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.
Sunday 26 August 2012
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!!
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| 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:
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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
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| 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.
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