This is a little overdue as I completed the Shock Absorber Women’s Only triathlon last weekend but having spent about a fortnight panicking about it, and then the day doing it and recovering, I was keen on a little bit of quiet for a few days. Having said that, I’ve set my alarm EVERY DAY this weekend for 6:05am with the intention of getting up to go swimming (hello 2.1k open water swim next weekend), but have snoozed until at least 7:30am every morning. I have done NOTHING this week and whilst I feel a little guilty, I have also tried not to worry about it too much and just enjoyed the down time.
Anyway, the triathlon…
So I never got around to sorting out a new bike on our scheme at work (this will be happening soon) so I ended up borrowing my sister-in-law’s bike for the weekend. This was incidentally then stolen the night of the triathlon as we left it in the car overnight (I KNOW, WE’RE STUPID BUT PEOPLE ARE SCUMMERS) when some f**ker smashed my window and pulled it out. *deep breath* I borrowed the bike from the Thursday before as I was heading down to my parents’ for a few days and heading to the tri from there. On Thursday it poured with rain all day so I planned to cycle on Friday. It poured on Friday too, and I started to get a little worried that my first time on the bike would be the tri itself, but I decided not to risk wiping out in the wet, and spent the day with my mum. And got food poisoning *YEY* - the best possible prep for a first-time event EVER! Luckily it was fairly brief, and I was almost back on form by Saturday morning. C had come down after work on Friday night, so he helped set up the bike and I had a 20minute trial outside. WOW it was hard. I started to panic, no, to FREAK OUT that my wholly slap-dash approach to the tri – “well I’m running and swimming anyway for other events, so the cycling will be fine” – was hugely naïve and I had definitely bitten off more than I could handle. Cue an hour of worrying, reading through past results from the event, and trying to find out if I could enter the shorter event. Then I just decided to suck it up and we headed out for the afternoon. I almost forgot about everything, had a lovely afternoon and evening and managed to get to bed by about midnight (again, great planning). I obviously spent all night dreaming that I missed the start/crashed my bike/drowned/fell on my face/etc…etc…but after a strong cup of coffee and some toast with peanut butter and jam, we were on our way.
C drove, which was hugely appreciated, and I obsessively checked twitter for updates and wished the journey was longer. I was meeting S and her friend who were both racing in the novice event later in the day, so once I’d checked in the bike and set everything up, we sat waiting with coffee. I was SO pleased that I’d seen the venue set up for a tri at my swimming session as it meant that although I didn’t have half the kit that everyone else in my category seemed to have, I knew it was fine. There were some *serious* bikes set up alongside mine, and nearly everyone had bike shoes and cleats, whereas I was just wearing trainers and using cage pedals, but as it was an inclusive event, I just concentrated on trying not to panic that a) I had no idea what I was really doing, and b) my overall time didn’t matter, I just wanted to finish.
Before I knew it, I was in my tri suit – something I was determined not to buy but after panicking that I’d accidentally pull my shorts down (without knickers underneath….) when I yanked my wetsuit off after the swim, I succumbed – in my wetsuit and walking into the water. Well, I fell face first into the water as I hadn’t anticipated how sharp the floor would be, but I think I just about kept it together. Having only done one other open water “race”, I much preferred the “standing stand” – we all gathered behind the imaginary starting line – as it gave me plenty of time to get used to the 16 degree (apparently…) temperature. And then we were off! I splashed about for a bit and actually held back as I didn’t want to get caught in the rush, but after about 200metres, I decided to give front crawl a go and actually starting to go past people. Not many, but enough to keep focused and before I knew it, I was creeping towards to finish. A kind steward helped me out and I stumbled up the ramp towards the bike. I kept thinking I had to get my suit down as quickly as possible to make it easier to pull off but after struggling with it, I just hobbled to the bike and dealt with it there. This is definitely something I need to practice as I was awful – my transition time was nearly five minutes, when it should have been two at the most. But I wrangled my way out – most of my neighbours had already gone, which was great as it gave me more room, and I grabbed my bike and started heading for the exit. I jumped on with my Garmin in my mouth, and as I realized I definitely wasn’t coordinated enough to put it on whilst riding, shoved it down the front of my suit. Great. I got into a bit of a rhythm and after almost half a lap, decided to grab a drink. Famous last words….as I grabbed my bottle, swerved, dropped it and nearly came off face first. Then C popped up from nowhere (he’d watched from the side in horror as he saw a fleet of women on TT bikes coming up behind me as I seemed ready to wipe them all out…!) and another gentleman grabbed my bottle and gave it back. Shouting a quick “I’m fine! Don’t worry!” I just headed off, trying not to think about it all….and other than that it was fine! Yes I could have done with a bit longer on the bike to get used to it – I don’t even know why I went to grab the bottle with my right hand when I know from cycling to work that I’m wobbly with just my left – but all in all, it was ok. I actually even enjoyed it; although the course was six laps, there was a bit of greenery down one side and it was quite fun seeing different faces and bikes on the course. We also cycled past the running course so it was useful to be familiar with that. With 31k under my belt, I headed in to drop of the bike and get running. Of course I forgot to drink any of the water I’d carefully left out, or pick up the sunglasses I’d forgotten on the cycle, but I shoved a couple of gels in my suit and trotted off. The first lap was hard; I felt like I’d have walked it quicker, but I kept on trucking and it definitely got easier. I didn’t start my Garmin properly so I reverted to using mental arithmetic to get me through the distance a la Barcelona, and in under an hour, I was done.
HOORAH!
I crossed the finish line and was presented with…..a bottle of water. Hang on a minute WHERE WAS MY MEDAL??! S met with having cheered with similar levels of disbelief – no medals??! I could write a whole post about this, but I won’t rant; I’ll just reaffirm that it was hugely disappointing to receive no form of memento after achieving such a big thing.
Not to end on a negative, the event itself was good overall and I will definitely be doing another one. My time wasn’t *too* shabby either: 2:41 overall. Not fast, but not the slowest (my greatest fear) and way over my “anything under 3hrs” plan.
Now I just need to get a bike, get cycling, get training and plan the next race….
Friday, 15 June 2012
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
The Great British Gas Swim
So whilst the bite stopped play for the week (there was a small outing to the pool on the Friday to test my tape bandage but it didn’t work), I was fairly determined to make it through the mile swim in the London Docklands on the Saturday after bug-gate. I ummed and ahhed a little about whether I was being stupid about going ahead with it – as per previous posts on “am I ill enough to NOT train?” – but decided that as the swelling had come down significantly and I was half-way through the penicillin, it would be fine. I also checked with my A&E doctor who, whilst not particularly happy about my decision, said that it should be fine as long as I kept it covered. So I bought some black tape, borrowed some booties, and headed to the Docks.
The event was fairly well organised with good signage and a basic but functional changing facilities. My husband was also swimming so once we were in our wetsuits, we headed over to the start. I did feel a bit of an idiot in my boots, but having taped them on (and taped extensively underneath) I hoped that they would just help protect my bite. After a short warm up and a slight delay as people made their way to the start, we were allowed into the fairly warm water and then we were off.
It was hard. Quite a bit harder than I had anticipated. I had taken four days off training (and two days off work - this was enforced...) after being bitten when running but there was a really strong headwind so once I felt happy in the water (swimming a kind of freestyle breaststroke), it was really difficult to make any head way. The buoys marking the course looked MILES away, and I just didn’t seem to be going anywhere…This was slightly disheartening as the field kept narrowing out as other swimmers found their rhythm are moved away from me, but I kept on plugging away and eventually started making s-l-o-w progress towards the halfway mark. The event was billed as “open to everyone, regardless of ability” so whilst most of the field tore away, there was a small group at the back. I alternated between trying to do a decent breaststroke, realizing that I was unbelievably slow in the headwind (I had been warned by a very good open water swimmer that breaststroke is often a problem because you actually stop at the end of every stroke), and then attempting a dogged front crawl. The wind meant that the water was quite choppy so I found the front crawl uncomfortable because I kept breathing in water as it hit my face. I panicked quite a bit throughout and was worried that I would be in the water forever (ever the realist...) so in end, I developed a meerkat-front crawl keeping my head out of the water and front crawling with my arms in an attempt to just get it over with as soon as possible. And then the fastest swimmers of the second wave began to overtake us….life affirming….and as the much-faster swimmers tore past, it was slightly more difficult to concentrate on my own pace. I kept paddling slowly ahead, trying to concentrate on putting one arm in front of the other, and eventually the finish was in sight. A bit more splashing about and I was done.
I felt like I’d been in the water for HOURS and couldn’t work out my time using the finish clock as our wave hadn’t started on time, but I didn’t care; all I wanted was my medal, and to get out of my wetsuit. I stumbled through the “end zone”, picked up my water, tshirt, bag, medal, posed for the obligatory photo in my suit and swim cap (so attractive….) and finally got changed. After a quick change and a bottle of coke to try to kill any water-based nasties, we headed out to Oxford for a day of lazing beside the river watching Summer Eights (code for manic cheering, lots of Pimms and watching nine girls jump over a wooden boat on fire….whilst being filmed by Steve Redgrave….)
In short, I made the right decision to do it; it was good experience of fairly difficult wind conditions, and it gave me a time to build on. The event itself was fairly well organized and I liked that there was a real range of abilities to encourage more people to give open-water swimming a try. The swim highlighted (to me) that front crawl really IS the way to go for speed, and that I definitely needed to practice more ahead of my triathlon and 2.1k swim at the end of June…
I swam a mile before 10.30am on a Saturday morning and I got a medal; both of these facts made me happy. Would I do it again? Probably, but I’d prefer the water a little calmer…
The event was fairly well organised with good signage and a basic but functional changing facilities. My husband was also swimming so once we were in our wetsuits, we headed over to the start. I did feel a bit of an idiot in my boots, but having taped them on (and taped extensively underneath) I hoped that they would just help protect my bite. After a short warm up and a slight delay as people made their way to the start, we were allowed into the fairly warm water and then we were off.
It was hard. Quite a bit harder than I had anticipated. I had taken four days off training (and two days off work - this was enforced...) after being bitten when running but there was a really strong headwind so once I felt happy in the water (swimming a kind of freestyle breaststroke), it was really difficult to make any head way. The buoys marking the course looked MILES away, and I just didn’t seem to be going anywhere…This was slightly disheartening as the field kept narrowing out as other swimmers found their rhythm are moved away from me, but I kept on plugging away and eventually started making s-l-o-w progress towards the halfway mark. The event was billed as “open to everyone, regardless of ability” so whilst most of the field tore away, there was a small group at the back. I alternated between trying to do a decent breaststroke, realizing that I was unbelievably slow in the headwind (I had been warned by a very good open water swimmer that breaststroke is often a problem because you actually stop at the end of every stroke), and then attempting a dogged front crawl. The wind meant that the water was quite choppy so I found the front crawl uncomfortable because I kept breathing in water as it hit my face. I panicked quite a bit throughout and was worried that I would be in the water forever (ever the realist...) so in end, I developed a meerkat-front crawl keeping my head out of the water and front crawling with my arms in an attempt to just get it over with as soon as possible. And then the fastest swimmers of the second wave began to overtake us….life affirming….and as the much-faster swimmers tore past, it was slightly more difficult to concentrate on my own pace. I kept paddling slowly ahead, trying to concentrate on putting one arm in front of the other, and eventually the finish was in sight. A bit more splashing about and I was done.
I felt like I’d been in the water for HOURS and couldn’t work out my time using the finish clock as our wave hadn’t started on time, but I didn’t care; all I wanted was my medal, and to get out of my wetsuit. I stumbled through the “end zone”, picked up my water, tshirt, bag, medal, posed for the obligatory photo in my suit and swim cap (so attractive….) and finally got changed. After a quick change and a bottle of coke to try to kill any water-based nasties, we headed out to Oxford for a day of lazing beside the river watching Summer Eights (code for manic cheering, lots of Pimms and watching nine girls jump over a wooden boat on fire….whilst being filmed by Steve Redgrave….)
In short, I made the right decision to do it; it was good experience of fairly difficult wind conditions, and it gave me a time to build on. The event itself was fairly well organized and I liked that there was a real range of abilities to encourage more people to give open-water swimming a try. The swim highlighted (to me) that front crawl really IS the way to go for speed, and that I definitely needed to practice more ahead of my triathlon and 2.1k swim at the end of June…
I swam a mile before 10.30am on a Saturday morning and I got a medal; both of these facts made me happy. Would I do it again? Probably, but I’d prefer the water a little calmer…
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Bite stops play
I fully intended to upload my final few weeks of triathlon training on here following last week’s epic RDCWest training session – speed was the focus – but unfortunately this happened….
*WAH* During our run, I was bitten on the ankle by something that my body wasn't very happy about and my ankle turned into an elephant’s leg within 48 hours. I was convinced it was fine – and was reassured by my nearest and dearest that all I needed was some Piriton – but after going into work on Wednesday, I was directed towards A&E. VERY luckily for me, a very good friend works there so I was sneakily whipped in, assessed and much to my surprise, put in a bed and given IV antibiotics after being told that if I had left it a day later, I would have been admitted and put on a drip. Oh dear….
I often wonder about the “general” level of pain/illness that’s needed to sign yourself off training – this was prevalent in my last long run weekend before Barcelona – but I find it really interested to hear about the levels that others will tolerate before calling in the professionals. My husband and Vic were sure – as was I – that my leg would take care of itself once I’d taken the antihistamines, and I was hugely surprised that I would be required to take seven full days of penicillin, with the possibility of three MORE days in case the swelling doesn’t go down. The ankle (or cankle as it’s currently being referred to) is still quite swollen, but in comparison to what it was, it’s pin-thin. I have swum on it since, and am planning to try it out running tomorrow morning. But should I wait longer? Am I being stupid to just tape it up and get in the pool (or the Docks….?!)? Or do I just need to take a dose of cop on and get on with it…..? How ill do you have to be to justifiably stop training?! This was something briefly discussed in the debate with fellow runners in Women’s Running a few months ago, and everyone said that they felt particularly guilty when taking sessions off, despite knowing that sometimes it was entirely necessary. I didn’t run with RDCWest last night and whilst I know it was the right decision, I’m planning to swim tonight, run tomorrow, have a 5 mile race on Saturday, a 1.5km swim planned for next week and the triathlon a week on Sunday, with a spinning schedule planned in to get me cycle-ready….
It’s an interesting conundrum and one that I think troubles everyone training for something – whether it’s a marathon or a 5km – but in light of my recent injury, it’s something I’ve definitely been considering whilst lying on the sofa with my leg elevated watching The Good Wife with the cat….
Monday, 21 May 2012
Open water training
This weekend I headed to Dorney Lake (home to the previously run horror-half) for my first ever experience of open water swimming. As I keep veering from “oh it’ll be fine, I can definitely do it” to “OH MY GOD WHAT AM I DOING???!” when thinking about the swimming events and triathlon I signed up to days after crossing the Barcelona finish line, I thought that getting in the water and having a practice would be one the best ways to ease my fears, especially with the British Gas Mile coming up on Saturday *gulp*.
The session was organised by Human Race who were also running a triathlon throughout the day. My session was at 9am and I was asked to arrive half an hour early, so I was sat in my car watching the eager triathletes unloading ALL of their kit by 8.15am beside the lake. Wow, you need a lot of stuff. Most of them had amazingly swish looking bikes, and crates of kit that they balanced on the front of their handlebars. Now I’m doing my first tri in a few weeks and although I don’t feel as prepared as I really want to be, I certainly wasn’t planning on needing a crate of kit. Hmm….time to worry…. I made it down to the registration point (it was rather complicated as the lake will host to Olympic rowing in a couple of months so there’s quite a bit of construction going on) and registered alongside all of the children who were doing a scootathon. SUCH a good idea to keep all of the children occupied if one or both of their parents is competing – genius! I collected my neon green swim cap and headed for the 45 minute seminar that’d start the session.
“You have already done the hardest thing by signing up to this seminar and turning up, the rest will all be easier.”
Excellent words of advice kicked off the seminar and it really was useful; running through the equipment needed and techniques that would be useful for anyone contemplating their first triathlon. I was more worried about my swimming events – they are longer than my tri swim distance – but skills explained were largely transferrable. It was especially useful to learn about sighting and standing starts, and there were great tips such as tipping water down the front (and back) of your wetsuit to warm you up more quickly once you’re in the water.
Once the talk had finished, we all changed into our wetsuits and headed over to our area for swimming. As there were people racing across the course throughout the day, we nipped over to the quicker recovery lane for our swimming, which was really great. We were split into three groups; those who had open water swimming experience, those who hadn’t swum in open water but were really confident swimmers, and…the rest of us… I am a fairly happy pool swimmer, but as an advocate of breast-stroke, I am under no illusions that I will be one of the slowest swimmers in all of my events, and that’s absolutely fine. Part of the reason why I was so keen to sign up for a training session was to try front crawl with my wetsuit on outside, but I’m not planning to suddenly try to do all of the races using front crawl. We got into the water (COLD) and started getting acclimatised. We were a mixed bunch – all fairly nervous but some were far more nervous that others, so we started swimming out and back to a buoy in pairs and threes, eventually working up to a small group start. Everything went really well – I was happily enjoying the promised buoyancy of my wetsuit and not being able to see the bottom didn’t really bother me, but trying front crawl and getting water in my mouth really did concern me. I’m not sure why, I’m guessing it’s partly due to my mortal terror about getting weil’s disease (or something else) and being really ill, but as soon as I got water in my mouth, I seemed to forget to breath out and then panic. This panic meant I breathed in and out really quickly (under water) and then freaked out a little. Not so much that I stopped swimming, but enough that I thought I needed to stop and flailed about a bit like a blubbery trout. Not ideal…..we then progressed to a standing start with the entire group altogether going around a buoy and whilst it was fine, I was still a bit concerned about my uncontrolled freak out. After we got out I mentioned it to our group’s coach and she essentially told me to swim exactly the same as I swim in the pool, and that I almost certainly wouldn’t die from drinking a bit of sea/river/lake water (but obviously not to try to drink it…). I’m aiming to practice both front crawl and breaststroke this week in the pool and KEEP MY MOUTH CLOSED to try to get used to it, but I’m definitely feeling happier about the event this weekend having done the session – I’d definitely recommend it!
So that was that – I swam in the open and I survived! *HOORAH* Now I just need to get through this week’s training – RCDWest tonight and then swimming every morning with perhaps one more run during the week one night. I’m also planning to get start cycling training (I haven’t done ANY so far and my concern over the cycling element is starting to build….) in the form of spinning starting soon following some expert advice from fellow open water swimmers. I’ll write up a separate post on the sheer joy of meeting other first-time-tri-ers and seeing the lake set up for a tri later in the week as the lycra is calling for tonight’s run….it’s *boom time*….
The session was organised by Human Race who were also running a triathlon throughout the day. My session was at 9am and I was asked to arrive half an hour early, so I was sat in my car watching the eager triathletes unloading ALL of their kit by 8.15am beside the lake. Wow, you need a lot of stuff. Most of them had amazingly swish looking bikes, and crates of kit that they balanced on the front of their handlebars. Now I’m doing my first tri in a few weeks and although I don’t feel as prepared as I really want to be, I certainly wasn’t planning on needing a crate of kit. Hmm….time to worry…. I made it down to the registration point (it was rather complicated as the lake will host to Olympic rowing in a couple of months so there’s quite a bit of construction going on) and registered alongside all of the children who were doing a scootathon. SUCH a good idea to keep all of the children occupied if one or both of their parents is competing – genius! I collected my neon green swim cap and headed for the 45 minute seminar that’d start the session.
“You have already done the hardest thing by signing up to this seminar and turning up, the rest will all be easier.”
Excellent words of advice kicked off the seminar and it really was useful; running through the equipment needed and techniques that would be useful for anyone contemplating their first triathlon. I was more worried about my swimming events – they are longer than my tri swim distance – but skills explained were largely transferrable. It was especially useful to learn about sighting and standing starts, and there were great tips such as tipping water down the front (and back) of your wetsuit to warm you up more quickly once you’re in the water.
Once the talk had finished, we all changed into our wetsuits and headed over to our area for swimming. As there were people racing across the course throughout the day, we nipped over to the quicker recovery lane for our swimming, which was really great. We were split into three groups; those who had open water swimming experience, those who hadn’t swum in open water but were really confident swimmers, and…the rest of us… I am a fairly happy pool swimmer, but as an advocate of breast-stroke, I am under no illusions that I will be one of the slowest swimmers in all of my events, and that’s absolutely fine. Part of the reason why I was so keen to sign up for a training session was to try front crawl with my wetsuit on outside, but I’m not planning to suddenly try to do all of the races using front crawl. We got into the water (COLD) and started getting acclimatised. We were a mixed bunch – all fairly nervous but some were far more nervous that others, so we started swimming out and back to a buoy in pairs and threes, eventually working up to a small group start. Everything went really well – I was happily enjoying the promised buoyancy of my wetsuit and not being able to see the bottom didn’t really bother me, but trying front crawl and getting water in my mouth really did concern me. I’m not sure why, I’m guessing it’s partly due to my mortal terror about getting weil’s disease (or something else) and being really ill, but as soon as I got water in my mouth, I seemed to forget to breath out and then panic. This panic meant I breathed in and out really quickly (under water) and then freaked out a little. Not so much that I stopped swimming, but enough that I thought I needed to stop and flailed about a bit like a blubbery trout. Not ideal…..we then progressed to a standing start with the entire group altogether going around a buoy and whilst it was fine, I was still a bit concerned about my uncontrolled freak out. After we got out I mentioned it to our group’s coach and she essentially told me to swim exactly the same as I swim in the pool, and that I almost certainly wouldn’t die from drinking a bit of sea/river/lake water (but obviously not to try to drink it…). I’m aiming to practice both front crawl and breaststroke this week in the pool and KEEP MY MOUTH CLOSED to try to get used to it, but I’m definitely feeling happier about the event this weekend having done the session – I’d definitely recommend it!
So that was that – I swam in the open and I survived! *HOORAH* Now I just need to get through this week’s training – RCDWest tonight and then swimming every morning with perhaps one more run during the week one night. I’m also planning to get start cycling training (I haven’t done ANY so far and my concern over the cycling element is starting to build….) in the form of spinning starting soon following some expert advice from fellow open water swimmers. I’ll write up a separate post on the sheer joy of meeting other first-time-tri-ers and seeing the lake set up for a tri later in the week as the lycra is calling for tonight’s run….it’s *boom time*….
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
And now for something completely different
It’s taken me an age to work out my next post – should I put up a race report from the Peckham 10k (horror show), record some swimming sessions (yawn) or have a ponder on the HUGE number of people who all seem keen to respond to my answer of “why yes, I did enjoy the marathon, it was long and hot but I’m already signed up to do another one in October” with “ARE YOU CRAZY??!” (charming), which has resulted in me writing absolutely nothing.
Good shout.
I think it’s all about change at the moment – it seems to have taken me a while to get over it but marathon training has really ended *cry face/fist pumps of victory*. I never really got the soul-crushing WHAT AM I GOING TO DO post-race downer because I frantically entered so many races straight afterwards, but I think this left me in a bit of a half-way house; I wanted to keep training at the same rate but knew I didn’t have to, and I also had to work out what I needed to do to be able to survive swimming a mile in the Thames, doing a sprint triathlon, and then swimming 2.1k in the (Henley on) Thames. A quick look at that line up would suggest to any normal person that swimming would be the best thing to concentrate on. Yet I didn’t, I wanted to keep running. Well, my mind wanted to…my legs had other ideas. So I did a few short runs, entered the Peckham 10k*, and it hurt. Ooh it hurt a lot. Only a week after the mega-hills session and my calves felt it bad. So bad in fact that my next run three later was absolutely appalling and really very painful. My calves felt like they had been filled with cement and every step felt bad. So I took some time away from running and tried swimming. Mainly out of desire to do something active that didn’t make me want to cry, but also because of the sheer terror that the mile swim was fast approaching and despite continuing to tell myself that “ah you’ll be fine”, I hadn’t actually done any “proper training”. I tabled in some sessions around work and quickly discovered (after wailing wide-eyed terror-filled at my husband panicking about what would happen if I drowned/couldn’t finish/got lost/was still swimming a week later etc..) that I love swimming. I especially love swimming before work – so much so I’m planning to make it a habit this week by forcing myself through a week of 6am starts – and I love the all-encompassing tiredness that can’t be really pinpointed on any specific part of the body (being in pain). I also love that my calves appear to sorting themselves out (thanks in part to me stupidly missing the amazing RDC West #oysterMonday last night and allowing more recovery time) and that the sessions are giving my still-weary joints a bit of a break. I realise that the fact that I’m still weary almost two months later means I should have trained harder for Barcelona but you live and learn and I’m not going to beat myself up about it.
So running is on the backburner; sessions are down to two a week, and swimming is king of the training programme. Cycling is yet to really rear its ugly head and I’m not sure whether I’m being stupidly naïve but it’s the one part of the tri that I’m not really that worried about. I know I can keep going on the bike for at least 40k, and I trust in the power of fuel and gels to keep me going for the necessary distance. I’m also so happy that I chose a charity women’s only triathlon for my first attempt so I’m hoping it won’t be too savage….but I’m sure I’ll worry about that later. Brutal or not, my wetsuit arrived this afternoon and I have my first open-water training session this weekend so it’s time to get the game face on and keep on paddling.
*There won’t be a “proper” race report of the Peckham 10k, mainly because others have said it better, but also because it can essentially be summed up as follows:
AMAZING to run with RDC West, race was horrendous, should have done better, will get faster, need to get a Garmin.
Good shout.
I think it’s all about change at the moment – it seems to have taken me a while to get over it but marathon training has really ended *cry face/fist pumps of victory*. I never really got the soul-crushing WHAT AM I GOING TO DO post-race downer because I frantically entered so many races straight afterwards, but I think this left me in a bit of a half-way house; I wanted to keep training at the same rate but knew I didn’t have to, and I also had to work out what I needed to do to be able to survive swimming a mile in the Thames, doing a sprint triathlon, and then swimming 2.1k in the (Henley on) Thames. A quick look at that line up would suggest to any normal person that swimming would be the best thing to concentrate on. Yet I didn’t, I wanted to keep running. Well, my mind wanted to…my legs had other ideas. So I did a few short runs, entered the Peckham 10k*, and it hurt. Ooh it hurt a lot. Only a week after the mega-hills session and my calves felt it bad. So bad in fact that my next run three later was absolutely appalling and really very painful. My calves felt like they had been filled with cement and every step felt bad. So I took some time away from running and tried swimming. Mainly out of desire to do something active that didn’t make me want to cry, but also because of the sheer terror that the mile swim was fast approaching and despite continuing to tell myself that “ah you’ll be fine”, I hadn’t actually done any “proper training”. I tabled in some sessions around work and quickly discovered (after wailing wide-eyed terror-filled at my husband panicking about what would happen if I drowned/couldn’t finish/got lost/was still swimming a week later etc..) that I love swimming. I especially love swimming before work – so much so I’m planning to make it a habit this week by forcing myself through a week of 6am starts – and I love the all-encompassing tiredness that can’t be really pinpointed on any specific part of the body (being in pain). I also love that my calves appear to sorting themselves out (thanks in part to me stupidly missing the amazing RDC West #oysterMonday last night and allowing more recovery time) and that the sessions are giving my still-weary joints a bit of a break. I realise that the fact that I’m still weary almost two months later means I should have trained harder for Barcelona but you live and learn and I’m not going to beat myself up about it.
So running is on the backburner; sessions are down to two a week, and swimming is king of the training programme. Cycling is yet to really rear its ugly head and I’m not sure whether I’m being stupidly naïve but it’s the one part of the tri that I’m not really that worried about. I know I can keep going on the bike for at least 40k, and I trust in the power of fuel and gels to keep me going for the necessary distance. I’m also so happy that I chose a charity women’s only triathlon for my first attempt so I’m hoping it won’t be too savage….but I’m sure I’ll worry about that later. Brutal or not, my wetsuit arrived this afternoon and I have my first open-water training session this weekend so it’s time to get the game face on and keep on paddling.
*There won’t be a “proper” race report of the Peckham 10k, mainly because others have said it better, but also because it can essentially be summed up as follows:
AMAZING to run with RDC West, race was horrendous, should have done better, will get faster, need to get a Garmin.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Hills
Last night, there was hill running. Lots of hill running. And it was…..good….or rather, bad, in a good way….oh and Jimmy Carr was there too with a crazed little dog…
Allow me to explain.
Whether I conveniently ignored the twitter chat beforehand or just didn’t notice it, I was rather bemused to learn that hill running was on the cards for Run Dem Crew West last night. Oh how we laughed and joked as we warmed up and Cory told us that we would hate Rick “the king of hills” by the end of the session. How we smiled as he told us that there would be repeated hill training and it would help improve our racing. How we nodded when he explained that in order to build up strength and stamina, hill training was an essential part of running, and that we would learn to love it. And with that, we were off – heading out into North West London, avoiding the cars and eventually arriving in a the plush green of….Primrose Hill. Hang on a minute, we all cried (at the back) this is SERIOUS hill training. WE CAN’T DO THIS! Momentarily distracted by Jimmy Carr who posed for the photo below (“fine, but make sure you’re quick”), we then we had our pre-hill chat from Rick.
Photo by @BitBeefy
He taught us from above….on a bench….and really broke down why hills would help us build up the strength in our hips and core necessary to run as we want to. As we dream to. This particularly hit home as I had been told the very same when I visited the chiropractor last year with a bit of a hip injury: “You really need to build up your core and your thigh muscles because your back is so weak that your hips are taking the strain. Go to yoga and do more inclines when running.” I nodded emphatically, did a couple of yoga classes and then forgot all about the advice….until five weeks after the marathon and I’m still hobbling about with shooting pains in my hip. I really showed them…..that I’m an idiot.
So we listened to Rick’s sage words of wisdom, and headed up the first hill. It wasn’t too bad…until we reached the summit and saw what was to come: a fairly dramatic decline (dramatic to me) that we would then be headed back up. Numerous times. We posed for the obligatory team photos, admired the lovely view and then we were off down the hill we were about to head back up. There were several other runners tackling the hill too, so there was a good sense of camaraderie going on.
So it was climb time. Trying to remember everything Rick had said, I learned slightly forward and tried to pump my arms a bit to give me a boost. The first half felt ok, I tried to stay on my toes, but as I began to reach the top, I felt like I was running through treacle. My legs slowed r-i-g-h-t down, but I managed to get there. Rest and repeat. Four times for me, FIVE times for the heroes who didn’t sit the second to last one out (eek). Then it was back down and home, with a few disco sprints thrown in for good measure.
Photo care of @BitBeefy
I don’t think I’ve EVER worked so hard on a training run, but hills are definitely something I’m going to be adding into the mix from now on: to build up strength, and to give me the needed mental push when racing longer distances. We used to be told to train on Christmas day when rowing at uni so that when we sat on the start line during the summer and looked over at the other boats, we could think “ha, I was out training on Christmas day when you were sat inside doing nothing.” I’m going to think about my hill training sessions in exactly the same way (even if every runner in-the-know is already beasting up and down them every week): “I’ve powered up brutal hills every week so I can get here, what have you been doing?”
#RDCWest by @BitBeefy
Allow me to explain.
Whether I conveniently ignored the twitter chat beforehand or just didn’t notice it, I was rather bemused to learn that hill running was on the cards for Run Dem Crew West last night. Oh how we laughed and joked as we warmed up and Cory told us that we would hate Rick “the king of hills” by the end of the session. How we smiled as he told us that there would be repeated hill training and it would help improve our racing. How we nodded when he explained that in order to build up strength and stamina, hill training was an essential part of running, and that we would learn to love it. And with that, we were off – heading out into North West London, avoiding the cars and eventually arriving in a the plush green of….Primrose Hill. Hang on a minute, we all cried (at the back) this is SERIOUS hill training. WE CAN’T DO THIS! Momentarily distracted by Jimmy Carr who posed for the photo below (“fine, but make sure you’re quick”), we then we had our pre-hill chat from Rick.
Photo by @BitBeefy
He taught us from above….on a bench….and really broke down why hills would help us build up the strength in our hips and core necessary to run as we want to. As we dream to. This particularly hit home as I had been told the very same when I visited the chiropractor last year with a bit of a hip injury: “You really need to build up your core and your thigh muscles because your back is so weak that your hips are taking the strain. Go to yoga and do more inclines when running.” I nodded emphatically, did a couple of yoga classes and then forgot all about the advice….until five weeks after the marathon and I’m still hobbling about with shooting pains in my hip. I really showed them…..that I’m an idiot.
So we listened to Rick’s sage words of wisdom, and headed up the first hill. It wasn’t too bad…until we reached the summit and saw what was to come: a fairly dramatic decline (dramatic to me) that we would then be headed back up. Numerous times. We posed for the obligatory team photos, admired the lovely view and then we were off down the hill we were about to head back up. There were several other runners tackling the hill too, so there was a good sense of camaraderie going on.
So it was climb time. Trying to remember everything Rick had said, I learned slightly forward and tried to pump my arms a bit to give me a boost. The first half felt ok, I tried to stay on my toes, but as I began to reach the top, I felt like I was running through treacle. My legs slowed r-i-g-h-t down, but I managed to get there. Rest and repeat. Four times for me, FIVE times for the heroes who didn’t sit the second to last one out (eek). Then it was back down and home, with a few disco sprints thrown in for good measure.
Photo care of @BitBeefy
I don’t think I’ve EVER worked so hard on a training run, but hills are definitely something I’m going to be adding into the mix from now on: to build up strength, and to give me the needed mental push when racing longer distances. We used to be told to train on Christmas day when rowing at uni so that when we sat on the start line during the summer and looked over at the other boats, we could think “ha, I was out training on Christmas day when you were sat inside doing nothing.” I’m going to think about my hill training sessions in exactly the same way (even if every runner in-the-know is already beasting up and down them every week): “I’ve powered up brutal hills every week so I can get here, what have you been doing?”
#RDCWest by @BitBeefy
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Resting
There has been plenty written about the post-race slump; it is a major downer and if not checked, it can linger and drag down everything in its path. Having only trained for one “mega race”, I tend to think of it as something resembling Gollum that sits on your shoulder/lurks behind you and questions every decision that you make. Should you really be thinking about running when your legs feel shot? Should you really be considering that yoga class when your hamstrings feel three inches long? Planning another marathon this year? Are you CRAZY? And so on…..and so on…..
Whilst I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t continue training after a race – whether that’s a 5k or a marathon – it is sensible to take a bit of time to work out your next goal. I wanted to run the marathon to put my body to the ultimate test (I’m ignoring the more extreme “ultra” variety of events right now) and to see how I’d cope by myself through some fairly dark times – both in the race and through training. And it all came out fine – I’m happy with my result, but now I want to go that little bit faster….and as I’ve previously said, I know I could have trained harder, and my next goal is to follow a “proper” 18 week training plan, mix it up a bit and see what happens *shakes hands with Mr Hal Higdon* so I signed up for Dublin, and in the meantime, signed up to whole host of other events to keep me training without killing the run-lust.
I worked out my training schedule pre-Barcelona and aimed to give myself a fortnight off. I planned a fairly packed weekly plan comprising of swimming, running, cycling and yoga – heavy on the swimming and running, light on the cycling, with a weekly yoga class to keep the muscles working. I was supposed to start last week but after RDC West on Monday, I just felt f-l-a-t and HUGELY tired. I have been feeing that bone-aching tiredness that I KNOW is mainly caused because of lack of sleep and panics. Lack of sleep because I am no longer as tired as I was because the training has (obviously) eased off and panics that I’m not training hard enough. *hello vicious circle*
I have never done a triathlon before. I have never done an open water swim before. Both of these are coming up within the next six weeks. Instead of buckling down to train and feeling fresh and invigorated after the marathon, I have spent the last fortnight feeling guilty that I’m not training, and, at the time, feeling shattered. Joy. I planned early morning swims to realise that I really wasn’t sure how long everything would take and whether I’d be late for work, and planned runs and then pulling up when my legs just. weren’t. ready. I lamented the fact that the events were drawing near and I wouldn’t be ready and I’d drown/fall off my bike/fall over and forget how to run….*falls onto the floor in an hysterical heap*.
And then I got a grip….
So what have I learnt? GIVE YOURSELF TIME. Running a marathon – or any race where you’ve been dedicated to putting in the hours for week beforehand – takes more out of you than you realised, or would like to admit, and resting for a few weeks before launching into another round of training (especially for a “new” sport) takes time. Rest isn’t the enemy, it allows your body to recover so you can fight another day, so stop feeling guilty about snoozing instead of leaping out of bed at 6am and realise that those times will come again – you WILL run another race and follow another training plan – but doing so when you feel less than average will cause you injury and put a stop to everything.
So enjoy the rest and allow your body to use the time to get ready for the next round. Rest easy and train hard: no one said this would be a walk in the park…..
Whilst I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t continue training after a race – whether that’s a 5k or a marathon – it is sensible to take a bit of time to work out your next goal. I wanted to run the marathon to put my body to the ultimate test (I’m ignoring the more extreme “ultra” variety of events right now) and to see how I’d cope by myself through some fairly dark times – both in the race and through training. And it all came out fine – I’m happy with my result, but now I want to go that little bit faster….and as I’ve previously said, I know I could have trained harder, and my next goal is to follow a “proper” 18 week training plan, mix it up a bit and see what happens *shakes hands with Mr Hal Higdon* so I signed up for Dublin, and in the meantime, signed up to whole host of other events to keep me training without killing the run-lust.
I worked out my training schedule pre-Barcelona and aimed to give myself a fortnight off. I planned a fairly packed weekly plan comprising of swimming, running, cycling and yoga – heavy on the swimming and running, light on the cycling, with a weekly yoga class to keep the muscles working. I was supposed to start last week but after RDC West on Monday, I just felt f-l-a-t and HUGELY tired. I have been feeing that bone-aching tiredness that I KNOW is mainly caused because of lack of sleep and panics. Lack of sleep because I am no longer as tired as I was because the training has (obviously) eased off and panics that I’m not training hard enough. *hello vicious circle*
I have never done a triathlon before. I have never done an open water swim before. Both of these are coming up within the next six weeks. Instead of buckling down to train and feeling fresh and invigorated after the marathon, I have spent the last fortnight feeling guilty that I’m not training, and, at the time, feeling shattered. Joy. I planned early morning swims to realise that I really wasn’t sure how long everything would take and whether I’d be late for work, and planned runs and then pulling up when my legs just. weren’t. ready. I lamented the fact that the events were drawing near and I wouldn’t be ready and I’d drown/fall off my bike/fall over and forget how to run….*falls onto the floor in an hysterical heap*.
And then I got a grip….
So what have I learnt? GIVE YOURSELF TIME. Running a marathon – or any race where you’ve been dedicated to putting in the hours for week beforehand – takes more out of you than you realised, or would like to admit, and resting for a few weeks before launching into another round of training (especially for a “new” sport) takes time. Rest isn’t the enemy, it allows your body to recover so you can fight another day, so stop feeling guilty about snoozing instead of leaping out of bed at 6am and realise that those times will come again – you WILL run another race and follow another training plan – but doing so when you feel less than average will cause you injury and put a stop to everything.
So enjoy the rest and allow your body to use the time to get ready for the next round. Rest easy and train hard: no one said this would be a walk in the park…..
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Support...
Something that I have found continually interesting whilst training for various events in the past ten years (running and rowing) is that along with being experts before the race, so many people seem to consider themselves marathon/running experts after someone has finished a race....
I’m not sure whether this is due to their own jealousy, the fact that they wish they had entered a race, or whether they just think that they’re better than the person who has just raced and they need to remind them of this fact, but slating another person’s performance, especially after a huge achievement like a marathon is NOT COOL. It is not cool to belittle someone's achievements AT ANY TIME, but it is especially not cool to do so after they have trained for months to put their bodies through something that not many people do.
I am surrounded by friends who seem able to pop out 3.30 marathons after just a couple of weeks of thinking about running (a curse from spending so much time with immense rowers and athletes at university and beyond….) but this doesn’t mean that they look down on others’ achievements – quite the opposite – we ALL work towards goals and when we reach them, it is because we dedicated our time and effort, we sacrificed things, and we took difficult decisions to make sure we reached our goals. V dedicated time and trained hard to get round the course on Sunday so commenting that “oh, you were on course for a much better time to begin with, you’ll just have to try harder next time!” when the most you did on Sunday was prop yourself up to watch the race on TV is not acceptable. And means that I’d like to punch you in the throat.
Training towards a marathon is not easy – it’s not impossible, but it’s not easy – and this should be respected, both by those running and by those watching from the sidelines. I am continually fascinated by the two typical responses to news that someone is running a marathon:
1) from someone who has run/is running: “that’s AMAZING – you will have the best time”
2) from someone who has not run/trained towards an event: “why would you do that? What time are you aiming for?”
I’m not saying that the running community is the best – there is still a lot of change that could be made (asking me what my marathon time is when I turn up at your shop to buy a pair of shorts is also not cool) – but perhaps we can make a change by being more supportive to one another and then others might follow?
I’m not sure whether this is due to their own jealousy, the fact that they wish they had entered a race, or whether they just think that they’re better than the person who has just raced and they need to remind them of this fact, but slating another person’s performance, especially after a huge achievement like a marathon is NOT COOL. It is not cool to belittle someone's achievements AT ANY TIME, but it is especially not cool to do so after they have trained for months to put their bodies through something that not many people do.
I am surrounded by friends who seem able to pop out 3.30 marathons after just a couple of weeks of thinking about running (a curse from spending so much time with immense rowers and athletes at university and beyond….) but this doesn’t mean that they look down on others’ achievements – quite the opposite – we ALL work towards goals and when we reach them, it is because we dedicated our time and effort, we sacrificed things, and we took difficult decisions to make sure we reached our goals. V dedicated time and trained hard to get round the course on Sunday so commenting that “oh, you were on course for a much better time to begin with, you’ll just have to try harder next time!” when the most you did on Sunday was prop yourself up to watch the race on TV is not acceptable. And means that I’d like to punch you in the throat.
Training towards a marathon is not easy – it’s not impossible, but it’s not easy – and this should be respected, both by those running and by those watching from the sidelines. I am continually fascinated by the two typical responses to news that someone is running a marathon:
1) from someone who has run/is running: “that’s AMAZING – you will have the best time”
2) from someone who has not run/trained towards an event: “why would you do that? What time are you aiming for?”
I’m not saying that the running community is the best – there is still a lot of change that could be made (asking me what my marathon time is when I turn up at your shop to buy a pair of shorts is also not cool) – but perhaps we can make a change by being more supportive to one another and then others might follow?
#VLM
I haven’t really been doing much training recently due to my legs generally feeling like they might fall apart, so I thought I’d write about last weekend and reflect on what is definitely one of the most well known and biggest dates in the running calendar.
Having lived in London for six years and entered the ballot for the London Marathon four times, I have never been chosen and had never been to watch until last year. Up until then, I had entered with the vague thought that I would like to run a marathon some day, but that the odds were probably against me and as no one else around me really did that type of thing other than my fiendish 3:14 marathon champion friend, I’d just leave it up to fate. Then V was offered the charity place through her work and, to use a quote I enjoy spouting often: “this shit just got real”. She had a training programme, money to raise, amazing training day opportunities, and a half marathon to get done before the race itself. She did all of this with aplomb – you can read about it all in her archives – and I decided to give myself the gift of training and do the Silverstone Half with her on my 28th birthday. We rocked the race – trotted around in a running-hero time of 2.45 and both managed not to punch anyone in the neck who responded with an amused “wow, you could have walked it quicker”. Actually, we couldn’t have walked it quicker because, you know, we RAN around the course. And, for the record, I’d be REALLY keen to know your time for the race if we’re having a competition…..oh wait, you didn’t do it? How about you pipe it then….
*ahem*
So, I did the half, and then V powered off to conquer London. Watching was immense, she trotted around the course like a hero, and afterwards we ate ribs to celebrate. Having watched it all, I decided I DEFINITELY wanted a piece of the action so I entered the ballot again. Now I could have asked for a charity place but my views on asking for donations to enable me to enter a race are potentially controversial so it wasn’t something I wanted to do. V entered the ballot too and on the day the results were announced, she called to shriek that she’d been sent her info pack and mine must be at home. I raced back to find….the fleece of rejection *cry face*. It wasn’t my time, but the marathon spark that was ignited when I decided that I REALLY wanted to run London remained, so I decided to enter the Barcelona with my husband and a couple of friends. I’ve already discussed why I wanted to run a marathon, but finishing one before my thirtieth birthday was a huge aim, plus I wanted the “I CAN DO ANYTHING” glow that I’d seen on so many people after my first London marathon outing.
So I was out but V was in. We arranged training programmes again (always followed with a rather liberal pinch of salt…) and organised a half to practice. We also headed along to the first Run Dem Crew West who I’ve already mentioned that I LOVE *running family*. I headed off to Barcelona, and V conquered London last weekend. And CONQUER is the right word. She blasted through the course and whipped 24 minutes from her previous PB. She powpowpowed her way through mile after mile and was essentially a hero. She never took it too seriously, but always gave her training the respect it deserved, without allowing it to completely take over her life. She puts the experience into much better words than I can muster, but she truly rocked it and was a total inspiration for how I’m going to tackle Dublin, which we’re running together – whoooooop – hopefully with some guys along the way too. Here’s to the next race!
Having lived in London for six years and entered the ballot for the London Marathon four times, I have never been chosen and had never been to watch until last year. Up until then, I had entered with the vague thought that I would like to run a marathon some day, but that the odds were probably against me and as no one else around me really did that type of thing other than my fiendish 3:14 marathon champion friend, I’d just leave it up to fate. Then V was offered the charity place through her work and, to use a quote I enjoy spouting often: “this shit just got real”. She had a training programme, money to raise, amazing training day opportunities, and a half marathon to get done before the race itself. She did all of this with aplomb – you can read about it all in her archives – and I decided to give myself the gift of training and do the Silverstone Half with her on my 28th birthday. We rocked the race – trotted around in a running-hero time of 2.45 and both managed not to punch anyone in the neck who responded with an amused “wow, you could have walked it quicker”. Actually, we couldn’t have walked it quicker because, you know, we RAN around the course. And, for the record, I’d be REALLY keen to know your time for the race if we’re having a competition…..oh wait, you didn’t do it? How about you pipe it then….
*ahem*
So, I did the half, and then V powered off to conquer London. Watching was immense, she trotted around the course like a hero, and afterwards we ate ribs to celebrate. Having watched it all, I decided I DEFINITELY wanted a piece of the action so I entered the ballot again. Now I could have asked for a charity place but my views on asking for donations to enable me to enter a race are potentially controversial so it wasn’t something I wanted to do. V entered the ballot too and on the day the results were announced, she called to shriek that she’d been sent her info pack and mine must be at home. I raced back to find….the fleece of rejection *cry face*. It wasn’t my time, but the marathon spark that was ignited when I decided that I REALLY wanted to run London remained, so I decided to enter the Barcelona with my husband and a couple of friends. I’ve already discussed why I wanted to run a marathon, but finishing one before my thirtieth birthday was a huge aim, plus I wanted the “I CAN DO ANYTHING” glow that I’d seen on so many people after my first London marathon outing.
So I was out but V was in. We arranged training programmes again (always followed with a rather liberal pinch of salt…) and organised a half to practice. We also headed along to the first Run Dem Crew West who I’ve already mentioned that I LOVE *running family*. I headed off to Barcelona, and V conquered London last weekend. And CONQUER is the right word. She blasted through the course and whipped 24 minutes from her previous PB. She powpowpowed her way through mile after mile and was essentially a hero. She never took it too seriously, but always gave her training the respect it deserved, without allowing it to completely take over her life. She puts the experience into much better words than I can muster, but she truly rocked it and was a total inspiration for how I’m going to tackle Dublin, which we’re running together – whoooooop – hopefully with some guys along the way too. Here’s to the next race!
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Race report
The awesome Bangs has featured my race report from Barcelona on Spikes and Heels - go have a read for more informaiton on why you should enter the race next year, and check out the rest of the blog for general running and fitness badass-ness...
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Plans
So the marathon has been run - what now? I have been pondering my next event for the past few days - I was really keen to get something in the diary to avoid the post-marathon training slump, and to keep up the momentum that I've enjoyed in the run up to Barcelona. So....I've signed up for the following:
- a 2.1k open water swim in June
- a half marathon in July
- a weekend of sport - open water swimming, cycling and sand running - in Cornwall in September
- the Dublin marathon in October
Barcelona marathon photo tour
Barcelona marathon, one photo at a time. All photos are random and I just snapped away when I fancied it. Apologies for lack of info on each shot but I don't completely remember where every one was taken...
Pre-race inspiration at the Olympic stadium: where gold medals were earned
Terrifying opening ceremony costumes
Pre-race preparation
GAME FACE: the start of the marathon
Started...
Barcelona FC stadium
Follow the blue painted line...
17k inspiration...
Bleak times at 20-30k...
Arc de running nearing the finish (note blazing blue sky and suspicious lack of other runners...)
The final (uphill) stetch
**REWARD TIME**
Pre-race inspiration at the Olympic stadium: where gold medals were earned
Terrifying opening ceremony costumes
Pre-race preparation
GAME FACE: the start of the marathon
Started...
Barcelona FC stadium
Follow the blue painted line...
17k inspiration...
Bleak times at 20-30k...
Arc de running nearing the finish (note blazing blue sky and suspicious lack of other runners...)
The final (uphill) stetch
**REWARD TIME**
Pre-race essentials
Before leaving for Barcelona, there was much panicking about what I needed to pack and, more importantly, what I would be able to eat as someone who is wheat intolerant*. So I decided to bring all of my own food and then I wouldn't need to worry about trying to get something the night before the race and freaking out that my pre-race fuel would be an apple. This is what I decided was necessary:
All of this was great, but having decided to have rice pudding on the morning of the race, I then decided against a tin opener. Obviously there wasn't one in the house, so after narrowly avoiding slicing my hand open, I settled for pitta and peanut butter with jam. *sulk face*
All of this was great, but having decided to have rice pudding on the morning of the race, I then decided against a tin opener. Obviously there wasn't one in the house, so after narrowly avoiding slicing my hand open, I settled for pitta and peanut butter with jam. *sulk face*
**Barcelona BOOM TIME**
I wrote this post two days after the marathon but never got around to posting it...
I SURVIVED!
I’m not really sure how to write about the marathon so close to finishing – although following the advice of Vic, I am writing about it whilst I still remember it – so I thought I’d just go through the days leading up to it and then the course itself….
We got to Barcelona on Friday morning. EARLY Friday morning – our cab picked us up and took us to Heathrow for 4am. Last minute packing (I had been packing since Tuesday but there was still stuff to do) meant that I didn’t get into bed until 12.30am so three hours sleep was all there was on offer. I didn’t let it worry me but a little snooze on the plane was all I got, so coffee was the order of the day. Once we got into the city, we headed straight for the expo, which was already quite busy at 11.30am. The expo was great; having only been to the London one last year with Vic when she was running, I think this one was easily as good, if not better. The systems in place to pick up numbers, t-shirts and chips were faultless, and the registration area was simple and really clear to check. And the numbers had our names on the front *WIN*. I had been told by numerous sources that having your name on your top was the best motivation, but I never managed to sort mine out, so this definitely solved that problem. We picked everything up and had some food; well I had a coffee and snuck some wheat-free pitta breads out of my bag to snack on…we hung around the expo for a while, I bought a cap (GOD SEND) and then we headed up the hill to have a look at the Olympic Stadium.
The stadium was….like any other stadium…..but did have some great additions from the Olympics, and I must admit that it was fairly awe-inspiring to see the track where Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell won gold the day before I ran the marathon. After that we headed to the Olympic museum, which was also great, and a really good pre-race outing to get in the zone…. We couldn’t get into our apartment until P and M turned up on a later flight but as the weather was so good, once we’d finished in the museum we just sat in the late afternoon sunshine and read, which was l-o-v-e-l-y….
We met up with P and M and got into the apartment, which was small but perfectly formed, and we were warned about not getting raped or robbed by the girl who let us in. Good advice for life….after a bit of unpacking, we headed out for food and some calming pre-race drinks….back in bed by 10.30pm and I slept through until 11.30am….good race prep. We then spent Saturday eating the best burgers ever, spotting cute dogs and enjoying the sea front, before a huge pasta dinner and bed by 10.30pm…..
The alarm was due to go off at 6am but due to not knowing whether phones were going to automatically update themselves for daylight saving, we all ended up awake by about 5am….not ideal but not hugely detrimental. I couldn’t open my tin of rice pudding for breakfast so ended up eating one and a half pittas with peanut butter and jam. Everyone was actually fairly relaxed, which was great, despite it being the first marathon for three of us…and the first run for M in four months….but she’s a marathon veteran so everything was fine. We wandered to the start, had the obligatory portaloo visit, and then checked in our bags. One of the best things about the marathon was that the start and finish were in the same place, so we knew exactly where our bags would be when we finished – where we left them. It also made meeting up afterwards MUCH easier – having wandered around for an hour carrying Vic’s stuff in London, I knew how bad this could be…so we dropped our stuff, faffed about for a bit and then headed out. There was the usual last minute panic about the loo (again), and then we all separated to go to our relevant pens. I was aiming for the 4.30hr plus area – it didn’t get any “slower” than that, so I shuffled towards the back and waiting for everything to start moving. I randomly bumped into M in the melee, and then we were off!
I had downloaded the Hunger Games for the trip round, so I kicked this off and everything basically went to plan. I won’t go through a mile by mile account but highlights/low points were:
1) LOW POINT – the loo at 10k. I HAD to go and it was, undoubtedly, one of the most horrible things I have seen. I’m not squeamish but jeez, PLEASE get more toilets for next time…
2) HIGHIGHT – a band playing “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits at 19k. A huge family favourite and really spurred me on during one of the bleakest parts of the race.
3) HIGHLIGH – Sagrada Familia at 17k: just SO beautiful. Nearly missed it due to my cap giving me tunnel vision but managed to snap a photo.
4) LOW POINT – the double backs at about 20k and just before 30k. It is SOUL DESTROYING to see people who are much further on than you as you trudge past.
5) HIGHLIGHT – seeing M on both double backs and shrieking about how much we were looking forward to burgers and wine. Saved the soul just a little bit….
6) LOW POINT – everyone in the race was fairly fast and I was not, so there weren’t many runners around my time, and by the time I got to some of the stations, they were empty. The crowds had also lost interest by the time I came through and some people thought it was fine to just walk out in front of me. This was NOT FINE.
7) HIGHLIGH – running up to the finish with so many runners coming back down the other way with their medals. They ALL clapped and cheered, which felt really supportive and almost made me a bit teary to be part of a running family. But then I remembered I still had to finish….
8) LOW POINT – thinking that the first inflatable tunnel at the finish WAS the finish. I power ran up to it and then discovered I had a good 400m left. I nearly cried, but just turned up Paul Simon a bit louder and made it over.
9) HIGHLIGHT – FINISHING!
Then there was a massage, I found everyone, we ate patatas bravas and drank muchos sangria. It was a really great weekend and I’m so happy that Barcelona was my first marathon….first of many I think….
I SURVIVED!
I’m not really sure how to write about the marathon so close to finishing – although following the advice of Vic, I am writing about it whilst I still remember it – so I thought I’d just go through the days leading up to it and then the course itself….
We got to Barcelona on Friday morning. EARLY Friday morning – our cab picked us up and took us to Heathrow for 4am. Last minute packing (I had been packing since Tuesday but there was still stuff to do) meant that I didn’t get into bed until 12.30am so three hours sleep was all there was on offer. I didn’t let it worry me but a little snooze on the plane was all I got, so coffee was the order of the day. Once we got into the city, we headed straight for the expo, which was already quite busy at 11.30am. The expo was great; having only been to the London one last year with Vic when she was running, I think this one was easily as good, if not better. The systems in place to pick up numbers, t-shirts and chips were faultless, and the registration area was simple and really clear to check. And the numbers had our names on the front *WIN*. I had been told by numerous sources that having your name on your top was the best motivation, but I never managed to sort mine out, so this definitely solved that problem. We picked everything up and had some food; well I had a coffee and snuck some wheat-free pitta breads out of my bag to snack on…we hung around the expo for a while, I bought a cap (GOD SEND) and then we headed up the hill to have a look at the Olympic Stadium.
The stadium was….like any other stadium…..but did have some great additions from the Olympics, and I must admit that it was fairly awe-inspiring to see the track where Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell won gold the day before I ran the marathon. After that we headed to the Olympic museum, which was also great, and a really good pre-race outing to get in the zone…. We couldn’t get into our apartment until P and M turned up on a later flight but as the weather was so good, once we’d finished in the museum we just sat in the late afternoon sunshine and read, which was l-o-v-e-l-y….
We met up with P and M and got into the apartment, which was small but perfectly formed, and we were warned about not getting raped or robbed by the girl who let us in. Good advice for life….after a bit of unpacking, we headed out for food and some calming pre-race drinks….back in bed by 10.30pm and I slept through until 11.30am….good race prep. We then spent Saturday eating the best burgers ever, spotting cute dogs and enjoying the sea front, before a huge pasta dinner and bed by 10.30pm…..
The alarm was due to go off at 6am but due to not knowing whether phones were going to automatically update themselves for daylight saving, we all ended up awake by about 5am….not ideal but not hugely detrimental. I couldn’t open my tin of rice pudding for breakfast so ended up eating one and a half pittas with peanut butter and jam. Everyone was actually fairly relaxed, which was great, despite it being the first marathon for three of us…and the first run for M in four months….but she’s a marathon veteran so everything was fine. We wandered to the start, had the obligatory portaloo visit, and then checked in our bags. One of the best things about the marathon was that the start and finish were in the same place, so we knew exactly where our bags would be when we finished – where we left them. It also made meeting up afterwards MUCH easier – having wandered around for an hour carrying Vic’s stuff in London, I knew how bad this could be…so we dropped our stuff, faffed about for a bit and then headed out. There was the usual last minute panic about the loo (again), and then we all separated to go to our relevant pens. I was aiming for the 4.30hr plus area – it didn’t get any “slower” than that, so I shuffled towards the back and waiting for everything to start moving. I randomly bumped into M in the melee, and then we were off!
I had downloaded the Hunger Games for the trip round, so I kicked this off and everything basically went to plan. I won’t go through a mile by mile account but highlights/low points were:
1) LOW POINT – the loo at 10k. I HAD to go and it was, undoubtedly, one of the most horrible things I have seen. I’m not squeamish but jeez, PLEASE get more toilets for next time…
2) HIGHIGHT – a band playing “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits at 19k. A huge family favourite and really spurred me on during one of the bleakest parts of the race.
3) HIGHLIGH – Sagrada Familia at 17k: just SO beautiful. Nearly missed it due to my cap giving me tunnel vision but managed to snap a photo.
4) LOW POINT – the double backs at about 20k and just before 30k. It is SOUL DESTROYING to see people who are much further on than you as you trudge past.
5) HIGHLIGHT – seeing M on both double backs and shrieking about how much we were looking forward to burgers and wine. Saved the soul just a little bit….
6) LOW POINT – everyone in the race was fairly fast and I was not, so there weren’t many runners around my time, and by the time I got to some of the stations, they were empty. The crowds had also lost interest by the time I came through and some people thought it was fine to just walk out in front of me. This was NOT FINE.
7) HIGHLIGH – running up to the finish with so many runners coming back down the other way with their medals. They ALL clapped and cheered, which felt really supportive and almost made me a bit teary to be part of a running family. But then I remembered I still had to finish….
8) LOW POINT – thinking that the first inflatable tunnel at the finish WAS the finish. I power ran up to it and then discovered I had a good 400m left. I nearly cried, but just turned up Paul Simon a bit louder and made it over.
9) HIGHLIGHT – FINISHING!
Then there was a massage, I found everyone, we ate patatas bravas and drank muchos sangria. It was a really great weekend and I’m so happy that Barcelona was my first marathon….first of many I think….
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Taper time
This week I will be mainly doing the following:
- Wearing my trainers with work clothes around the office and as everyday footwear.
- Eating. A lot.
- Drinking water at every opportunity.
- Going to bed by 10pm *ROCK AND ROCK*
- Shunning most public outings to make sure I fully partake in the above activities.
In all honesty, I haven’t really given up very much during the past few weeks for marathon training. I didn’t really have a birthday party like I normally would – big night out with drinks and dancing – because I wanted to schedule a long run at the weekend, but I did get to go to Paris for the weekend, run there, and then have a birthday lunch and dinner (with some wine), so I didn’t exactly miss out.
There hasn’t been a huge amount of sacrifice for my training, but I’m not sure whether this is more of a reflection that I don’t really go out as much as I used/as I like to think I do….sure, I didn’t drink last week when I met my friend for Tuesday night drinks, but it was Tuesday night, so again, this wasn’t *really* a bad thing….
This week I’m also trying to get organised and *ready* for the weekend so it’s not all a mad panic on Thursday. I have purchased my marathon fuel:
(prefer to call it fuel – it makes me feel far more hardcore)
And tonight I’ll be picking up the marathon essentials from Boots….I think we all know what that means. I have finally made my mind up about my kit after obsessing about it for f-a-r too long, which is good. As the shorts were a nightmare, I’m going to go with leggings and a vest, and might take an old (but comfortable) pair of Nike capris along too, if I can re-lace the waistband just in case its as hot as everyone keeps predicting….
It’s almost time….
Friday, 16 March 2012
Shorts
So night’s run wasn’t *quite* four miles. It wasn’t *quite* to the end of the road. I intended to go out to test run the shorts I bought for the marathon, and break my trainers in. I got home, changed, fed the cat, and headed out. Chose my music and started jogging down the road to warm up. And then stopped. Stopped the music, took my headphones out and called my sister to give her the shorts report.
I won’t go into it in detail but those shorts were intent on going places that was never intended for them. EXCELLENT decision to give them a test run (see what I did there?) the week before the race – I literally couldn’t get to the end of my road, they were so annoying – but now I’m back to running (kit) spare one. I’m still dithering over just wearing a pair of full length leggings, but I am slightly worried about a) how hot it’s going to be out there, and b) whether I’ll get a really dodgy tan mark from Capri leggings that’ll last all summer. I realise that my second reason is vain, but Vic said she had this for months last year after the VLM and I don’t want to play that game.
So full lengths or capris…?! Think I might make an emergency trip to Sweaty Betty tonight before dinner to see what they’re offering as I need anything new to test drive tomorrow on my LAST LONG RUN BEFORE SPAIN.
Planning to run to Battersea Park and back before meeting friends for coffee. Then we’re cheering for the Head of the River Race, and once that’s done (five miles on the pain train), the husband and I are heading to Twickenham for the match. My Irish husband and me. Fingers crossed there’s no fighting, although he has called in for shamrock reinforcements to be sent over from Cork…..
I won’t go into it in detail but those shorts were intent on going places that was never intended for them. EXCELLENT decision to give them a test run (see what I did there?) the week before the race – I literally couldn’t get to the end of my road, they were so annoying – but now I’m back to running (kit) spare one. I’m still dithering over just wearing a pair of full length leggings, but I am slightly worried about a) how hot it’s going to be out there, and b) whether I’ll get a really dodgy tan mark from Capri leggings that’ll last all summer. I realise that my second reason is vain, but Vic said she had this for months last year after the VLM and I don’t want to play that game.
So full lengths or capris…?! Think I might make an emergency trip to Sweaty Betty tonight before dinner to see what they’re offering as I need anything new to test drive tomorrow on my LAST LONG RUN BEFORE SPAIN.
Planning to run to Battersea Park and back before meeting friends for coffee. Then we’re cheering for the Head of the River Race, and once that’s done (five miles on the pain train), the husband and I are heading to Twickenham for the match. My Irish husband and me. Fingers crossed there’s no fighting, although he has called in for shamrock reinforcements to be sent over from Cork…..
Thursday, 15 March 2012
New trainers
As mentioned earlier, I have new trainers. As I have previously mentioned, my toes are looking rough. I was fitted for my trainers last year over the summer when I had two half marathons planned (both ended up falling by the wayside due to wedding plans – one was our own wedding, the other was a very close friend’s) but I did the obligatory run in front of a camera, marveled at how bandy my ankles are, agreed that I needed good trainers, bought the good trainers, and then ran in the good trainers. And the trainers were good….for a while.
They didn’t really bother me too much when training earlier in the year, but my toes have really been suffering in the last couple of months. Initially I put this down to increased mileage but I mentioned it to a guy in Sweat Shop who, after asking me how marathon training was going, said “well, your nails really shouldn’t be going black, it’s really not just a normal part of training – it sounds like your shoes are too small”. This got me thinking, so I mentioned it in Runner’s Need too when I popped in during lunch for some gels. I got the same answer – your toe nails shouldn’t really be going black, falling off and getting infected – your shoes sound too small. They asked me to bring them in to have a look at and guess what? Toooooo small. Awesome. A week and a half before the marathon and my shoes are bust.
But then they brought out the (giant man sized) Asics and I was sold in one try – running on the treadmill felt great and they corrected my borked ankles in the same way as my smaller shoes – AND they were very pretty. Neon pretty. I’m not sure whether its right to describe a man’s shoe as pretty but whatever….
See?
Lesson learned - get a proper gait analysis and then make sure your shoes are bigger than you usually wear. These bad boys are TWO SIZES bigger than my usual shoes, which means that they are truly gigantic *yey* but as long as my toes don't end up falling off, I don't care.
So they’re getting broken in tonight and in a just over a week’s time, they’ll be running the marathon with me. Boom time.
They didn’t really bother me too much when training earlier in the year, but my toes have really been suffering in the last couple of months. Initially I put this down to increased mileage but I mentioned it to a guy in Sweat Shop who, after asking me how marathon training was going, said “well, your nails really shouldn’t be going black, it’s really not just a normal part of training – it sounds like your shoes are too small”. This got me thinking, so I mentioned it in Runner’s Need too when I popped in during lunch for some gels. I got the same answer – your toe nails shouldn’t really be going black, falling off and getting infected – your shoes sound too small. They asked me to bring them in to have a look at and guess what? Toooooo small. Awesome. A week and a half before the marathon and my shoes are bust.
But then they brought out the (giant man sized) Asics and I was sold in one try – running on the treadmill felt great and they corrected my borked ankles in the same way as my smaller shoes – AND they were very pretty. Neon pretty. I’m not sure whether its right to describe a man’s shoe as pretty but whatever….
See?
Lesson learned - get a proper gait analysis and then make sure your shoes are bigger than you usually wear. These bad boys are TWO SIZES bigger than my usual shoes, which means that they are truly gigantic *yey* but as long as my toes don't end up falling off, I don't care.
So they’re getting broken in tonight and in a just over a week’s time, they’ll be running the marathon with me. Boom time.
Eighteen miles
So it happened: the LONG run.
It was long – eighteen miles of trotting – not as long as I had initially hoped, but long enough to give me the confidence that a) I’ll be fine on 25 March shuffling around Barcelona, and b) I needed new trainers. Both important points, but the second was slightly desperate as the dearth of running advice out there shrieks that if you don’t break your trainers in weeks in advance of the marathon, your feet will essentially fall off. I jest…obviously the advice not to run in brand new trainers is very valid, but if one person who has never run further than two miles winces when they spot the new trainers in my office and tells me that I should have run in them by now, I might scream.
Anyway, I digress…the run was good on the whole. I had been rather ill on the Saturday; in fact so ill that I had been told by a couple of trusted sources not to run this weekend at all. I did the obligatory google search of “running with a cold” and came up with completely contradictory advice on whether to head out on the Sunday. One side told me that if it was “above the neck” (mine was – sore ears, throat and cold) then I’d be fine but shouldn’t do too far; the other side that any long distance with any kind of illness would be hugely detrimental and I was being ridiculous. I definitely couldn’t do anything on Saturday – I almost fell asleep drinking two flat whites when I finally dragged myself out of the house – but I was determined that I was going to be better and would be out running on Sunday. After an afternoon of moping on the sofa and generally being a misery, I suddenly felt a thousand times better just before we headed out to see Simon Callow in Being Shakespeare. Whether it was the healing power of the shower (and the 300+ vitamins I had been chowing all day) or the thrill of one of the best performances I have ever seen, I felt a thousand times better returning home that night after a late sushi dinner.
Sunday dawned and I went for more coffee trips after listening to The Archers (yes, I’m an old lady in a runner’s clothing) and then decided to just head out on in the afternoon and see how far I could do. I wanted to practice in my “marathon vest” and with the hydration belt (even typing that makes me laugh as it seems so ridiculous….but entirely necessary) and although I didn’t get to Tower Bridge as planned, I did manage to get to Blackfriars without punching any tourists along the South Bank (huge achievement). Eighteen miles in just under three and a half hours *boom time*. This was dead on my marathon pace and slower that I have been doing my shorter runs during the week, which had been my main aim for the whole exercise. So I was pleased.
Things to remember for the marathon:
a) running in sunglasses makes you feel like a ninja so make sure you remember them for Barcelona
b) running in leggings in the heat will make you like you’re boiling alive so make sure you wear shorts
c) compression leggings help after long distances even if the affect is psychosomatic
d) running along the South Bank on a Sunday afternoon is good practice for swerving marathon crowds
e) drinking red wine with professional athletes who have just done Olympic trials is awesome.
Nice days until touch down in Spain…..
It was long – eighteen miles of trotting – not as long as I had initially hoped, but long enough to give me the confidence that a) I’ll be fine on 25 March shuffling around Barcelona, and b) I needed new trainers. Both important points, but the second was slightly desperate as the dearth of running advice out there shrieks that if you don’t break your trainers in weeks in advance of the marathon, your feet will essentially fall off. I jest…obviously the advice not to run in brand new trainers is very valid, but if one person who has never run further than two miles winces when they spot the new trainers in my office and tells me that I should have run in them by now, I might scream.
Anyway, I digress…the run was good on the whole. I had been rather ill on the Saturday; in fact so ill that I had been told by a couple of trusted sources not to run this weekend at all. I did the obligatory google search of “running with a cold” and came up with completely contradictory advice on whether to head out on the Sunday. One side told me that if it was “above the neck” (mine was – sore ears, throat and cold) then I’d be fine but shouldn’t do too far; the other side that any long distance with any kind of illness would be hugely detrimental and I was being ridiculous. I definitely couldn’t do anything on Saturday – I almost fell asleep drinking two flat whites when I finally dragged myself out of the house – but I was determined that I was going to be better and would be out running on Sunday. After an afternoon of moping on the sofa and generally being a misery, I suddenly felt a thousand times better just before we headed out to see Simon Callow in Being Shakespeare. Whether it was the healing power of the shower (and the 300+ vitamins I had been chowing all day) or the thrill of one of the best performances I have ever seen, I felt a thousand times better returning home that night after a late sushi dinner.
Sunday dawned and I went for more coffee trips after listening to The Archers (yes, I’m an old lady in a runner’s clothing) and then decided to just head out on in the afternoon and see how far I could do. I wanted to practice in my “marathon vest” and with the hydration belt (even typing that makes me laugh as it seems so ridiculous….but entirely necessary) and although I didn’t get to Tower Bridge as planned, I did manage to get to Blackfriars without punching any tourists along the South Bank (huge achievement). Eighteen miles in just under three and a half hours *boom time*. This was dead on my marathon pace and slower that I have been doing my shorter runs during the week, which had been my main aim for the whole exercise. So I was pleased.
Things to remember for the marathon:
a) running in sunglasses makes you feel like a ninja so make sure you remember them for Barcelona
b) running in leggings in the heat will make you like you’re boiling alive so make sure you wear shorts
c) compression leggings help after long distances even if the affect is psychosomatic
d) running along the South Bank on a Sunday afternoon is good practice for swerving marathon crowds
e) drinking red wine with professional athletes who have just done Olympic trials is awesome.
Nice days until touch down in Spain…..
Thursday, 8 March 2012
En Paris
Time is marching on: there are TWO AND A HALF WEEKS left until I run 26.2 miles. I just had to rewrite that sentence because I thought I still had three weeks left. But no; there are less than that *SHRIEK*
Training has been going ok recently, although there hasn’t been much of it to speak of…..I’m not really sure why but having reflected on the sixteen mile run and the half marathon, I am feeling slightly happier about the prospect of the marathon than I have done in a while. I have been browsing websites and running magazines for marathon advice (must always be taken with a pinch of salt) and it has put my mind at rest, rather than GIVEN ME THE FEAR, which is how things were previously. As my husband has been saying from the start, a lot of marathon preparation appears to be mental.
I am probably fit enough to get round the marathon course. I wouldn't get there quickly, I certainly wouldn't be “racing”, but I'm fairly sure I could do it without collapsing (fingers crossed). This is (obviously) the point of the long runs in a training plan: to give you confidence. They have done just that; I never thought I’d get through sixteen miles, but looking back on here (another thanks to Running Yoda for emphasising the importance of recording training), I can remember that whilst I couldn’t have knocked out another ten miles there and then, the thought of carrying on didn’t terrify me. The half really helped because it was a “race”; I would have much preferred to have run around the streets of London early in the morning rather than hammering around Dorney Lake in the roaring wind before lunch trying to escape creepers, but it was good practice as *shock horror* the Barcelona marathon isn’t being run around near home. It was good to get out of my comfort zone (as comfortable as running can ever be) and run somewhere where I wasn’t completely happy. Well, somewhere where I was actually fairly angry at the wind and the creepers, and would have quite liked to stop, but I didn’t because then I would have been even more angry at myself, and that’s just crazy talk.
So training has been average, but instead of beating myself up about it, I ran five miles when in Paris for my birthday and the rugby last weekend (hence the name of this post….) and it was awesome. It was also the first time I have EVER woken up, looked out of the window and thought “wow, what a nice day for a run, I’m going out”. Really, the first time ever. Normally I force/trick myself out and then surprise myself that I enjoyed it. It’s as if I’m programmed to think that exercise is rubbish and unenjoyable, which is a whole other post, but on Sunday morning, I seemed capable of remembering that actually, it was great. These were the rewards:
Pretty awesome.
So the L-O-N-G run is planned for this Saturday with a cheeky four/five miler tonight as a warm up. The plan for Saturday is to get up at about 7am, eat, and then run twenty miles in a loop from home. BOOMTIME. I know I said I hate the loops, but the thought of running twenty miles from home and then having to get a train/tube makes me shudder, so I’m running a bridge-to-bridge loop with plans to be back by lunchtime. Bizarrely I’m looking forward to it. Either that, or I’m looking forward to the obligatory “LOOK WHAT I’VE DONE BEFORE YOU GOT OUT OF BED” photos I’ll be posting all over twitter once I’m back*….
(*I’m aware that I am a running loser, but I’m happy to do whatever it takes to keep on trucking….)
Training has been going ok recently, although there hasn’t been much of it to speak of…..I’m not really sure why but having reflected on the sixteen mile run and the half marathon, I am feeling slightly happier about the prospect of the marathon than I have done in a while. I have been browsing websites and running magazines for marathon advice (must always be taken with a pinch of salt) and it has put my mind at rest, rather than GIVEN ME THE FEAR, which is how things were previously. As my husband has been saying from the start, a lot of marathon preparation appears to be mental.
I am probably fit enough to get round the marathon course. I wouldn't get there quickly, I certainly wouldn't be “racing”, but I'm fairly sure I could do it without collapsing (fingers crossed). This is (obviously) the point of the long runs in a training plan: to give you confidence. They have done just that; I never thought I’d get through sixteen miles, but looking back on here (another thanks to Running Yoda for emphasising the importance of recording training), I can remember that whilst I couldn’t have knocked out another ten miles there and then, the thought of carrying on didn’t terrify me. The half really helped because it was a “race”; I would have much preferred to have run around the streets of London early in the morning rather than hammering around Dorney Lake in the roaring wind before lunch trying to escape creepers, but it was good practice as *shock horror* the Barcelona marathon isn’t being run around near home. It was good to get out of my comfort zone (as comfortable as running can ever be) and run somewhere where I wasn’t completely happy. Well, somewhere where I was actually fairly angry at the wind and the creepers, and would have quite liked to stop, but I didn’t because then I would have been even more angry at myself, and that’s just crazy talk.
So training has been average, but instead of beating myself up about it, I ran five miles when in Paris for my birthday and the rugby last weekend (hence the name of this post….) and it was awesome. It was also the first time I have EVER woken up, looked out of the window and thought “wow, what a nice day for a run, I’m going out”. Really, the first time ever. Normally I force/trick myself out and then surprise myself that I enjoyed it. It’s as if I’m programmed to think that exercise is rubbish and unenjoyable, which is a whole other post, but on Sunday morning, I seemed capable of remembering that actually, it was great. These were the rewards:
Pretty awesome.
So the L-O-N-G run is planned for this Saturday with a cheeky four/five miler tonight as a warm up. The plan for Saturday is to get up at about 7am, eat, and then run twenty miles in a loop from home. BOOMTIME. I know I said I hate the loops, but the thought of running twenty miles from home and then having to get a train/tube makes me shudder, so I’m running a bridge-to-bridge loop with plans to be back by lunchtime. Bizarrely I’m looking forward to it. Either that, or I’m looking forward to the obligatory “LOOK WHAT I’VE DONE BEFORE YOU GOT OUT OF BED” photos I’ll be posting all over twitter once I’m back*….
(*I’m aware that I am a running loser, but I’m happy to do whatever it takes to keep on trucking….)
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Three weeks
There are three weeks left of *proper training* before a week of not-that-much, and then it's marathon time.
Oh.
That isn’t very long AT ALL, but I have decided that instead of FREAKING OUT (well, maybe, after freaking out…) that the best thing to do is concentrate on training (duh) and the race will take care of itself. Or rather, I’ll train for the next three weeks, have a week of wind down, and then drag myself to Barcelona and run a marathon. I have my twenty-miler left, which I have planned for Monday – I’m taking the day off for my birthday and thought I might as well take an extra day and do my long run then – and then I’ll probably just fit in another ten miles before scaling everything back. Think that sounds about right.....
Since my last post, I have one update to make re. last weekend: wash out. Not dwelling on it, that won’t make me feel better about it, but that’s it.
Managed a cheeky four miles with Vic on Monday, nothing yesterday (trapped in interviews all day and late out of the office), and planning at least four miles tonight with something on either Thursday or Friday (or BOTH). I have a birthday (from last year…) massage booked on Friday night so I’m going to use that as a reward for training this week.
Yes, we are now operating in a reward training culture. Whatever works…..
Oh.
That isn’t very long AT ALL, but I have decided that instead of FREAKING OUT (well, maybe, after freaking out…) that the best thing to do is concentrate on training (duh) and the race will take care of itself. Or rather, I’ll train for the next three weeks, have a week of wind down, and then drag myself to Barcelona and run a marathon. I have my twenty-miler left, which I have planned for Monday – I’m taking the day off for my birthday and thought I might as well take an extra day and do my long run then – and then I’ll probably just fit in another ten miles before scaling everything back. Think that sounds about right.....
Since my last post, I have one update to make re. last weekend: wash out. Not dwelling on it, that won’t make me feel better about it, but that’s it.
Managed a cheeky four miles with Vic on Monday, nothing yesterday (trapped in interviews all day and late out of the office), and planning at least four miles tonight with something on either Thursday or Friday (or BOTH). I have a birthday (from last year…) massage booked on Friday night so I’m going to use that as a reward for training this week.
Yes, we are now operating in a reward training culture. Whatever works…..
Friday, 24 February 2012
Tired
The last two weeks of training have really kicked my ass, and this week, it really caught up with me. A sixteen miler followed by a half marathon five days later hit me harder than I thought, and this week I have been l-a-m-e at training. My knee has been playing me up a little bit so I’m guzzling the glucosamine, and one of my toes seems to have committed to a long and rotten battle with my trainers, so there has been a bit more recovery than running this week.
Last night I got home full of intentions to sneak in a six mile loop and although I can usually “trick” myself into training – head home, get changed into kit and head out the door almost before my inner Gollum (“NO RUNNING EVER AGAIN HOBBIT!”) has kicked in – but I was utterly shattered last night. My husband came home to find me half asleep on the sofa in my work clothes with the cat at 7pm. Rock on. So there’s been little to report. There was a 4.5 mile uber-run on Wednesday night – we were heading to the theatre at 7pm so I decided it was entirely reasonable to get my run in (9.5 minute miles which presumably didn’t help the overall fatigue), get showered and changed, and get to the theatre (almost) on time. Unfortunately, I didn’t really factor in dinner. Oh, I gulped a bottle of chocolate milk and a bottle of water, but there was no real food. On returning home at 11.30pm, I inhaled a left-over blueberry pancake and then passed out. Not such a wise move. I spent all of yesterday feeling like I was underwater and got such a head rush when I headed out at lunchtime that I had to sit down. Fool. So, valuable (but fairly obvious…) lesson learned: running = needing to refuel.
Looking towards the weekend, I’m either planning a five miler tonight (probably not going to happen) or tomorrow morning (more likely) before spending all day doing wedding things with a recently engaged friend and friends, and then a l-o-n-g run on Sunday. I’m not sure how long (there’s a small part of me whispering *17 miles or more*) but either way, my longest pre-marathon run is scheduled for the weekend of 10/11th March so I know it won’t be 20 miles. Yet. Excited? Maybes….as long as I can shut the inner Gollum up for long enough….
Last night I got home full of intentions to sneak in a six mile loop and although I can usually “trick” myself into training – head home, get changed into kit and head out the door almost before my inner Gollum (“NO RUNNING EVER AGAIN HOBBIT!”) has kicked in – but I was utterly shattered last night. My husband came home to find me half asleep on the sofa in my work clothes with the cat at 7pm. Rock on. So there’s been little to report. There was a 4.5 mile uber-run on Wednesday night – we were heading to the theatre at 7pm so I decided it was entirely reasonable to get my run in (9.5 minute miles which presumably didn’t help the overall fatigue), get showered and changed, and get to the theatre (almost) on time. Unfortunately, I didn’t really factor in dinner. Oh, I gulped a bottle of chocolate milk and a bottle of water, but there was no real food. On returning home at 11.30pm, I inhaled a left-over blueberry pancake and then passed out. Not such a wise move. I spent all of yesterday feeling like I was underwater and got such a head rush when I headed out at lunchtime that I had to sit down. Fool. So, valuable (but fairly obvious…) lesson learned: running = needing to refuel.
Looking towards the weekend, I’m either planning a five miler tonight (probably not going to happen) or tomorrow morning (more likely) before spending all day doing wedding things with a recently engaged friend and friends, and then a l-o-n-g run on Sunday. I’m not sure how long (there’s a small part of me whispering *17 miles or more*) but either way, my longest pre-marathon run is scheduled for the weekend of 10/11th March so I know it won’t be 20 miles. Yet. Excited? Maybes….as long as I can shut the inner Gollum up for long enough….
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Half of a whole
On Saturday, Vic and I ran the Race Your Pace half marathon, organised by Human Race, around Dorney Lake. It was four laps around the lake where the Olympic rowing will be held, where I have previously raced in a former life as a rower, and where I’ve stood on many summer weekends cheering for my husband and friends in regattas leading up to Henley Royal Regatta.
I’m not really sure what to say about the race itself; it was hard, possibly harder than I had anticipated, and it was very very windy. Having raced on the lake before, and having been warned by my husband who has spent a lot of time training there, I knew there was a good chance of a cross wind, but it was really windy. Almost too windy. Windy enough for birds to look like they’re about to be blown out of the sky. My face felt burned by the evening and V’s skin looked as if she’d been baked on a beach somewhere tropical….rather than powering around a rowing lake....
The Runner’s World pacers – we were in between the ten and eleven minute mile groups for most of the run (well, the eleven minute group for almost all of it…) – were amazing and my heartfelt thanks go out to them. The guy pacing the eleven minute group gave marathon advice throughout, and on the last lap, he picked people up on the way past with an encouraging “don’t get left behind!” which really helped. I stayed with him (and V) for most of the four laps – V powered off on the last lap due to being an awesome powerhouse – and the creepers trying to tuck into my slipstream really kicked me on for the last half of my last lap.
Running creepers weren’t a phenomenon I have been aware of before, but after complaining about them once I got back, C explained that they’re basically the same as the cyclists who happily sit behind you and enjoy your slipstream. I was taking the brunt of the wind and they happily jogged *just* behind me to make sure I took the hit for them. Charming. Had I known, I would have suggested a chain-gang, but as it was, I simply swore repeatedly as they slink up behind me and then pushed on, which I guess is better in the long run (excuse the gag….)
Creepers aside, running with only a thousand other runners in loops meant that we were lapped – sometimes twice! – by members of the elite, but rather than worrying about it, it was actually amazing to see them streaking past, often shouting words of encouragement for our pace group. It was hugely inspiring and utterly awesome.
It was good practice to experience the pre-race atmosphere (stressed and slightly manic as they were running behind) and the sensation of running with a lot of other people ahead of Barcelona. The laps were obviously repetitive but I think four is just about manageable (although I can’t imagine the tedium of doing a marathon around the area…) but my music really bothered me – I didn’t really start listening to it properly until the third lap, but I found it irritating and not as motivational as I’d hoped. Its making me wonder whether I might run the marathon with an audio book although I’m not sure….need to do some research….
Important lessons from the race:
1) I MUST do some yoga before the marathon as I have almost no core strength and my back was killing me from half way.
2) Half a gel, some sips of lucozade and a half-cup of water is not fuel.
3) I’ll need some good sunscreen for Barcelona.
4) I need to decide whether to listen to music or a book.
5) I should probably invest in some kind of pacing/GPS watch so I can at least check what time it is...
My time was 2:24 – about twenty minutes off my only other half marathon, which was absolutely great and I'm really pleased about. The first race of 2012 is DONE so now it’s time to get the trainers back on *weep* and start racking up the miles for this week.
I’m not really sure what to say about the race itself; it was hard, possibly harder than I had anticipated, and it was very very windy. Having raced on the lake before, and having been warned by my husband who has spent a lot of time training there, I knew there was a good chance of a cross wind, but it was really windy. Almost too windy. Windy enough for birds to look like they’re about to be blown out of the sky. My face felt burned by the evening and V’s skin looked as if she’d been baked on a beach somewhere tropical….rather than powering around a rowing lake....
The Runner’s World pacers – we were in between the ten and eleven minute mile groups for most of the run (well, the eleven minute group for almost all of it…) – were amazing and my heartfelt thanks go out to them. The guy pacing the eleven minute group gave marathon advice throughout, and on the last lap, he picked people up on the way past with an encouraging “don’t get left behind!” which really helped. I stayed with him (and V) for most of the four laps – V powered off on the last lap due to being an awesome powerhouse – and the creepers trying to tuck into my slipstream really kicked me on for the last half of my last lap.
Running creepers weren’t a phenomenon I have been aware of before, but after complaining about them once I got back, C explained that they’re basically the same as the cyclists who happily sit behind you and enjoy your slipstream. I was taking the brunt of the wind and they happily jogged *just* behind me to make sure I took the hit for them. Charming. Had I known, I would have suggested a chain-gang, but as it was, I simply swore repeatedly as they slink up behind me and then pushed on, which I guess is better in the long run (excuse the gag….)
Creepers aside, running with only a thousand other runners in loops meant that we were lapped – sometimes twice! – by members of the elite, but rather than worrying about it, it was actually amazing to see them streaking past, often shouting words of encouragement for our pace group. It was hugely inspiring and utterly awesome.
It was good practice to experience the pre-race atmosphere (stressed and slightly manic as they were running behind) and the sensation of running with a lot of other people ahead of Barcelona. The laps were obviously repetitive but I think four is just about manageable (although I can’t imagine the tedium of doing a marathon around the area…) but my music really bothered me – I didn’t really start listening to it properly until the third lap, but I found it irritating and not as motivational as I’d hoped. Its making me wonder whether I might run the marathon with an audio book although I’m not sure….need to do some research….
Important lessons from the race:
1) I MUST do some yoga before the marathon as I have almost no core strength and my back was killing me from half way.
2) Half a gel, some sips of lucozade and a half-cup of water is not fuel.
3) I’ll need some good sunscreen for Barcelona.
4) I need to decide whether to listen to music or a book.
5) I should probably invest in some kind of pacing/GPS watch so I can at least check what time it is...
My time was 2:24 – about twenty minutes off my only other half marathon, which was absolutely great and I'm really pleased about. The first race of 2012 is DONE so now it’s time to get the trainers back on *weep* and start racking up the miles for this week.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Morning vs evening
One of the (many...?!) benefits of starting to record all of my training is seeing how patterns emerge. I’m guessing this is why Charlie suggesting it in the first place (he isn’t a yoda for nothing), but it really is strating to prove its worth it as M-time starts drawing nearer.
This week I have done two shorter runs – about four miles each – before work. This used to be my golden running time – I LOVED getting up and running before heading into work – I think it was a hangover from my university days and going out on the river to row before lectures began, and although I usually felt a bit tired (sometimes a lot), the sense of achieving a run before most people got out of bed was worth it. Plus it meant I could usually fit in at least one run a week if I was out most evenings (obviously not drinking....too much....) However, over the past few weeks I have noticed a marked difference in my runs pre- and post-work. Whilst I am still happy to get up and out before heading into the office, my runs after work have been of a completely different standard (the same goes for my shorter runs at the weekend but I’m not comparing these right now as there’s no way I’ll ever be up for ten mile+ run before 8am….) Not just in terms of feeling more awake and more prepared - I've usually eaten well at lunchtime and drunk enough water throughout the day - there is sometimes a two minute difference in my mile-splits over fairly short distances (four-eight miles). That is a lot of time when you’re running just over twenty six miles. A lot of time when you're adding it on to a five hour shuffle.
This realisation simply reconfirms my decision to start planning everything around running during the working week (it’s already sorted all of my weekends between now and the end of March *yey*….) rather than trying to slot in early morning runs if I’m out/working in the evenings. Obviously I’ll fit in a morning session if there isn’t an evening option, but realising the marked difference in my performances in the evening means that I really need to make sure the majority of my training takes place after 6pm.
Essentially, I guess this all means that running will now be taking priority over my after-work activities and my weekends. *joy* That's not to say I will only be running after work every day between now and Barcelona *snore* but things will need to step up a little bit. Again...
(this is probably a bad time to remind myself that I’m thinking about an autumn marathon to keep the training up over the summer…..)
This week I have done two shorter runs – about four miles each – before work. This used to be my golden running time – I LOVED getting up and running before heading into work – I think it was a hangover from my university days and going out on the river to row before lectures began, and although I usually felt a bit tired (sometimes a lot), the sense of achieving a run before most people got out of bed was worth it. Plus it meant I could usually fit in at least one run a week if I was out most evenings (obviously not drinking....too much....) However, over the past few weeks I have noticed a marked difference in my runs pre- and post-work. Whilst I am still happy to get up and out before heading into the office, my runs after work have been of a completely different standard (the same goes for my shorter runs at the weekend but I’m not comparing these right now as there’s no way I’ll ever be up for ten mile+ run before 8am….) Not just in terms of feeling more awake and more prepared - I've usually eaten well at lunchtime and drunk enough water throughout the day - there is sometimes a two minute difference in my mile-splits over fairly short distances (four-eight miles). That is a lot of time when you’re running just over twenty six miles. A lot of time when you're adding it on to a five hour shuffle.
This realisation simply reconfirms my decision to start planning everything around running during the working week (it’s already sorted all of my weekends between now and the end of March *yey*….) rather than trying to slot in early morning runs if I’m out/working in the evenings. Obviously I’ll fit in a morning session if there isn’t an evening option, but realising the marked difference in my performances in the evening means that I really need to make sure the majority of my training takes place after 6pm.
Essentially, I guess this all means that running will now be taking priority over my after-work activities and my weekends. *joy* That's not to say I will only be running after work every day between now and Barcelona *snore* but things will need to step up a little bit. Again...
(this is probably a bad time to remind myself that I’m thinking about an autumn marathon to keep the training up over the summer…..)
Monday, 13 February 2012
Long run
So it happened….I ran further than I ever had before. I ran sixteen miles *BOOM*
As previously said, I planned to run sixteen miles this weekend. I had wanted to run from home to Hampton Court and get the train back on Sunday, after running or going to a yoga class on Saturday. I ended up having a five mile trot along the river with my marathon-busting friend over Saturday lunch time, and then catching up with post-running coffee (for me) and an amazing looking sandwich (for her). L has run at least one marathon a year since she was 20 years old, starting with the London Marathon. As already mentioned, her best time is 3.14, so its fair to say she knows a bit about running and, perhaps more importantly for me at the moment, training. I laid out my plan to run out and get the train back on Sunday and whilst she was massively enthusiastic about the distance, she was a bit worried about getting stuck waiting for a train on the wrong side of sixteen miles in the freezing cold. Fair point. So there was a slight revision and I decide to run bridge to bridge – Putney to Westminster and back. Well, I originally planned to go from Putney to Vauxhall and then back to Hammersmith and home, but when I saw Westminster in the distance, I thought I might as well go all the way there, and see how much further I’d need to go on the way back. Ended up doing another loop…but when that loop is sixteen miles, it turns out I don’t actually care. Plus I went up one side of the river and back over the other, so there was a change of scenery.
I ran sixteen miles. In just under three hours. When I got back, I actually couldn’t believe it – it felt awesome. It wasn’t easy, but I downloaded my audiobook – The Ghost by Robert Harris *immense* (I felt a certain amount of glee listening to this as I ran past MI5…) – and just kept on trucking all the way around. My eventual split was just over 11 minutes per mile – not groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination, but I did it, and I did it without finishing and thinking I might die. I didn’t think I could have happily polished off an additional ten miles there and then, but the thought didn’t seem utterly ridiculous, which was obviously the point of doing the run. The marathon doesn’t seem such a huge stretch in my imagination now that I’ve tackled this….
Oh and one important realisation this week – if you train, you get better. Three runs this week and one longer one at the weekend works. Not sure why this only occurred now, but you know, better late than never…
As previously said, I planned to run sixteen miles this weekend. I had wanted to run from home to Hampton Court and get the train back on Sunday, after running or going to a yoga class on Saturday. I ended up having a five mile trot along the river with my marathon-busting friend over Saturday lunch time, and then catching up with post-running coffee (for me) and an amazing looking sandwich (for her). L has run at least one marathon a year since she was 20 years old, starting with the London Marathon. As already mentioned, her best time is 3.14, so its fair to say she knows a bit about running and, perhaps more importantly for me at the moment, training. I laid out my plan to run out and get the train back on Sunday and whilst she was massively enthusiastic about the distance, she was a bit worried about getting stuck waiting for a train on the wrong side of sixteen miles in the freezing cold. Fair point. So there was a slight revision and I decide to run bridge to bridge – Putney to Westminster and back. Well, I originally planned to go from Putney to Vauxhall and then back to Hammersmith and home, but when I saw Westminster in the distance, I thought I might as well go all the way there, and see how much further I’d need to go on the way back. Ended up doing another loop…but when that loop is sixteen miles, it turns out I don’t actually care. Plus I went up one side of the river and back over the other, so there was a change of scenery.
I ran sixteen miles. In just under three hours. When I got back, I actually couldn’t believe it – it felt awesome. It wasn’t easy, but I downloaded my audiobook – The Ghost by Robert Harris *immense* (I felt a certain amount of glee listening to this as I ran past MI5…) – and just kept on trucking all the way around. My eventual split was just over 11 minutes per mile – not groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination, but I did it, and I did it without finishing and thinking I might die. I didn’t think I could have happily polished off an additional ten miles there and then, but the thought didn’t seem utterly ridiculous, which was obviously the point of doing the run. The marathon doesn’t seem such a huge stretch in my imagination now that I’ve tackled this….
Oh and one important realisation this week – if you train, you get better. Three runs this week and one longer one at the weekend works. Not sure why this only occurred now, but you know, better late than never…
Friday, 10 February 2012
Loops
My training this week seems to have generally gone in loops; both literally and metaphorically. All of my plans have gone awry due to work (mainly) and continually shifting arrangements but the most important thing is that I’ve got two six milers under my belt. Well, two just-over-six-milers under my belt, but who’s really counting the part-miles? (me)
Both runs have been in loops around the local area – one ended up longer than I’d planned due to getting lost, and the other was a rearrangement after my after-work running buddy had to go home early sick. When I first started training for my first half-marathon last year, I LOVED running in loops (or rather, long laps) as it meant I knew exactly where I was, how long it’d take me to get back home if I needed to, and how far I had done/had left. My very first four mile run consisted of two laps of streets near home, and I run a very regular loop of about five miles some mornings if I get out of bed in time and don’t have time for a session after work. It is also good practice for the upcoming Race Your Pace half next weekend, which is four loops of the rowing lake at Dorney *shriek*. I’ve previously raced ON the lake but racing AROUND it is going to be a completely different kettle of fish. I’m signed up with Big Red for the 12 minute mile group, which is *slightly* slower than I’m aiming for at Barcelona, but as it’s my first marathon, I’m not putting any crazed time limits on myself. Finished is finished, and I’ll be happy with that. I’m actually looking forward to the race as it is followed with a Lucozade seminar with running supremo Liz Yelling. My sister attended a similar session last year as part of the London Marathon prep and sang its praises, so I’m looking forward to some motivational awesomeness.
The running plan for this weekend currently consists of either a short run tomorrow morning or a yoga session, and then a *fanfare* sixteen mile run to Hampton Court on Sunday. Judging by my online map, I can run all the way there along the river and then get the train back, so there won’t be any looping. It’ll be the longest that I’ve ever run, but with the half looming next weekend and Barcelona fast approaching, I really want to get a l-o-n-g run done. So bring it: I’m going to download an audio book to keep me company and give me something to think about whilst running at a fairly controlled pace (music tends to make me change tempo) and try out some new gels recommended by Sweat Shop. I’m perversely looking forward to it….
Both runs have been in loops around the local area – one ended up longer than I’d planned due to getting lost, and the other was a rearrangement after my after-work running buddy had to go home early sick. When I first started training for my first half-marathon last year, I LOVED running in loops (or rather, long laps) as it meant I knew exactly where I was, how long it’d take me to get back home if I needed to, and how far I had done/had left. My very first four mile run consisted of two laps of streets near home, and I run a very regular loop of about five miles some mornings if I get out of bed in time and don’t have time for a session after work. It is also good practice for the upcoming Race Your Pace half next weekend, which is four loops of the rowing lake at Dorney *shriek*. I’ve previously raced ON the lake but racing AROUND it is going to be a completely different kettle of fish. I’m signed up with Big Red for the 12 minute mile group, which is *slightly* slower than I’m aiming for at Barcelona, but as it’s my first marathon, I’m not putting any crazed time limits on myself. Finished is finished, and I’ll be happy with that. I’m actually looking forward to the race as it is followed with a Lucozade seminar with running supremo Liz Yelling. My sister attended a similar session last year as part of the London Marathon prep and sang its praises, so I’m looking forward to some motivational awesomeness.
The running plan for this weekend currently consists of either a short run tomorrow morning or a yoga session, and then a *fanfare* sixteen mile run to Hampton Court on Sunday. Judging by my online map, I can run all the way there along the river and then get the train back, so there won’t be any looping. It’ll be the longest that I’ve ever run, but with the half looming next weekend and Barcelona fast approaching, I really want to get a l-o-n-g run done. So bring it: I’m going to download an audio book to keep me company and give me something to think about whilst running at a fairly controlled pace (music tends to make me change tempo) and try out some new gels recommended by Sweat Shop. I’m perversely looking forward to it….
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Snow stops play
It snowed this weekend. It was neither a slight flurry nor a huge storm, but it was enough for my planned long run on Sunday morning to be cancelled. And for Run Dem Crew West to be cancelled last night *mope*
Whilst disappointing, after a friend shattered her elbow slipping on a patch of ice when running outside a couple of years ago, safety really does come first when it’s that cold outside. There was lots of chat on twitter about how everyone could be out if they really wanted to; how you could find some way to train if you really wanted it; and questioning what you would do if it was so snowy on race day…but as one of the main pieces of advice I’ve had since starting to train has been AVOID INJURY, running when its as icy as it was this weekend, running outside just seems one (potentially huge) unnecessary risk.
So there was no running this weekend, and there was no second session of RDC West. But there will be running tonight – my long run from the weekend has been shunted to tonight. I’m planning to run to meet the friend I ran home with last week (I’m running to meet her rather than getting the tube, and then we’re running back home) – and I’ll be running at least twice again before Friday night. I’m planning another long run over the weekend – I haven’t decided whether it’ll be Saturday or Sunday, but it will be happening. I’m currently thinking of home to Hampton Court along the river – a cheeky 16 miles – and I’m getting a little excited….
Whilst disappointing, after a friend shattered her elbow slipping on a patch of ice when running outside a couple of years ago, safety really does come first when it’s that cold outside. There was lots of chat on twitter about how everyone could be out if they really wanted to; how you could find some way to train if you really wanted it; and questioning what you would do if it was so snowy on race day…but as one of the main pieces of advice I’ve had since starting to train has been AVOID INJURY, running when its as icy as it was this weekend, running outside just seems one (potentially huge) unnecessary risk.
So there was no running this weekend, and there was no second session of RDC West. But there will be running tonight – my long run from the weekend has been shunted to tonight. I’m planning to run to meet the friend I ran home with last week (I’m running to meet her rather than getting the tube, and then we’re running back home) – and I’ll be running at least twice again before Friday night. I’m planning another long run over the weekend – I haven’t decided whether it’ll be Saturday or Sunday, but it will be happening. I’m currently thinking of home to Hampton Court along the river – a cheeky 16 miles – and I’m getting a little excited….
Friday, 3 February 2012
Rearrangement
My run on Thursday morning didn’t happen *mope*. Not through anyone’s fault; I had completely forgotten I had a press briefing in North London from 8am so it really wasn’t practical to try to fit a five miler in before leaving the flat (looking presentable…) at 7.15am. BUT I ran five miles this morning instead *hoorah*. In the cold. Feeling like my ears might fall off.
Having so recently announced that its time to get real and get training, I fretted a little about not running yesterday. I wanted a plan and I wanted to stick to it, but then I realised that having a training plan really doesn’t mean that things cannot be rearranged. It doesn’t mean that running has to completely take over my life. It is important to be realistic and practical in terms of what I can manage and what I can’t, and I couldn’t have run five miles yesterday morning before work and had a shower, changed, eaten and reached the briefing by 8am without planning to run at 5am, which would have ruined me for my ten hour working day (yesterday was a manic one). So I ran today. It was hard getting up – the thought of the minus 1 degree wind greeting me at the door was not hugely motivating – but having only run twice this week and with a long run planned over the weekend, I had to go. There are no two ways about it right now; I have to get the miles in. So I did. Yes, there was a bit of snoozing when the alarm went off, and yes, this meant that there was a bit of rushing afterwards and I ate porridge at my desk rather than scrambled eggs at home, but I ran five miles and got to work on time. These were my two aims for the beginning of the day. The miles had to be done and they were.
We’re heading to Oxford tonight for some fun times with the two people we’re renting an apartment with in Barcelona for the weekend of the marathon. P is an ex-lightweight international rower who’s done the Boat Race (the same as my husband) and M is a marathon-running veteran who has a whole host of other amazing athletic events under her belt. Our apartment is going to be an athletic powerhouse of running awesomeness badasses. Even my fears about the raised temperature have slightly dulled (especially after this morning’s run…..)
Having so recently announced that its time to get real and get training, I fretted a little about not running yesterday. I wanted a plan and I wanted to stick to it, but then I realised that having a training plan really doesn’t mean that things cannot be rearranged. It doesn’t mean that running has to completely take over my life. It is important to be realistic and practical in terms of what I can manage and what I can’t, and I couldn’t have run five miles yesterday morning before work and had a shower, changed, eaten and reached the briefing by 8am without planning to run at 5am, which would have ruined me for my ten hour working day (yesterday was a manic one). So I ran today. It was hard getting up – the thought of the minus 1 degree wind greeting me at the door was not hugely motivating – but having only run twice this week and with a long run planned over the weekend, I had to go. There are no two ways about it right now; I have to get the miles in. So I did. Yes, there was a bit of snoozing when the alarm went off, and yes, this meant that there was a bit of rushing afterwards and I ate porridge at my desk rather than scrambled eggs at home, but I ran five miles and got to work on time. These were my two aims for the beginning of the day. The miles had to be done and they were.
We’re heading to Oxford tonight for some fun times with the two people we’re renting an apartment with in Barcelona for the weekend of the marathon. P is an ex-lightweight international rower who’s done the Boat Race (the same as my husband) and M is a marathon-running veteran who has a whole host of other amazing athletic events under her belt. Our apartment is going to be an athletic powerhouse of running awesomeness badasses. Even my fears about the raised temperature have slightly dulled (especially after this morning’s run…..)
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Two's company
Following Monday night's epic run with Run Dem Crew West and the never-ending encouragement, I planned a run with a friend last night. We both met through university rowing training about a hundred years ago so have known each other through some very good times and some very bad times - rowing tends to be a sport of extremes, just check out the Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race for some examples. Add to this the fact that we both lived together when we moved to London, and now live five minutes walk away from each other – we’re very good friends. Oh, and she ran a marathon in 3:14. No jokes.
Despite her amazing time, she is an awesome running buddy (I can't over-emphasis how concerned I was the first time she suggested running together..."how will I EVER keep up??!") because she completely paces herself to your speed rather than the other way around. So when we both were talking about how much better it can be to run with someone, we decided to buddy up a couple of times a week for company. This meant we could catch up (despite living five minutes from each other, life seems so hectic that sometimes we'll only email each other, which is crazy) and motivate each other to get the necessary miles done. Now I (conveniently) work twenty minutes walk from home - approx. one mile - so a run home from my office would not be particularly badass. But she lives about five and a half miles away from her office – a far more badass distance - so I changed into the ever-attractive lycra after work and took the tube to meet her for an epic run back.
Despite the cold, it was a good run and having someone beside me really made the miles go quicker. I was a little sore after running on Monday night - my legs were a bit tired - but as we were running home and it was absolutely freezing, running really was the quickest way to get back, we just kept on trucking. So that's another five and a half miles under the belt *whoop*. And although today is a rest day, we've booked in another early morning run tomorrow morning with a caffeinated reward at the end to make sure we both get out of bed.
When it's this cold in the morning, it's all about the end-of-run-reward time...
Despite her amazing time, she is an awesome running buddy (I can't over-emphasis how concerned I was the first time she suggested running together..."how will I EVER keep up??!") because she completely paces herself to your speed rather than the other way around. So when we both were talking about how much better it can be to run with someone, we decided to buddy up a couple of times a week for company. This meant we could catch up (despite living five minutes from each other, life seems so hectic that sometimes we'll only email each other, which is crazy) and motivate each other to get the necessary miles done. Now I (conveniently) work twenty minutes walk from home - approx. one mile - so a run home from my office would not be particularly badass. But she lives about five and a half miles away from her office – a far more badass distance - so I changed into the ever-attractive lycra after work and took the tube to meet her for an epic run back.
Despite the cold, it was a good run and having someone beside me really made the miles go quicker. I was a little sore after running on Monday night - my legs were a bit tired - but as we were running home and it was absolutely freezing, running really was the quickest way to get back, we just kept on trucking. So that's another five and a half miles under the belt *whoop*. And although today is a rest day, we've booked in another early morning run tomorrow morning with a caffeinated reward at the end to make sure we both get out of bed.
When it's this cold in the morning, it's all about the end-of-run-reward time...
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