AWOL

So two months have passed by with a total of four runs notched up. Typical. The usual reasons/ excuses apply... recovery, a holiday, OFSTED, colds, seasonal social life... The regular cross training has been largely unaffected, so it's not been a total fitness wasteland. The current goal is the usual 10k in April, so no pressure at present, and it's been lovely having a few runs with no agenda. Hopefully the extra time over the festive season will restore a bit of mojo. The 10k is attainable, so I'd like to focus on boosting speed which will be developing new training skills as that was my weak spot of my training in operation 13.1.

I've enjoyed the change of season which feels more sudden with the gaps between my runs. I'm not a natural ally of winter, but I appreciate the openness in the landscape, especially in the woods nearby. A couple of months ago I treated myself to a running jacket/ hoody, and that's fab for keeping to a comfortable temperature- notice weather wasn't in my list of excuses... I'm looking forwards to the prospect of longer days though. I like to celebrate the shortest day by hugging a mature oak tree on the edge of my neighbourhood, so that was my main motivation to get my trainers muddy this morning, and muddy they got too!

So hopefully the next couple of weeks will see some more entries on my neglected log, and a promising start to 2015...

13.1 The Main Event!

Sunday 19th October.  364 days since my first run. 12 weeks of focused training. The big day has arrived along with the knowledge that I have done what I reasonably can to prepare.  Priority 1 was to complete.  Priority 2 was to run the whole thing. Time wasn't a major concern.

My main concern on the morning was about the potential for my symptoms from being ill earlier in the week to return. From training, the rest was possible.

We got the train in in good time for my wave which was the last one. My brother who has much more experience was in one of the earlier waves. I joined the wave to start and joined in the warm up exercises. I was amused by the gender split in participation. The other half of the wave was first to start, then my time arrived. Official timing commenced as the chip on my trainer was identified on the start mat.

In the early miles, I was careful to keep my pace down. It was a mix of passing walkers and being overtaken. My first couple of miles are always uncomfortable,  and I tell myself that that's ok. I didn't spot the early mile markers. Reaching a water station at 3 miles was my first indication of distance.

Miles 3 to 7 were most enjoyable. I was in the zone, and the field had opened up. I reached the greatest  distance from the city centre before looping back. Running out, there were orange and white runners on the return leg. On my turn at that stretch, the last straggling walkers were ambling along. Towards the end of the stretch, the clean up on the outgoing side commenced.

My 10k leg time officially clocked in at 1hr 05 mins. In the second half, the going got tougher. Tired legs were to be expected. Sadly symptoms did return. Portaloos were utilised. So was emergency medication. After mile 10 it got too much,  and despite my best intentions and mantras to myself, I ended up having to walk. Jelly legs, I could deal with,  but abdominal cramps were too much.

Walking helped me maintain my posture and keep upright, and I managed to maintain a good pace, not much slower than my run, passing out most walkers and the occasional runner. I made a few attempts to resume running,  but it was too much.

I wasn't totally spent on energy, and managed to use up a final burst for the last 800m. Like the fun run, the last stretch was emotional, a mix of relief,  pain and exhaustion. I cried, and shouted myself along. My personal timing at the finish line was 2:32:44. Despite the walking, it was in the right league for my regular running pace. The actual run time without portaloo visits would have been under 2:30. Running it all would have been fabulous,  but that's just not the way it was going to be today. I'm still proud of what I've achieved.



So what next? Obviously some discomfort and rest,  but long term? I'm not saying never again, far from it, but I intend to pause on the half marathon distance. My main issue is training time. I can manage up to an hour fine, but beyond that is a big commitment against the demands of my family. Getting up and out around 7am to fit in two hours is not sustainable long term. Instead, I intend to focus on 10k for a few reasons.  It's more time friendly.  It will also improve my speed which is of long term benefit. I can redo the 8 mile fun run from that, and when I am ready to increase my distance again, that extra speed will be of benefit.

So time for a rest, then a half term holiday.  I will be back!

13.1 wk12 Not What You Want

The final week. In good news, it was supposed to be a quiet one with tapering down. In bad news, my priority of the week ended up being to bond with my bed.

My recovery from the long run that I struggled with seemed a bit slow. Monday had foul weather which convinced me to continue lingering around my bedroom, rather than going to buggy babes. My muscles were sore, but I felt devoid of drive. Tuesday wasn't vastly better. With hindsight,  it looks like I was brewing to be ill. Wednesday I ended up ill off work. Thursday and Friday resumed basic function, but no spare energy to use on training. Husband was away so running was out, but my plan had involved the exercise bike.

Saturday was a successful  implementation of a 15 min run and stretch. I ran round the park while the boys waved on from the playground.  My  3 year old and I had an argument about who was going to beat the other.

Not the ideal way to taper down, but by Saturday night, symptoms seemed to have calmed. I was dropped off down at my brother's, ready for the main event...

13.1 wk 11 Nearly Ready

Other than a gentle wind down, my training is now complete. 22 runs, cross training, and the type I haven't skipped... rest days! My training plan is now liberally coloured with florescent green for the days where I did something in line with the plan. I've stretched my limits from 8 to 12 miles, and explored a wider area beyond my neighbourhood. Some sessions just haven't worked out, mainly due to tiredness, but that was hardly surprising,  especially when the term started back up.

So... week 11... Starting on the heels of the Brownie pack holiday, I was pretty shattered, and had missed my regular slots for circuits and a 2 hour long run. The weather was grim, so two well waterproofed children and I went off to Buggy Babes. The car park was suspiciously quiet when we arrived. Then I checked my phone. Cancelled. Getting out of the house just after lunch requires dedication and perseverance, and I was not wasting that investment, so on we went. I even went beyond the usual 2 miles or so and did 5 miles. Husband was away for a couple of nights, so this was the best available method of keeping up, especially after the lull of a long weekend.

Another successful rest day... Then Wednesday's run. Some runs just aren't meant to be. I pushed myself out. I even wore my new winter kit, but my body just wasn't going to cooperate. That became evident early on. Frustrating, but no point in being upset over it. I went out, I tried,  exercise was done.

More rest. Then a sort of reversal of Wednesday,  I couldn't quite drag myself out before ridiculous o'clock,  so I stayed in, and utilised the dusty exercise bike, and did a session using a tabbata timing app (short, maximum effort intervals). The kind of 10 minute session that leaves your legs feeling wobbly. It was in the spirit of the suggested run.

Circuits. Regular instructor away. A bit more squatty than usual. Lots of weights. Left me paying for it on Sunday's long run. It'll be fine, but bad timing for that. I increased the suggested 60 minute run to 120 as compensation for missing last week. My alarm was set early, gear prepared the night before. My body was fuelled and ready for action... except for my thighs which stubbornly complained from the start and never loosened up. Every thing about the run was great. I even loved running through the fog as daylight crept in. Despite all the positives,  I increasingly had to walk. It wasn't worth the risk of pushing through and turning routine soreness into a proper injury.

So week 12 begins. I've been looking forwards to tapering down! I think my last proper run is done as I'm under full time childcare house arrest for most of the week, so I think it's time for exercise DVDs and the exercise bike. The only other thing to do is to wrap my head around the logistics. I'm as ready as I'll ever be, and I know how to prevent the hiccups that have got in the way during training.

13.1 miles... Bring it on!

13.1 wk 10 As predicted

Few things turn out as you predict. Last week had more than its fair share, for example,  the crazy day where I had "lunch" at 20.30. However, I did sucessfully predict where the plan and I had incompatible needs.

The first half of the week was fine; buggy babes and a 30 min run. The run felt good, a pleasure run, not a duty run, despite the long slog uphill. Unfortunately it was squeezed in rather late which didn't help my exhaustion level for the rest of the week. I'm used to a chronic low level tiredness, so it doesn't take much to tip me. A full-on working day, followed by a Brownie visit, then packing for a weekend away was plenty to tip me. No chance of fitting in a run. Next day was straight on the pack holiday following work. Again, no chance of a run. By the time  pack holiday was done and dusted, and 3 hours of cleaning the venue was complete, my idea of an intense physical workout involved a trip to McDonals, and a trip up the stairs to bed.

I know pack holiday well enough to have known that it was incompatible with the idea of nipping out for a run at any point. The chances of going for a 2hr run over the weekend were the same as England winning the 2015 football world cup.The chance of any compromise, short run, was that of England winning in 2014. Not ideal, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

As I start week 11, I'm pleased at how few phases there have been like this. I've done well on cross training, that naturally fits with my routines,  and I've done well on getting the long runs in, even if some of them have been walk/run battles. Based on my previous experience,  the psychological battle is minimised on the day, so I won't have the internal conflict of my solo runs. I have struggled with the week day runs, and speedwork. That will have some effect on performance, but I feel confident that I can achieve my primary goal of completing my first half marathon, mainly by running.

13.1 wk9: A little bit further

Wk 9 sounds scary. That's 2 months that I've been roughly sticking to my plan. That's the same amount of time you could do a C25k in (although mine was longer due to my fear of injury).  Now I have less than 3 weeks left. I'm at the peak of my training before the taper down. My goal of running a half marathon seems attainable,  whereas 9 weeks ago, it felt a very long way off. My previous maximum had been 8.2 miles in 1h 30 before life got in the way, so really I've been working on pushing my body through that second hour. From previous experience, I'll find it mentally easier on the day as I work with the herd, rather than being a solo battle of willpower.

This week's long run was indeed one of those. I think my body was still in sleep mode from the previous day, where I took the term "rest day" to extremes with 2x 2hr naps. I'd planned to go to circuits, but woke slightly later than usual,  and got as far as mostly dressed, and filled water bottle before totally failing to find my trainers. Naturally,  they turned up the next day in one of the places I'd already looked in.

The weather has become more autumnal,  which is lovely, but my legs seem to be finding it hard to warm up. I may need a change of routine there as I still follow the C25k plan of 5 mins brisk walk. My run on Friday night was chillier than I've known for many months, and being a short run, never really felt like my legs got flowing. Maybe it was my body's way of pointing out that most sensible people were heading for bed, not out for a run.

I had the same feeling again on the long run, not helped by my running early strategy meaning that I don't have time to fuel up well. I ended up pausing and stretching a few times. This shouldn't be an issue on race day as I'll be more mobilised by the process of getting there, and have digested some breakfast first. The first hour was a slog. A pretty, fresh, autumnal slog, but a slog none the less. Hour 2 was more enjoyable. The tipping point was running down hill, waving and clapping my hands above my head to Take That's Never Forget. I don't care if I looked like a lunatic, it was energising! At that point the run seemed to resume its regular level of effort, and my legs finally gained some momentum.

At some point along the way, my stop watch of running time got stopped. I have the time on my phone from leaving the house, but not the actual running time, so including warm up time, it was 2h 04 mins, and 10.25 miles. A little bit further once again. I know that on a better prepared day, I can push that speed by walking less,  and not needing to stretch so much, which again boosts my confidence.

I'm beginning to feel ready for the challenge...

13.1 wk8: Adapting

It was a calmer week. Most of the shock of returning to work had passed, and no hidden extras to bring me to the brink. I managed to go to both my regular fitness classes which is a nice simple way to get the green highlighter out on my training plan. I've had quite an erratic run of attendance at circuits,  but this week I noticed how much easier it was lugging the 8kg kettlebell. I'm getting more power for moves like burpees too.

I made it out for a midweek run, my Achilles heel in my training. On Wednesday,  sleep won, but on Thursday, motivation overrode fatigue. I couldn't muster the suggested run, so I adapted to two laps of the local "loop", aiming to do lap 2 faster than the first (success! ).

I suppose I have a bit of a relationship with this route, for want of a better word. On a practical level, it's a simple circle. It has both a drawn out slope up and down, and a steep undulating section, so a bit of variety. It goes past pleasing houses and gardens and a park, and is well lit, so ticks aesthetic boxes day and night. Its also the route  that I recorded a time for back in 2008, so its very satisfying to compare back to pre-baby days. At that time I was active, but didn't realise I was in a fitness rut. Each week, I went to yoga, and adult ballet, and had been drifting away from nearly 5 years of step when I started Brownies which clashed anyway. I have a nice book on fitness, a bit simplistic for my needs now, but it's motivating. It has a fitness test, and on this occasion I recorded the results in a spreadsheet, and they are still available today. My body has found pregnancy and birth to be very demanding, and it's satisfying that although it may not be aesthetically what it was, I can thrash minutes off my walk/run effort from my 20s when I assumed I was fit.

Anyway. I made the classic mistake of making a plan for my long run. I set my alarm at 6.50 in an attempt to have an early start... "Alarm 1" went off before 6 with a wail of "wet!", after a shower and change of clothes,  I went to bed before "alarm 2" went "wah!" He was then quite blatantly awake, then joined by "alarm 1". This caused a dilemma. Husband is a sleep addict, and was not ready to deal with two wide awake little, bouncy people. They also needed complications like being fed. The 3 year old decided that it was TV time which was happily compatible with the desires of both parents, and baby was put in the pram to keep me company. Therefore it became an 8 mile brisk walk/ interval running session in 1hr 45. My speed was quite favourable to some of my long runs, and it will have been of benefit. Maybe not a perfect solution, but a good compromise of training plan Vs family life.

13.1 wk 7 Exhausted

Week 7 was a vexing sort of week. The event that shaped it was a return to teaching. It was the kind of week where you deliberately go in early to be nicely organised for the first day back, only to discover that the computer won't log on until break time. The kind where you finish in good time to pick the children up to get to Brownies,  and it takes over an hour to do what is normally 6 miles becaue the road was blocked and I had to turn and go via a town in the opposite direction. The irony is that I could run the normal route in about that time! The end result was that it was the kind of week where you're zonked out on the sofa for the night while the children are still swarming over you. This is not good training.

I didn't do the week day runs, and had to miss circuits due to other plans, so it was looking to be a washout of a werk. I did however squeeze in my long run.

I'd been puzzling over how to fit it in with Brownies bag packing. The answer presented itself spontaneously. Baby woke at 6 for one of his epic feeds, and by 6.45 I was feeling too awake to return to bed, so I ran instead. Being out of the house at 7.15 was a personal triumph in itself. The first half of the run was very quiet. Even the local runners seemed to feel it was too early on a Sunday. I noticed early on that my body felt good and fast, and that I was reaping a benefit from my hectic week; my body was fresh and rested. I ran 9 miles in 90 minutes, a new longest distance, and a mile further than the time I did my fun run in.

It's quite a big confidence booster. I know a race is psychologicaly easier than training runs on my own, and that I'll have a taper down similar to the rest I had, so it feels much more attainable now. Just a few more hard weeks of long runs to polish me off (both meanings applicable). It all seems attainable now...

13.1 wk6 Making Progress

It's been quite a straightforward sort of week. Buggy Babes was on, so that naturally ticked Monday off. Rest days are easy enough to achieve.

Wednesday was my penultimate day of the holidays so I took my 3 year out to a theme park. There's a kind of self powered monorail there that you i have to cycle round. I was on another ride and saw a rugby build type bloke puffing his way round and moaning about the difficulty of it but I decided to give it a go anyway. It was quiet up there,  and we were the only ones on there.  I has to slouch a bit to reach the pedals, but otherwise it was easy enough although a bit of resistance on the bends. As I pedalled back in, the attendant exclaimed, "you were quick!" I explained about the training and we ended up having a good chat about running.

I ended up doing my run at night. The plan said "easy 30 minutes with last 10 at threshold".I decided the easiest way to do that was to flip my routes round and do a long uphill at the end. I rather enjoyed it.

I had plans for Saturday,  so decided to do my 75 min run on Thursday.  It wasn't ideal tim7ng as my legs still felt low on fuel from running the previous night. It turned outbto ve a battle with some walking mixed in. On a positive note, my speed was better than my previous attempt when I also felt low on energy for different reasons.

I have dropped a run from the plan to allow rest days on Friday and Sunday.  Worth it in the grand scheme of things for Saturday was the day of The Big One North...

Most years my friend and I head up to Blackpool for a hedonistic weekend of yoga, pilates, aerobics, dance, HITT, circuits, spinning, zumba... if it's a fitness trend, it's there and being presented by the top people in the industry. Highlights have previously included aerial hoop and aerial yoga. This was our first go at a similar one day event hosted by the same people. So an early start  and trip to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield,  was followed by 6 hours of pilates, Insanity, Areobics, kettlebells and a stretch class. I bailed out of the 3rd session when I had an energy crash 5 hours after breakfast, so we went to be revived by jacket potatoes before the big rush for lunch. I noticed that the main part of my body whinging was my hips from sideways movements that I've not done in a long time. I noticed little strain on my cardiovascular system, a very pleasing improvement on Blackpool back in March.

I've also been pleased at my tolerable levels of stiffness today. They've eased up with gentle activity through the day. I've resisted the urge to do anything more demanding, hoping to resume business as usual tomorrow.

I'm now halway through the plan.  Let's hope the second half is as successful.

13.1 wk5 Back on track

A better week mainly in the second half. I missed my Sunday long run slot with a daytrip to visit family, and Monday was a bank holiday so my usual Buggy Babes class wasn't running. Tuesday went to plan, that was a rest day! Wednesday involved a random digestive glitch, so not a great idea to expend lots of energy.

I caught up on the long run when the boys were in nursery on Thursday with the 75 min run. I adapted and walked some parts as my energy was low and I could feel the lack of it in my muscles as I hadn't eaten much in 24 hours. I just felt positive doing something on the plan.  I also went exploring, and went down phase 2 of the Greenway for the first time. Its the conversion of a disused railway to a multi use track. This section opened at the start of the year, but is awkward to link to. It's very pleasant for running with views into fields on both sides,  and a level, gritty surface. I achieved my objective of keeping moving for 75 mins, and managed to restore my appetite.

Friday was a nocturnal easy run. I went for 30 mins because of the previous long run, and an intention of going to circuits in the morning. Circuits was a success after a 6  week absence. Its legacy was felt mainly around my shoulders. Not good for painting the downstairs toilet, but of negligible inconvenience to Sunday's long run.

When waiting for paint to dry, you can do much worse than a 60 minure run! I revisited the Greenway and ran its entirety. Access at the top end is via a busy country road that at least has good visibility. At the lower end there's a section along a main road which at least has a pavement. The slow traffic lights provide a crafty recovery from the steep hill! It was another good run, and pleasantly mild.

I'm reaching a turning point this week. The holidays are drawing to a close, so I lose free time just as the runs are getting longer. It's going to take a bit more determination to keep up with the plan.

13.1 wk 4 Fustration

It was a silly mistake,  turning last week's elation at my misty hill run to frustration at a silly injury. The run itself was OK, some tender muscles; it was the gardening that messed my week up.

Over the last 3 years, we've been slowly turning the garden from a sea of gravel and spindly  bushes to what will be a pleasant, pretty flower garden. We're begining to win. The latest phase has been reclaiming a patio corner by digging out an oversized bay tree which hemmed the corner in and isolated it from the garden, and sprucing up the paving and pergola. My knee didn't appreciate standing on a ladder and painting the pergola, and seemed to think the balancing and reaching was some demonic pilates routine. I could feel the area working  but not hurting,  so I continued the gardening while we had a pleasant day. Bags of sand were luged around and dug in to lighten our claggy clay, and bark spread over flower beds.

The following day I hurt in a "how do I get down the stairs?" kind of way. (The solution being a stiff and lopsided one step at a time approach,  feeling somewhat like a fresh zombie). Good job it was a rest day on my plan. Shame the next day turned to a rest day too. The day after I was feeling fairly decent. Good enough to try running in the optimistic hope that working the muscles might ease them out... Wrong! In minutes,  I changed my intention to a brisk walk, which ended up being being cut short quite soon.

For Friday,  I decided that a visit to the swimming pool was a better idea, so went for a 45min swim. I love swimming as in pounding up and down the pool doing length after length. Unfortunately I can't get to laned sessions, and during the holidays,  the regular lanes are removed so the diving pool is avaliable to be ignored,  and the rest of the pool becomes a cattle market of lengthers,  widthers, splashers and standing-waist-deep-in-tepid-water-chatters. I've never appreciated a swimming pool as a social venue. Anyway, the swim was a successful form of exercise, even if I do get angsty about weaving in and out of people to avoid collisions.

Yesterday,  I missed circuits for what is probably the 5th week in a row, mainly because of reclaiming the house from the forces of chaos, two small children and myself, ready for visitors. However,  I stuck to plan with some strength work, and successfully tested my knees with a short 15 min run which went well.

Hopefully the injury has passed.  It felt more muscular than anything slower to heal. I'll go gently for a couple more days to be safe. As much as I want to keep to plan to do well in this half marathon, that's not going to happen if I push too far while training either.

13.1 wk3 Party Time!

Travelling 250 miles for a party weekend isn't a standard feature of most running plans but I think disruption was quite successfully minimised.

The first mitigation technique was swapping the 60 minute run to a nursery day to ensure that fitted in. That was a satisfying run,  extending my previous long run route slightly, and maximising the slopes through the area. I even recieved a patronising applause from a wierd passer by! Unlike my training for the fun run, I managed without walking sections, a sign of progress.  I must admit to a lack  of disappointment at how long it takes the pedestrian lights to crank into action at the top of the really hilly section.

The part that was sacrificed was a 40 min easy run. In my defence that was mitigated hy carrying the one year old up the nearest tor, so that scores an amber code on my plan. Not too bad for being away from home for 3 days.

Now in days gone by, a good party would have included homemade Baileys cheesecake (not suitable for drivers), lots of Twister (clothing voluntary) and lots of medicinal alcohol for the relief of aching, hiked out muscles. We've gone a bit more genteel with age and politely retired to bed at 12.05 just before anyone turned into a pumpkin. There was a mission to clear excess stocks of alcohol from a wedding last year, but I find that 4 years of pregnancy/ feeding babies and nocturnal demands from small children mean that I forget to drink alcohol out of habit. In fact I party better without its soporific effects. A great time was still had by all, grateful for the chance to meet up and relax together,  and a great game of knocking the balloon around the room over the assortment of small children. What this all added up to was the physical and mental ability to be in my running gear and out of the house at 8 am on a Sunday morning.

It was wet. It was cold. It was awesome. I repeated the walk we previously did up to the tor, fortunately a mostly straight line to the summit and back. I may not have been hungover, but Dartmoor was in one of those moods, and visibility was poor. My only companions were sheep, cows and ponies. A shame the cows weren't as keen to scarper off the path as the sheep, they required a bit of delicate maneuvering off the path to gently avoid. The steep section was walked at a brisk pace, but once off the rocks,  I managed to run all the way down. I was always suspicious of those who rose early enough to descend the hills long before we started ascending,  but I found myself at 8.41, exchanging a jaunty "good morning!"with a cyclist with lots of panniers,  glowing with the satisfaction of having completed my activity. Ok, I was also glowing with wind burn, and cold soggy skin. It was certainly invigorating,  and more than a tad bracing, and I loved it!

13.1 wk2

Well there's a novelty, week 2 was a total sucess on the training plan. The days have been jiggled to take advantage of my natural routines, so some things like Buggy Babes naturally fill for cross training. Likewise,  Thursday is a natural rest day between my term time commitments. Having my daytime free at present, I took a trip to the swimming pool as that's a rare treat. Well the chance to swim is, I spend too much time dunking small children in and out of the water at their lessons. I have often wondered if squatting in the water holding 2 stones of child counts as a workout. Saturday turned out to be a rest day. The plan was flexible on rest or cross training,  and I sacrificed my usual circuits class so husband could catch up on his lost sleep from the previous weekend. It probably was the better option for my body which had worked hard and was grumbling a little around  the edges.

The actual running went well. The 30min easy run was familiar territory. Something new was the threshold run. I enjoyed the variation of that. Normally, I run a large loop and adapt the route as I go as my neighbourhood has many flexìble options,  but for the first time, I thought laps of a shorter route would work well to get the slope more consistent. I had a 50 min long run, not new but rusty. There were pauses for practical reasons, but I got away without proper walking,  a sign of progress compared to my fun run training. I varied my route on that heading out of my neighbourhood onto a cycle route.  That means a steep hill to return to my hilltop home! The weather was pleasantly mild and soďden, rather refreshing after the recent spell of heat and humidity.  I liked the contrast of minimal running clothing with the heavily dressed dog walkers!

Week 3 seems ok so far. The challenge will be adapting around a weekend away...

Operation13.1 is go!

Training is underway for October's half marathon, with 11 weeks to go.

The training schedule is on the fridge with a handy highlighter pen and pen nearby to keep track. Week one went well under the circumstances; the circumstances involving a holiday. No runs while away, but while the little people were asleep and under the care of granny, we managed to do a couple of brisk walks in the evenings that we weren't visiting family. I took some running clothes and shoes on the unlikely chance that I might use them which turned out well as my sister in law asked me along to her kettlebells class. That was a good session. I'm familiar with them from my usual circuits class, but it certainly worked my muscles.

I may not have managed all the runs on the schedule, but I did get a long run in. I took advantage of the little people being in nursery to run in the daytime. Unfortunately, I caught the half hour of the day when the sun came out blazing. I'd rather have caught the downpour that was half an hour after my return home! With my running being so erratic/ non-existent in the last two months, I went out with an open mind, and managed 52 minutes. Some of it was walked when the heat got overwhelming, but I'm happy with that.

I've been in sole charge of the little people while my husband has been away doing the three peaks challenge. This has meant a plan B rather than my usual circuits and running combination. Saturday also involved spending most of the day with family, so I'm rather pleased I snuck in a productive session on my somewhat underused exercise bike. I tried using a Tabata timing app which I quite enjoyed. Like most exercise bikes, it's neglected because I find it dull, but the short bursts of exertion made it feel more meaningful. I impressed myself with my home made tablet holder aka two elastic bands.

Today, I headed out to a country park. I had hoped for a brisk walk with the pram, but my 3 year old was in an active mood which slowed the pace. We did some exercises with the outdoor gym, benches and resistance bands in Buggy Babes style. He's currently obsessed with "running shorts" (won't do long trousers at present). He also packed his little rucksack with a resistance band and "running water bottle". When asked in the cafe if he'd been walking, he replied that he'd been running. The journey home resulted in an unusual double nap, which I exploited by doing some exercises from my magazine with the swiss ball. I even had a go on the trampoline!

So given that most of the week has involved being away, or being in sole charge of the little people, I think that's been a good start. Roll on week two...

Running after the bandwagon

At the start of the month, I was feeling optimistic which soon turned to frustration. My good intentions were thwarted by my husband being busy at work, me being busy at work, teething related tiredness and some sadistic little illness that was like being whacked on the head with a sledgehammer for several days.

Optomism is back. I've finally cracked the stalemate that's dragged on for 7 weeks by going for a 25 minute run last night. I wanted it to be a comfortable run, and I did well considering the long break and the fact that I'd already tried to break myself at circuits 13 hours earlier.

It was rather enjoyable with the air having been freshened by a major thunderstorm a few hours earlier. Fortunately the flash floods had drained away, and the manholes ceased to bubble water from underneath. It was humid, but pleasant, although I returned home looking like I'd been caught in a downpour. I saw some distant flashes just as I returned home, but they didn't amount to much.

Today's aches and pains have originated from circuits and been focused on my upper body rather than from the run which is promising. Although it was far too long without a run, there had been some good workouts in there between circuits, buggy babes (usually carrying a 3 year old) and the hill walking.

Typically I manage to connect back up with my mojo days before going on holiday to interrupt the flow, but school holidays mean the prognosis is good after that... hmm... we'll see... October isn't so comfortably distant...

A little bit different to the intended plan

So this time last month, I was about to do the fun run, run the whole 8+ miles then get talked into a half marathon in October while on a post run high.

I think it's obvious how things have gone since then...

The first week off was planned as rest. Fair enough. Then OFSTED came to work, followed in close succession by Brownie Pack Holiday. A friend's big birthday celebrations and general busyness and upheaval at work have meant that running has been off the agenda. Oh, and at the end of the list, husband has hit a flurry of working away which keeps me in. So June saw very little running. The only action my running shoes have seen has been a fitness test which compared to 2 years ago when I was at my between babies high, I thrashed. Which was nice.

The good news is that while my running shoes have been gathering dust, my walking shoes have been gaining the dust of dry mud. Husband is in last minute training mode for the Three Peaks Challenge at the end of the month, so as a family, we've been weighting ourselves up with small children and doing evening walks in the hills. Pre children, this was a regular pastime. Pregnancy, bad weather and my joint problems last year meant that it's been a long time since we did this. The 1 year old is happy to jiggle up and down on our backs, and the 3 year old loves heading into the mountains like on Fireman Sam. Last night he packed a tool box of emergency supplies including a toy rescue helicopter! Sometimes he has a go at joining in which gives me an optimistic glow of family hikes in a few years.

Hopefully this weekend, I can get back onto my usual pattern of fitness class. Ive already decided that my first run will be a C25k track as I find them motivating and attainable. The challenge is to fit it in around life...

One Day

You know those "one day" ideas... the ones that there's a hazy notion in your head that it would be good to do something, but there's no solid intention of doing much about the idea, just that it might be one of those things that might be cool if you ever get round to doing it. The fun run was one of those...

It was an annual event of my childhood. The excitement would start with the plopping of cones down the middle of the road. Later the sound of traffic would cease, and for a few hours people would reclaim the normally busy road, walking down the town for the start, or neighbours setting up ready to spectate.

First the surge fresh from the start would come charging up the hill, then turn at the junction nearby, following the route through the roads and in to the far side of the park. There was a lull before the fastest runners in ones and twos would emerge from the park, down the roads, past the house for the last half mile downhill to the finish line in the town. The numbers would build up, the runners, then the walkers, novelty costumes. Then the numbers would begin to dwindle leving the exhausted, and those who had always intended a leisurely, cheery stroll.

My role was to cheer and shout encouraging words from the garden wall. "Well done!" "Nearly there!" "All downhill now!" I'd also spot the people I knew from school. The idea of joining in would cross my mind. I'd obviously be a walker as I was dreadful at running. The words 1500m would give me stitches and make me wheezy.  Maybe I'd do it in my ballet tutu... But I grew up, went to university, moved away. Sometimes I'd happen to be around on fun run day, but the familiar faces passing by had moved away too.

New year 2014. C25K was going well. 6 months would give me time to complete that and a 10k programme. I might not be ready to run the whole thing, but I could give it a good go. On Feb 1st, I signed up, my husband too. He was training to hike the 3 peaks. Logistics meant we struggle to hike together, and after a year of pregnancy, crutches and a slow and painful recovery after the birth, I felt ready for a personal challenge. My "one day" would be June 1st 2014.

Another Start

This isn't the true start. That was back in the autumn. That was when I'd had enough of panting up the hill to nursery and decided that my body was ready to push to the next stage and try to run by following the C25k plan. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived start as seasonal illness and life took over for a while. So another start, the traditional new year start arose and it was a good one. Picking up at week 3 again, and panting through 4 minute blocks of running with my heart pounding at 170+ beats per minute.

I kept going. Weeks 4, 5 and 6. And 6 again. The running time sneaking up week by week, session by session. For the first time in my life running for 20 minutes. Weeks 7, 8 and 9. Run 9.3, my "Graduation run" performed with a little personal ceremony at a country park on a bitter, soggy day. That one was a slog, but I put my mind to it, and rather uncomfortably, I did it. I ran past a pupil, and as well as "Miss", he saw a runner, and I felt proud when he asked if it was me the next day.

It was a worthy occasion for pride, but not a time to stagnate, because I had already set myself up for an ambitious challenge. The type where you suspect you have bitten off more than you can chew...