
Chicken flatbread
Fruit Salad
Decaf Tea
Snack:
Dried Apricots
Bottle of water
It definitely made a difference as I felt ready to run by the time I'd got back from work. I was almost looking forward to it after a 3 hour drive home from a meeting.
Tuesday night is Derwent Runners club night. We have 3 different groups, 4 miles, 6 miles and fast 6 miles. I always run in the 4 mile group. The speed suits my pace. I've tried the 6 mile group a couple of times but am usually left at the back struggling to get up the hills!
I did the 4 miles tonight, it was quite warm when we started running - 28 degrees still at 7pm but I felt ok. There were a couple of hills that usually make me do the Darth Vader breathing but tonight I managed to run up them & have a conversation as well. I know I'm not noticeably faster or thinner yet but it's little things like this that are spurring me on at the moment.
Breakfast:
Coffee
Cornflakes with banana
Snack:
Small packet of pretzels
Water
Lunch:
Chicken flatbread
Fruit Salad
Decaf Tea
Snack:
Dried Apricots
Bottle of water
It definitely made a difference as I felt ready to run by the time I'd got back from work. I was almost looking forward to it after a 3 hour drive home from a meeting.
Tuesday night is Derwent Runners club night. We have 3 different groups, 4 miles, 6 miles and fast 6 miles. I always run in the 4 mile group. The speed suits my pace. I've tried the 6 mile group a couple of times but am usually left at the back struggling to get up the hills!
I did the 4 miles tonight, it was quite warm when we started running - 28 degrees still at 7pm but I felt ok. There were a couple of hills that usually make me do the Darth Vader breathing but tonight I managed to run up them & have a conversation as well. I know I'm not noticeably faster or thinner yet but it's little things like this that are spurring me on at the moment.
Monday 23 July 2012
I haven't run today
I haven't run today. There, I've admitted it. I don't feel great. My stomach feels like a washing machine and my hay fever, which has been non existent this year just like the summer, returned with a vengeance today along with the sunshine.
I went to bed late last night and I've not eaten well over the last couple of days. I had popcorn and malteesers for my tea last night. I've drank too much caffeine and not enough water. I've gone from exercising a couple of times a week to pushing myself 5 times a week. I need to look after myself so I don't keep lurching from feeling great to feeling like I've been ran over by a bus.
So that's me told. It's ok though, I will run on Wednesday rather than today. And I'll make a concerted effort from now on to eat food that is going to help me rather than grabbing something because it's there and I'm hungry.
I feel disappointed that I've not stuck to the plan but I know that if I'd run when I'd got home today I would have felt worse.
I watched the final stage of the Tour de France yesterday. I was so sure that Team Sky had left it too late for Mark Cavendish to win the sprint. There was too much gap, the lead group seemed so far away. I wondered how Cavendish would feel if, after tirelessly supporting Wiggins & Froome for the past 3 weeks, he didn't get his record breaking fourth final stage win. I doubted their strategy, their determination and their teamwork. Flino sat there laughing at me fretting - he always knew Cavendish would win. I imagine Team Sky knew too.
I went to bed late last night and I've not eaten well over the last couple of days. I had popcorn and malteesers for my tea last night. I've drank too much caffeine and not enough water. I've gone from exercising a couple of times a week to pushing myself 5 times a week. I need to look after myself so I don't keep lurching from feeling great to feeling like I've been ran over by a bus.
So that's me told. It's ok though, I will run on Wednesday rather than today. And I'll make a concerted effort from now on to eat food that is going to help me rather than grabbing something because it's there and I'm hungry.
I feel disappointed that I've not stuck to the plan but I know that if I'd run when I'd got home today I would have felt worse.
I watched the final stage of the Tour de France yesterday. I was so sure that Team Sky had left it too late for Mark Cavendish to win the sprint. There was too much gap, the lead group seemed so far away. I wondered how Cavendish would feel if, after tirelessly supporting Wiggins & Froome for the past 3 weeks, he didn't get his record breaking fourth final stage win. I doubted their strategy, their determination and their teamwork. Flino sat there laughing at me fretting - he always knew Cavendish would win. I imagine Team Sky knew too.
Saturday 21 July 2012
Henry Ford & the Sunshine
What a beautiful day it's been. Finally felt like summer.
The first thing I thought when I opened my eyes at 7am this morning was 'ouch'. I was aching from yesterday's PT session, I struggled to move my heavy legs out of bed. So I turned over and went back to sleep for another 90 minutes.
The second time I woke up I still thought 'ouch' but got out of bed anyway and whilst I was having a coffee I thought of a million excuses not to run six miles, aching back, could do it tomorrow, should be decorating, what if I can't do it blah blah blah. I was sick of my own internal dialogue. Flino had run the 10K last night and surprisingly didn't want to do another one less than 24 hours later. So in the end, in a bad mood, I put my trainers on, slammed the door and trotted off down the road.
It was the best run I'd done yet. I'd worked out the watch and kept glancing at it to keep my speed at around 10 minute miles. I decided that I was going to run to my parents house which saved me doing the 'run 3 miles turn around and come back again' loop. It was also pretty flat. I had my i-pod on to keep me company, this is what I listened to:
Cash & Carry Me Home - Ghost Poet
I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich - Lady Ga Ga
I Just Don't Know - Ghost Poet
FML - Deadmau5
My Oh My - David Gray
F.E.A.R - Ian Brown
Witness the Fitness - Roots Manuva
Rearview Mirror - Pearl Jam * probably my favourite song ever.
Friend of Ours - Elbow
Miss U Less, See U More - Faithless
Don't Mug Yourself - The Streets
Breaking Down - Florence & The Machine
Katy On A Mission - Katy B
When I got to 5 miles I felt good, like I could keep going, which surprised me. I got to 6 miles and still had a little bit further to go. I didn't stop. I ran all the way.
These were my splits:
9.58
10.55 (I had to stop to cross the road!)
10.11
10.14
10.02
9.58
In the end I ran 6.33 miles in 1 hour & 3 minutes. I don't think I even did the Darth Vader breathing. I circumnavigated a few huge puddles on the way, got beeped at by a man in a van and chose to run up the dull A50, reasoning with myself that I would be less likely to stop & walk if there were hundreds of cars speeding past me. I didn't want anyone to point & laugh at the slow girl at the side of the road. (I know that really, no-one would have noticed but the thought kept me running.)
I figured out today that running is just a constant battle with yourself. Like Henry Ford said "Think you can or think you can't - either way you're right". I'm the only person that can make me think I can.
The first thing I thought when I opened my eyes at 7am this morning was 'ouch'. I was aching from yesterday's PT session, I struggled to move my heavy legs out of bed. So I turned over and went back to sleep for another 90 minutes.
The second time I woke up I still thought 'ouch' but got out of bed anyway and whilst I was having a coffee I thought of a million excuses not to run six miles, aching back, could do it tomorrow, should be decorating, what if I can't do it blah blah blah. I was sick of my own internal dialogue. Flino had run the 10K last night and surprisingly didn't want to do another one less than 24 hours later. So in the end, in a bad mood, I put my trainers on, slammed the door and trotted off down the road.
It was the best run I'd done yet. I'd worked out the watch and kept glancing at it to keep my speed at around 10 minute miles. I decided that I was going to run to my parents house which saved me doing the 'run 3 miles turn around and come back again' loop. It was also pretty flat. I had my i-pod on to keep me company, this is what I listened to:
Cash & Carry Me Home - Ghost Poet
I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich - Lady Ga Ga
I Just Don't Know - Ghost Poet
FML - Deadmau5
My Oh My - David Gray
F.E.A.R - Ian Brown
Witness the Fitness - Roots Manuva
Rearview Mirror - Pearl Jam * probably my favourite song ever.
Friend of Ours - Elbow
Miss U Less, See U More - Faithless
Don't Mug Yourself - The Streets
Breaking Down - Florence & The Machine
Katy On A Mission - Katy B
When I got to 5 miles I felt good, like I could keep going, which surprised me. I got to 6 miles and still had a little bit further to go. I didn't stop. I ran all the way.
These were my splits:
9.58
10.55 (I had to stop to cross the road!)
10.11
10.14
10.02
9.58
In the end I ran 6.33 miles in 1 hour & 3 minutes. I don't think I even did the Darth Vader breathing. I circumnavigated a few huge puddles on the way, got beeped at by a man in a van and chose to run up the dull A50, reasoning with myself that I would be less likely to stop & walk if there were hundreds of cars speeding past me. I didn't want anyone to point & laugh at the slow girl at the side of the road. (I know that really, no-one would have noticed but the thought kept me running.)
I figured out today that running is just a constant battle with yourself. Like Henry Ford said "Think you can or think you can't - either way you're right". I'm the only person that can make me think I can.
Friday 20 July 2012
A You Tube Sensation....
I work part time, 3 days a week. Some people say - what do you do all day? This is what I did today;
Got up.
Ate breakfast.
Walked a mile to PT.
Did my PT session. Rich is helping me to increase my speed & lower body strength. Watch this video to see some of my session today....It was HARD. My arms were aching, I was short of breath and my quads were on fire.
Then at the end of the session we also did this short speed drill. It almost finished me off! All of my session is detailed here.
When I train with Rich I feel differnt to when I run. I'm confident when I train, I feel like I know what I'm doing and although Rich pushes me it's still 'my thing'. With running I always feel like I'm bottom of the class.
I walked home and spent most of the rest of the day putting washing in & out of the maching and moving it about on radiators - yes I had the heating on in July.
My mum & dad also came round for a cup of tea.
I didn't watch Bargin Hunt or Jeremy Kyle.
Derwent Runners had a good turn out at the Tara Kinder 10K with our very own Matt Cartwright coming third! Brilliant.
Six miles tomorrow morning. I'm debating whether to have a lie in and run later in the day or just get up at go so it's done & out of the way. I liked running early last week. Tomorrow I'll have done 3 weeks of training. Ticking the sessions off & begining to see a little glimmer of improvement.
Got up.
Ate breakfast.
Walked a mile to PT.
Did my PT session. Rich is helping me to increase my speed & lower body strength. Watch this video to see some of my session today....It was HARD. My arms were aching, I was short of breath and my quads were on fire.
Then at the end of the session we also did this short speed drill. It almost finished me off! All of my session is detailed here.
When I train with Rich I feel differnt to when I run. I'm confident when I train, I feel like I know what I'm doing and although Rich pushes me it's still 'my thing'. With running I always feel like I'm bottom of the class.
I walked home and spent most of the rest of the day putting washing in & out of the maching and moving it about on radiators - yes I had the heating on in July.
My mum & dad also came round for a cup of tea.
I didn't watch Bargin Hunt or Jeremy Kyle.
Derwent Runners had a good turn out at the Tara Kinder 10K with our very own Matt Cartwright coming third! Brilliant.
Six miles tomorrow morning. I'm debating whether to have a lie in and run later in the day or just get up at go so it's done & out of the way. I liked running early last week. Tomorrow I'll have done 3 weeks of training. Ticking the sessions off & begining to see a little glimmer of improvement.
Thursday 19 July 2012
Hoops!
Today started in a rush. I washed my hair and didn't have enough time to dry it so I left the house looking a bit like a lion. I sorted a few things out at work that have been on my mind for a while and when 5pm came round I was ready to try out the new watch.
I got my trainers on, switched the watch on (remembering instructions from Flino as to what buttons to press) and jogged over to the Pride Park loop to start my 6x1 min intervals. Watch was working fine, telling me how fast I was running and how far I'd covered. Which was great, until I realised that for intervals I wanted it to tell me how fast I was running and also how long I'd been running for, or better yet, how long I had left to run. I pressed some buttons and managed to get it to tell me when a minute was up by beeping at me.
Great, I started running quite fast looking at my wrist - it said I was running 11 min mile pace. I don't think I was. I decided that I'd just run pretty quick for a minute and then walk for another minute. Repeat this six times. Jog back round the loop to cool down and remember how to breathe again. Session done. Although it was short, I felt like I had worked hard.
Interval training is meant to be one of the best ways to increase your fitness and improve your endurance.
I clearly need to learn more about the watch but overall a good days running.
Tonight we went to Jack Rabbits for dinner to say goodbye to Peaky as she is off on her travels for a month. What a brilliant evening, the food was amazing - it's all cooked on an Aga and everything is delicious! I was very close to cracking on the no drinking but managed to find some resolve at the last minute. I didn't want to have to write that I'd given up.
I've met some great friends through Derwent Runners and whenever we go out we spend most of the night laughing and not really talking about running. It's a very friendly, sociable club and has helped me to realised that not everyone that runs is a 'serious' runner.
I'm full of lovely food now and feeling very tired and happy. 9am PT session tomorrow to burn off the huge piece of Apricot Tart and Cream that I had for pudding. All this exercise has to have some benefits!
I got my trainers on, switched the watch on (remembering instructions from Flino as to what buttons to press) and jogged over to the Pride Park loop to start my 6x1 min intervals. Watch was working fine, telling me how fast I was running and how far I'd covered. Which was great, until I realised that for intervals I wanted it to tell me how fast I was running and also how long I'd been running for, or better yet, how long I had left to run. I pressed some buttons and managed to get it to tell me when a minute was up by beeping at me.
Great, I started running quite fast looking at my wrist - it said I was running 11 min mile pace. I don't think I was. I decided that I'd just run pretty quick for a minute and then walk for another minute. Repeat this six times. Jog back round the loop to cool down and remember how to breathe again. Session done. Although it was short, I felt like I had worked hard.
Interval training is meant to be one of the best ways to increase your fitness and improve your endurance.
I clearly need to learn more about the watch but overall a good days running.
Tonight we went to Jack Rabbits for dinner to say goodbye to Peaky as she is off on her travels for a month. What a brilliant evening, the food was amazing - it's all cooked on an Aga and everything is delicious! I was very close to cracking on the no drinking but managed to find some resolve at the last minute. I didn't want to have to write that I'd given up.
I've met some great friends through Derwent Runners and whenever we go out we spend most of the night laughing and not really talking about running. It's a very friendly, sociable club and has helped me to realised that not everyone that runs is a 'serious' runner.
I'm full of lovely food now and feeling very tired and happy. 9am PT session tomorrow to burn off the huge piece of Apricot Tart and Cream that I had for pudding. All this exercise has to have some benefits!
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Stop moaning, start running
Got home from work, got this hand delivered. All I have to do is plug it into the computer & download the software then it will start telling me how fast I'm running. No excuses from now on. Thanks Rob!
Rest day today. My legs feel ok after yesterday's session. I'm still permanently hungry though. Today I've eaten:
Bowl of cornflakes with a banana.
Handful of dried apricots.
2 scrambled eggs on toast.
Tomato.
2 chocolate digestive biscuits.
Apple.
Sausages, beans & potatoes.
Solero type ice lolly thing.
One Lungo coffee from our brilliant new machine
About 6 cups of Redbush tea.
Flino became addicted to Nespresso coffee whilst we were on holiday and as a result bought a fancy machine. It's great. Now I have one coffee when before I go to work & drink Redbush decaff tea for the rest of the day.
It's sprints on the cards for tomorrow's session. I need to do:
6x1min @ 8min mile pace with 60 seconds walk recovery between each one.
8 minute mile pace for a minute a time. After Tuesday nights session I actually think I can do that. I hate to admit it but it almost sounds like I enjoyed last nights run! Actually, that's a lie. I didn't enjoy the running, I enjoyed how it made me feel afterwards. I like that it's made me a little more confident about the next 8 weeks.
Friday evening is the Tara Kinder 10k - no, I'm not running but usually help out with marshalling. It's a local race and is for charity. I like being a marshal, I get to see the runners, shout encouragement and catch up with some friends. You can still enter on the night & if that sounds like a ridiculous idea then you can always volunteer to be a marshal?
I'm watching DIY SOS The Big Build as I'm writing this, with tears in my eyes. Really, I should stop moaning. I've only got to run 13 miles. In the grand scheme of things it's really nothing.
 |
Bowl of cornflakes with a banana.
Handful of dried apricots.
2 scrambled eggs on toast.
Tomato.
2 chocolate digestive biscuits.
Apple.
Sausages, beans & potatoes.
Solero type ice lolly thing.
One Lungo coffee from our brilliant new machine
About 6 cups of Redbush tea.
Flino became addicted to Nespresso coffee whilst we were on holiday and as a result bought a fancy machine. It's great. Now I have one coffee when before I go to work & drink Redbush decaff tea for the rest of the day.
It's sprints on the cards for tomorrow's session. I need to do:
6x1min @ 8min mile pace with 60 seconds walk recovery between each one.
8 minute mile pace for a minute a time. After Tuesday nights session I actually think I can do that. I hate to admit it but it almost sounds like I enjoyed last nights run! Actually, that's a lie. I didn't enjoy the running, I enjoyed how it made me feel afterwards. I like that it's made me a little more confident about the next 8 weeks.
Friday evening is the Tara Kinder 10k - no, I'm not running but usually help out with marshalling. It's a local race and is for charity. I like being a marshal, I get to see the runners, shout encouragement and catch up with some friends. You can still enter on the night & if that sounds like a ridiculous idea then you can always volunteer to be a marshal?
I'm watching DIY SOS The Big Build as I'm writing this, with tears in my eyes. Really, I should stop moaning. I've only got to run 13 miles. In the grand scheme of things it's really nothing.
Tuesday 17 July 2012
The Running Rollercoster
Monday - went running, in the rain, got soaked, felt terrible and wondered if this was really a good idea.
Today - went running, in the sunshine, felt much better, went to the pub, drank fizzy water, ate a burger - all's good with the world!
It wasn't the rain that was the deciding factor, I ran in the rain last week and felt ok. I ran further & faster today than yesterday. I was in a better mood yesterday before I started running that I was today. Maybe that was it, maybe I took my frustration out on my run today. Maybe I was just more determined to get on with it.
Anyway, today I had to run at 9.15 a mile pace for 3 miles. I don't have a fancy watch yet so I used my initiative. There is a loop on Pride Park that is exactly 1200m all the way round. Someone has also marked out 100m splits on this particular loop so you're able to work out 1600m (which is a mile). Armed with this knowledge & the stopwatch on my i-phone I figured that I could run at the prescribed pace.
I did a mile loop warm up jog, started the stopwatch and started running at what I thought would be slightly faster than usual. Mile ends, I'd ran 8.22. Slowed down a bit, carried on running, next mile 8.46, slowed down some more ran half a loop, got worried I was running too slowly, sped up, last mile 8.56.
Got home, decided I needed to buy a watch after all. Will obviously buy it from The Derby Runner. Rob recommended a Nike GPS. I will find out more about it tomorrow. It's great having a brother sometimes! Rob also told me that I averaged a pace of 8.42 per mile tonight, if I did that for every mile of the Great North Run I'd be able to finish in 1 hour 54 mins. That put a huge smile on my face - for a couple of minutes at least until I started to think of the other 10 miles. It's a possibility though.
I've noticed that running is one of those hobbies that sucks you in to buying accessories. Watches with GPS, special waterproof socks (amazing), lightweight waterproof jackets, matching vests & shorts. I've always been the kind of girl that dreamt of buying designer accessories from here - now I have to decide between Nike & Nicole Fahri!
Today - went running, in the sunshine, felt much better, went to the pub, drank fizzy water, ate a burger - all's good with the world!
It wasn't the rain that was the deciding factor, I ran in the rain last week and felt ok. I ran further & faster today than yesterday. I was in a better mood yesterday before I started running that I was today. Maybe that was it, maybe I took my frustration out on my run today. Maybe I was just more determined to get on with it.
Anyway, today I had to run at 9.15 a mile pace for 3 miles. I don't have a fancy watch yet so I used my initiative. There is a loop on Pride Park that is exactly 1200m all the way round. Someone has also marked out 100m splits on this particular loop so you're able to work out 1600m (which is a mile). Armed with this knowledge & the stopwatch on my i-phone I figured that I could run at the prescribed pace.
I did a mile loop warm up jog, started the stopwatch and started running at what I thought would be slightly faster than usual. Mile ends, I'd ran 8.22. Slowed down a bit, carried on running, next mile 8.46, slowed down some more ran half a loop, got worried I was running too slowly, sped up, last mile 8.56.
Got home, decided I needed to buy a watch after all. Will obviously buy it from The Derby Runner. Rob recommended a Nike GPS. I will find out more about it tomorrow. It's great having a brother sometimes! Rob also told me that I averaged a pace of 8.42 per mile tonight, if I did that for every mile of the Great North Run I'd be able to finish in 1 hour 54 mins. That put a huge smile on my face - for a couple of minutes at least until I started to think of the other 10 miles. It's a possibility though.
I've noticed that running is one of those hobbies that sucks you in to buying accessories. Watches with GPS, special waterproof socks (amazing), lightweight waterproof jackets, matching vests & shorts. I've always been the kind of girl that dreamt of buying designer accessories from here - now I have to decide between Nike & Nicole Fahri!
Monday 16 July 2012
Nuts
I've not ran my 3 miles yet. I've been to Manchester today for a meeting & didn't fancy an early run on a Monday morning. I'm begining to regret it now, it wasn't raining when I woke up at 6.30am. It's throwing it down now. I suppose I could go to the gym and do 3 miles on the treadmill but it feels like cheating. I don't really enjoy running on a treadmill, it always seems to take such a long time and I get really hot. Running outside is usually a better experience. At least there are things to take your mind off the pain.
So I do I just man up, put my trainers on & go or should I wait for another hour? The BBC weather page says the rain should be dying away early evening so I think I'll wait a while.
In an attempt to feel less hungry I bought a small packet of mixed nuts today. I was horified to find out how many calories they contained. I know that they are meant to be full of protein so should keep you feeling full but hells teeth - 670 calories per 100g. There was 70g of them, so about 2 handfuls - so 469 calories. More than a Chunky KitKat. I still ate them though.
There's always articles, news reports, whole programmes, devoted to the rise of obesity in the UK. I think some of it must be down to people not understanding just how long it takes to burn calories. Maybe the information on the packaging could read something like this:
This pack of nuts contains 469 calories. You'll need to run 5 miles to burn them off. This could take anywhere between 25mins and 2 hours depending on your level of fitness.
I feel much better today than I did yesterday, the bath & early night must have helped. I'm 2 weeks into this now. In 8 weeks I'll have done the Great North Run. I'll be sitting in my house having actually run 13.1 miles. I want to feel like I've done the best preparation possible. Right, best get my trainers on then, rain or no rain!
So I do I just man up, put my trainers on & go or should I wait for another hour? The BBC weather page says the rain should be dying away early evening so I think I'll wait a while.
In an attempt to feel less hungry I bought a small packet of mixed nuts today. I was horified to find out how many calories they contained. I know that they are meant to be full of protein so should keep you feeling full but hells teeth - 670 calories per 100g. There was 70g of them, so about 2 handfuls - so 469 calories. More than a Chunky KitKat. I still ate them though.
There's always articles, news reports, whole programmes, devoted to the rise of obesity in the UK. I think some of it must be down to people not understanding just how long it takes to burn calories. Maybe the information on the packaging could read something like this:
This pack of nuts contains 469 calories. You'll need to run 5 miles to burn them off. This could take anywhere between 25mins and 2 hours depending on your level of fitness.
I feel much better today than I did yesterday, the bath & early night must have helped. I'm 2 weeks into this now. In 8 weeks I'll have done the Great North Run. I'll be sitting in my house having actually run 13.1 miles. I want to feel like I've done the best preparation possible. Right, best get my trainers on then, rain or no rain!
Sunday 15 July 2012
An early night
I'm exhausted. My bones hurt. My back aches. Good job today was a rest day because I really don't think I could have ran anywhere. All this exercise and no alcohol is clearly taking its toll. I've got bad skin. I feel like I've got a hangover, like I've been out partying until 3am. But with none of the fun.
So on the plan for next week:
Monday - 3 miles @10 min miles
Tuesday - 4 miles last 3 @9.15 per mile
Thursday - 6x1min @8 min miles with 60sec walk recovery
Friday - PT session with Rich
Saturday - 6 miles @10 min miles
I'm going to have to start going to bed earlier or drinking some sort of supplement because I don't want to feel like this for the next 10 weeks. Plus I am a miserable cow when I'm tired & I don't think Flino could put up with me! Any suggestions gratefully received?
We've been decorating today. Painting walls is much harder work that I first thought. And all that mess, brushes to wash, dust to clear up, endless cups of tea to make. On the plus side chocolate digestives are obviously de rigueur when decorating - you have to get into the job role right?
Anyway, I've put the bath on, put some of this stuff in it in the hope that it will make me feel better and then I'm going to bed.
On a more positive, note my manicure from yesterday hasn't chipped at all despite all the painting! Every cloud.....
So on the plan for next week:
Monday - 3 miles @10 min miles
Tuesday - 4 miles last 3 @9.15 per mile
Thursday - 6x1min @8 min miles with 60sec walk recovery
Friday - PT session with Rich
Saturday - 6 miles @10 min miles
I'm going to have to start going to bed earlier or drinking some sort of supplement because I don't want to feel like this for the next 10 weeks. Plus I am a miserable cow when I'm tired & I don't think Flino could put up with me! Any suggestions gratefully received?
We've been decorating today. Painting walls is much harder work that I first thought. And all that mess, brushes to wash, dust to clear up, endless cups of tea to make. On the plus side chocolate digestives are obviously de rigueur when decorating - you have to get into the job role right?
Anyway, I've put the bath on, put some of this stuff in it in the hope that it will make me feel better and then I'm going to bed.
On a more positive, note my manicure from yesterday hasn't chipped at all despite all the painting! Every cloud.....
Saturday 14 July 2012
3 Good Things
In the words of the infamous Ice Cube - Today was a Good Day.
Got up at 7am, ran 5 miles with my sister. It didn't rain, my legs didn't hurt and I felt ok. I even managed to hold a conversation for some of the way round. Admittedly we weren't running particularly fast. I need to do something about my breathing, as soon as I start to have to 'work' I begin to sound like Darth Vader. I have to really concentrate on keeping my shoulders relaxed or they end up somewhere round my ears (this isn't just a running issue, my shoulders instantly tighten up as soon as I'm stressed or uptight).
I got home & ticked the last of this week's sessions off my plan. 16 miles this week. Done by 7.50am on Saturday. Not bad.
Then it was time for the spa. After some winding roads & avoiding a few sheep, we arrived. This morning I sat in an outdoor hot tub looking at a perfect view of Win Hill. It felt like I was on holiday.
The lunch was amazing, I wasn't expecting such great food & was glad I'd done the 5 miles. I had:
Gazpacho.
Leek & herb sausages on basil mash.
Dark chocolate delice with a salted caramel centre.
After lunch I had a massage & a manicure. Perfect way to spend a day with my mum & sister.
My husband is out this evening, I've got the sofa to myself. I'm watching The Hollow Crown on the iplayer, eating leftover curry and drinking Redbush tea. And I'm really happy. Amazing what some sunshine, a hot tub & ticking things off a list can do.
Friday 13 July 2012
Anyone for Ugali?
To continue on the theme of yesterday, I've been thinking about food today. People who know me will not be surprised.
A comment on Facebook this morning started me off, someone jokingly commented Not sure you should be posting pictures of trainers and starting sentences with 'What I eat " and that got me thinking that for a lot of people exercise and NOT eating are intrinsically linked. For me, there's nothing better than finishing a session at the gym or a run, coming home & eating my breakfast / lunch / dinner. It stops the guilt when I decide to have chips. Don't get me wrong, I'm as obsessed as the next 30 something year old woman when it comes to the size of my jeans. I've tried diets, for about a day. Exercise is the only thing that's ever made me any thinner.
I'm not meant to be running today, my legs hurt this morning when I got out of bed & I feel tired. 5 miles tomorrow. My sister (who was once on the cover of a running magazine) is visiting this weekend, we are taking our mum to a spa in the Peak District so I'd really like to get the 5 miles out of the way before relaxing. This means another early run. The Kenyans at the Iten training camp get up every day at 5am to run. They sometimes run three times a day. I feel like a hero if I manage more than 3 runs in a week. The Kenyans also eat a lot of vegetables with this stuff called ugali. So this afternoon I have made a vegetable curry. And I'll be eating it later with rice, chapatti and popadoms. But still no beer.
A comment on Facebook this morning started me off, someone jokingly commented Not sure you should be posting pictures of trainers and starting sentences with 'What I eat " and that got me thinking that for a lot of people exercise and NOT eating are intrinsically linked. For me, there's nothing better than finishing a session at the gym or a run, coming home & eating my breakfast / lunch / dinner. It stops the guilt when I decide to have chips. Don't get me wrong, I'm as obsessed as the next 30 something year old woman when it comes to the size of my jeans. I've tried diets, for about a day. Exercise is the only thing that's ever made me any thinner.
I'm not meant to be running today, my legs hurt this morning when I got out of bed & I feel tired. 5 miles tomorrow. My sister (who was once on the cover of a running magazine) is visiting this weekend, we are taking our mum to a spa in the Peak District so I'd really like to get the 5 miles out of the way before relaxing. This means another early run. The Kenyans at the Iten training camp get up every day at 5am to run. They sometimes run three times a day. I feel like a hero if I manage more than 3 runs in a week. The Kenyans also eat a lot of vegetables with this stuff called ugali. So this afternoon I have made a vegetable curry. And I'll be eating it later with rice, chapatti and popadoms. But still no beer.
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| Not quite Ugali.... |
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