I admit it. I've been quiet for a while. I've got one of those full-time job things that's really messing with my time to play. With the long nights and murky weather, I've been struggling to do much. Looking back at my observations from this time last year, there is deja vu which consoles me. What I really miss is Buggy Babes which reliably got me out for an hour each week into daylight, so actually, although I have managed more runs than in the same period of last year, overall there's been less exercise done.
I'm aiming to do the 10k again in April so my immediate goal is to keep going at anything while the days are so gloomy and short. Then my motivation should pick up to concentrate on speed again.
A few positives are arising... My watch can now sync to Strava so I can share my runs again after my GPS on my old phone became distressingly inaccurate. Also in preparation for some DIY work, the exercise bike has moved to the conservatory which is proving to be more appealing, so I'm putting it to use on short tabata sessions. The days have now reached their shortest, so soon I won't feel like I'm completely nocturnal.
I have found the recent weather completely off-putting. I can do rain, but it's been that really dispiriting type, and the heavy overhanging gloom, winds and claggy clay mud of my favourite routes has done little to chivvy me out. I did have a cheery 5k escape last weekend when there was a brief interlude of sunshine and blue sky which spurred me on to face the mud. It was well worth putting my old trainers on for an invigorating mud bath!
I know this lull will pass. It's comforting that I can now see these cycles coming and going and knowing that they will pass. So hopefully there'll be a bit more time for running over the holidays, to set me off to a positive start for 2015.
Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!
Thursday 24 December 2015
Saturday 17 October 2015
HM2 Race Day!
Sunday 11th October 2015. My second half marathon...
I prepared my kit the night before, deliberating on the forecast temperatures of 9-12oC, and whether long sleeved or short sleeved tops would be more appropriate. Long sleeved won. In the morning, my family dropped me off to the university for the start. Long sleeves and reusing my foil blanket were helpful for the chilly wait to start.
I've always run alone, mainly for the practical reason that my runs have to slot around family life. I'm not routine about my plans so have never co-ordinated around anyone else. The first half of the race saw in a new experience for me as I met with a Brownie mum in the starting wave. We knew we were doing the same race, and we were aiming for a similar time zone, so it suited us to set off together.
I was aiming for 2:20:00 and worked out that an average pace of 6:38 mins/km would get me my target time. Starting off gently downhill with a pace around 6 min/km was faster than planned, but felt comfortable. People were passing faster than us, but having a companion was helping to resist the temptation to rush and risk burning out. At some points, I was checking my watch and easing back slightly constantly remaining faster than my target pace and practice efforts.
The early miles passed easily, a loop around a park, down a main residential road and into the city. The water station at mile 3 was a pleasant surprise. A few sips and on we went. We were now onto the reverse of the 10k route. I don't normally notice that the city centre is on a slope, and this was the uphill direction! Out of the city centre to the Pride Park commercial area. A bit dull, but we had a second park awaiting us. Around mile 5, I had a twinge in my left ankle. Not one of my regular niggles. I realised that with the route being a partial road closure of one way traffic, constantly running on the camber of the road with my left foot aiming up was the trigger. In the park, the flatter footpath helped the niggle to fade. As we approached the 6 mile station I had the first of my 3 gels that I'd tried successfully in training. My plan was to have one at around an hour, another at about 1.5 hours, and have a 3rd in reserve if I needed a boost towards 2 hours.
Through the scenic park past the lake and out the back to the River Derwent. Along here I decided that it wasn't going to get much better than this for a little diversion to a bush. I parted company from my partner for a moment, then managed a burst of speed to catch her up. No time lost from my average pace. By the end of the path she was needing to reduce the pace and we parted company. Back to the outskirts of Pride Park, then along the bus lane parallel to the A52 with traffic banking up from the restricted traffic into the city.
I kept the pace consistent. I began passing other people rather than being passed. One couple that had been in sight for some time had the well weathered male runner toying with the event, running ahead, looping around keeping his pace down to his partner. When I passed, I joked that he was making a marathon out of it, it turns out that he'd done the Berlin Marathon 2 weeks earlier. This was an easy recovery run for him!
We skirted the edge of the city. The twilight zone as geographers like to call it. The runners were well spread now. At points where there were bends ahead, no runners were in sight. At roughly 700 runners, this has been the smallest event I've participated in. As we were in an uninspiring industrial road, there were few supporters and no residents to cheer us along. I always knew that Stores Road had great potential to be a tedious mile. I was grateful for the good natured marshals, and the promise of my family waiting for me at the end of the road.
My family cheered me on, and buoyed by their presence, my pace had a little surge. I passed a lady who commented about where had I got my speed from at that stage. I said I could collapse when I was out of sight from them! I didn't though. I returned to my typical pace, still faster than anticipated. A brief stop to wriggle my toes and re-do my laces, then on past the rugby club towards the third park. I took my second gel before I began to lag. The park was busy with normal Sunday activity on the football pitches and people walking on the paths. At the end of the park, I got a special Brownie hug. I told her that her mum was coming up behind.
Another skirt back to the edge of the city before linking back to the original main road. I was still passing people out. Still keeping a consistent pace. Still feeling decent. The most notable uphill lay ahead in these final couple of miles. I began to sing. Mainly The Beautiful South and The Beatles. I used to sing when I walked to school, and found that remarkably few pop songs are suitable for singing with no musical backing! I returned to my ancient repertoire from the 20th Century. I didn't care if I sounded a bit crazy. I was getting more breathless, so singing was a way of not burning out.
The mile 13 marker. The final 0.1 of a mile, and what a beast! The hills had been rather subtle, apart from the final spurt up the drive to the university. Normally I can put on a final sprint when I can see that there's nothing else to save myself for, but the gradient took all my effort to maintain my pace, and the finish was cruelly lurking out of sight, tucked behind a bend.
At last it was done! I had been successful in completely running a half marathon. My watch revealed a time of 2:12:59, with the final chip time being 2:12:35, smashing my target of 2:20 and last years (hillier) HM time of 2:34:44. I proudly put on my finisher's t-shirt and medal, and set off to the playground to meet my family. As I walked down, my companion approached the finish line, several minutes faster than her target time.
I genuinely enjoyed this event. The route was varied, with the duller sections being counterbalanced by plenty of greenery. The marshals were encouraging. I had several pleasant encounters with other runners. I enjoyed running with company for the first time and it helped us both to pass the first half and prevent monotony sinking in. My training had prepared me to run in good time without injury. Being the first race of this event meant that the numbers were low and the runners were "serious" regular runners, many of which belonging to clubs. I'd performed favourably.
Recovery has been going well. I kept moving gently for the rest of the day. The next day, my knees were feeling a bit fragile and bruised, but that was all, and I went to Buggy Babes as usual, although took it gently and kept it low impact. I've gone 5k this week on a gentle run/ walk, just going by feel. A vast improvement on hobbling for two weeks and digging out the pelvic support from last years race!
I'm permitting myself to feel somewhat smug!
I prepared my kit the night before, deliberating on the forecast temperatures of 9-12oC, and whether long sleeved or short sleeved tops would be more appropriate. Long sleeved won. In the morning, my family dropped me off to the university for the start. Long sleeves and reusing my foil blanket were helpful for the chilly wait to start.
I've always run alone, mainly for the practical reason that my runs have to slot around family life. I'm not routine about my plans so have never co-ordinated around anyone else. The first half of the race saw in a new experience for me as I met with a Brownie mum in the starting wave. We knew we were doing the same race, and we were aiming for a similar time zone, so it suited us to set off together.
I was aiming for 2:20:00 and worked out that an average pace of 6:38 mins/km would get me my target time. Starting off gently downhill with a pace around 6 min/km was faster than planned, but felt comfortable. People were passing faster than us, but having a companion was helping to resist the temptation to rush and risk burning out. At some points, I was checking my watch and easing back slightly constantly remaining faster than my target pace and practice efforts.
The early miles passed easily, a loop around a park, down a main residential road and into the city. The water station at mile 3 was a pleasant surprise. A few sips and on we went. We were now onto the reverse of the 10k route. I don't normally notice that the city centre is on a slope, and this was the uphill direction! Out of the city centre to the Pride Park commercial area. A bit dull, but we had a second park awaiting us. Around mile 5, I had a twinge in my left ankle. Not one of my regular niggles. I realised that with the route being a partial road closure of one way traffic, constantly running on the camber of the road with my left foot aiming up was the trigger. In the park, the flatter footpath helped the niggle to fade. As we approached the 6 mile station I had the first of my 3 gels that I'd tried successfully in training. My plan was to have one at around an hour, another at about 1.5 hours, and have a 3rd in reserve if I needed a boost towards 2 hours.
Through the scenic park past the lake and out the back to the River Derwent. Along here I decided that it wasn't going to get much better than this for a little diversion to a bush. I parted company from my partner for a moment, then managed a burst of speed to catch her up. No time lost from my average pace. By the end of the path she was needing to reduce the pace and we parted company. Back to the outskirts of Pride Park, then along the bus lane parallel to the A52 with traffic banking up from the restricted traffic into the city.
I kept the pace consistent. I began passing other people rather than being passed. One couple that had been in sight for some time had the well weathered male runner toying with the event, running ahead, looping around keeping his pace down to his partner. When I passed, I joked that he was making a marathon out of it, it turns out that he'd done the Berlin Marathon 2 weeks earlier. This was an easy recovery run for him!
We skirted the edge of the city. The twilight zone as geographers like to call it. The runners were well spread now. At points where there were bends ahead, no runners were in sight. At roughly 700 runners, this has been the smallest event I've participated in. As we were in an uninspiring industrial road, there were few supporters and no residents to cheer us along. I always knew that Stores Road had great potential to be a tedious mile. I was grateful for the good natured marshals, and the promise of my family waiting for me at the end of the road.
My family cheered me on, and buoyed by their presence, my pace had a little surge. I passed a lady who commented about where had I got my speed from at that stage. I said I could collapse when I was out of sight from them! I didn't though. I returned to my typical pace, still faster than anticipated. A brief stop to wriggle my toes and re-do my laces, then on past the rugby club towards the third park. I took my second gel before I began to lag. The park was busy with normal Sunday activity on the football pitches and people walking on the paths. At the end of the park, I got a special Brownie hug. I told her that her mum was coming up behind.
Another skirt back to the edge of the city before linking back to the original main road. I was still passing people out. Still keeping a consistent pace. Still feeling decent. The most notable uphill lay ahead in these final couple of miles. I began to sing. Mainly The Beautiful South and The Beatles. I used to sing when I walked to school, and found that remarkably few pop songs are suitable for singing with no musical backing! I returned to my ancient repertoire from the 20th Century. I didn't care if I sounded a bit crazy. I was getting more breathless, so singing was a way of not burning out.
The mile 13 marker. The final 0.1 of a mile, and what a beast! The hills had been rather subtle, apart from the final spurt up the drive to the university. Normally I can put on a final sprint when I can see that there's nothing else to save myself for, but the gradient took all my effort to maintain my pace, and the finish was cruelly lurking out of sight, tucked behind a bend.
At last it was done! I had been successful in completely running a half marathon. My watch revealed a time of 2:12:59, with the final chip time being 2:12:35, smashing my target of 2:20 and last years (hillier) HM time of 2:34:44. I proudly put on my finisher's t-shirt and medal, and set off to the playground to meet my family. As I walked down, my companion approached the finish line, several minutes faster than her target time.
I genuinely enjoyed this event. The route was varied, with the duller sections being counterbalanced by plenty of greenery. The marshals were encouraging. I had several pleasant encounters with other runners. I enjoyed running with company for the first time and it helped us both to pass the first half and prevent monotony sinking in. My training had prepared me to run in good time without injury. Being the first race of this event meant that the numbers were low and the runners were "serious" regular runners, many of which belonging to clubs. I'd performed favourably.
Recovery has been going well. I kept moving gently for the rest of the day. The next day, my knees were feeling a bit fragile and bruised, but that was all, and I went to Buggy Babes as usual, although took it gently and kept it low impact. I've gone 5k this week on a gentle run/ walk, just going by feel. A vast improvement on hobbling for two weeks and digging out the pelvic support from last years race!
I'm permitting myself to feel somewhat smug!
Monday 5 October 2015
HM2 wk 12 Tapering!
Race day is within the week! Just a few easy runs left to go before I get to the start line.
I've really enjoyed training this year. There's been a few duff runs, either through tiredness, feeling grotty or unfortunate planetary alignments, but on balance I've been enjoying the runs and feeling that this is an attainable project. I've previously commented about being able to control my pace on the long slow runs. The 2 hour runs have gone well, running by far the majority of them. One was more of a run/walk due to a cold which was understandable, and I'm pleased that I got out there for the required time. My pace has been controlled and although I've covered less distance than might be hoped, the terrain I've been training on has been much more hilly than the mostly flat race route. The profile goes down from the start, stays mostly flat for the majority, then goes uphill for the last 3 miles. Living near the crest of a hill means I'm well used to huffing my way up at the end of my runs. Compared to last year I've also found that recovery has been easier with less tiredness, aches and niggles. I'm hoping that I won't be hobbling for 2 weeks after this HM!
Since my first run, I've kept a spreadsheet of all my runs. I've done about the same amount of training runs as last year, again the ones that have been missed off most have been the intervals. Given that the first month of training was somewhat interrupted, I feel that I've caught up well. In recent weeks, I've managed a few complete weeks from my plan.
So what next? My current guess is that much of this month will be a rest phase based on all my previous races! Then we'll be low on daylight. The local 10k should be on in the spring, so I think it's most likely and practical that like last year, I'll concentrate on speed for shorter distances. I'd better be looking out for 5k Santa runs as well. I've got a few variables lined up in the ether, so repeating this strategy keeps running practical around life, and keeps my options open. When I said "not yet" last time round, but kept my body used to running for an hour, it meant that it was "easy" to increase the distance this summer, even when the early weeks of training couldn't fit around the plan. I can safely say that I'm not doing the 2016 London Marathon, or any other marathon in the near future, and rather unlikely to do an HM in the next 6 months!
Roll on Sunday 11 October, I'm as ready as I'll ever be...
I've really enjoyed training this year. There's been a few duff runs, either through tiredness, feeling grotty or unfortunate planetary alignments, but on balance I've been enjoying the runs and feeling that this is an attainable project. I've previously commented about being able to control my pace on the long slow runs. The 2 hour runs have gone well, running by far the majority of them. One was more of a run/walk due to a cold which was understandable, and I'm pleased that I got out there for the required time. My pace has been controlled and although I've covered less distance than might be hoped, the terrain I've been training on has been much more hilly than the mostly flat race route. The profile goes down from the start, stays mostly flat for the majority, then goes uphill for the last 3 miles. Living near the crest of a hill means I'm well used to huffing my way up at the end of my runs. Compared to last year I've also found that recovery has been easier with less tiredness, aches and niggles. I'm hoping that I won't be hobbling for 2 weeks after this HM!
Since my first run, I've kept a spreadsheet of all my runs. I've done about the same amount of training runs as last year, again the ones that have been missed off most have been the intervals. Given that the first month of training was somewhat interrupted, I feel that I've caught up well. In recent weeks, I've managed a few complete weeks from my plan.
So what next? My current guess is that much of this month will be a rest phase based on all my previous races! Then we'll be low on daylight. The local 10k should be on in the spring, so I think it's most likely and practical that like last year, I'll concentrate on speed for shorter distances. I'd better be looking out for 5k Santa runs as well. I've got a few variables lined up in the ether, so repeating this strategy keeps running practical around life, and keeps my options open. When I said "not yet" last time round, but kept my body used to running for an hour, it meant that it was "easy" to increase the distance this summer, even when the early weeks of training couldn't fit around the plan. I can safely say that I'm not doing the 2016 London Marathon, or any other marathon in the near future, and rather unlikely to do an HM in the next 6 months!
Roll on Sunday 11 October, I'm as ready as I'll ever be...
Monday 14 September 2015
HM2 wk8 Long slow run
It's been a while since I updated. August was a mixed up month. A holiday affected a couple of weeks, however I did sneak some basic gear into my bag along side the camping gear crammed into the car. I did a couple of short runs along the beach which were lovely. Barefoot shoes are great against the sand. My watch has tracking functions and although I was under schedule for the HM training plan, I was generally active. I also slept better than usual!
I'm currently settling into new routines. A new run in my life is the school run. If I was genuinely running it, it would be two or three minutes away, however this is at 4 year old pace... An old routine that I'm returning to is my circuits class. Ouch, how I hurt after the first session. It was 4 days before I stopped hurting! However when being timed during the "300" (100 press ups, squats and mountain climbers broken into your choice of reps), I actually did it in good time, astonishing myself by beating some of the hard core regulars!
So the actual running... there's been a lack of some of the additional shorter paced runs, but between cross training and long runs I'm doing well. I've been building up to 1:45 hr runs for the first time in a year and they're going really well. When I was at this stage last year I could either run or walk and burned out easily, so a lot of my long runs featured a significant portion of walking. This time I'm finding that I can slow and relax the pace and keep it more sustainable. There's a few factors at play here, having a mellow long slow run play list, a watch that shows my current pace (compared to last year just getting the pace at the end of a mile from my phone) and probably more influential, having worked on my speed and different paces since my HM last year. I'm actually really enjoying these runs and I'm not feeling burned out like I did before. Even last week when I was recovering from the circuits class, I managed to run much more than I expected.
So next stage... build up to a couple of 2hr runs, and actually do some of those shorter faster runs!
I'm currently settling into new routines. A new run in my life is the school run. If I was genuinely running it, it would be two or three minutes away, however this is at 4 year old pace... An old routine that I'm returning to is my circuits class. Ouch, how I hurt after the first session. It was 4 days before I stopped hurting! However when being timed during the "300" (100 press ups, squats and mountain climbers broken into your choice of reps), I actually did it in good time, astonishing myself by beating some of the hard core regulars!
So the actual running... there's been a lack of some of the additional shorter paced runs, but between cross training and long runs I'm doing well. I've been building up to 1:45 hr runs for the first time in a year and they're going really well. When I was at this stage last year I could either run or walk and burned out easily, so a lot of my long runs featured a significant portion of walking. This time I'm finding that I can slow and relax the pace and keep it more sustainable. There's a few factors at play here, having a mellow long slow run play list, a watch that shows my current pace (compared to last year just getting the pace at the end of a mile from my phone) and probably more influential, having worked on my speed and different paces since my HM last year. I'm actually really enjoying these runs and I'm not feeling burned out like I did before. Even last week when I was recovering from the circuits class, I managed to run much more than I expected.
So next stage... build up to a couple of 2hr runs, and actually do some of those shorter faster runs!
Friday 7 August 2015
HM2 wk3: Bandwagon found and chased!
So I left off a month ago having decided to sign up to the Local HM in early October hoping it would shift me out of the doldrums.
Suddenly I find that I'm in week 3 of training with life having continued to be in the way until this week. I swear that this year had the longest summer term ever! I managed to fit in frequent short runs which is something. Many weekends have been dominated by preparations for Peak Camp, an international gathering of 6000 Guides and Scouts, and I've been one of the 1000 staff helping to make the event work. The camp itself wrote off week 2 of training which I reasonably expected, but in silver linings, it was a very active week even if it was constantly walking to water taps and toilet blocks rather than actually running.
So week 3 has really started in earnest. I did my long run mid-week on a child-free day. I opted to do it cross country so it was slow with extra hills and walking intervals, but longer in time than my plan. I thought that would be a lower impact way of getting used to a jump back to a longer time when I've done little above 35 minutes recently. Buggy Babes was also back on after several weeks of various interruptions. I followed up that day with a shorter run. I've used my other child-free day to go swimming. I'm a regular at the pool, but rarely for my own interests! I set an alarm to make sure that I made it to a lanes session, and enjoyed 55 minutes of pounding up and down a lane doing 60x 25m using mainly front crawl and some back stroke and breast stroke.
I've got similar opportunities again next week. Then there'll be the interruption of a 10 day family holiday...
Oh well, I keep reminding myself that I'm stronger and faster than my first try this time last year. Actually, that reminds me, this morning Timehop threw up that I'd posted 2 years ago about being really chuffed with myself for a walk. This was a few weeks after I couldn't face the pain of walking up the hill from the local shops because my joints were still suffering from pregnancy related issues, despite having had the baby a few months after. If you'd said to me 2 years ago that I'd be training for my second HM, I'd have assumed it was a complete joke! A bit of perspective can be a useful thing.
Suddenly I find that I'm in week 3 of training with life having continued to be in the way until this week. I swear that this year had the longest summer term ever! I managed to fit in frequent short runs which is something. Many weekends have been dominated by preparations for Peak Camp, an international gathering of 6000 Guides and Scouts, and I've been one of the 1000 staff helping to make the event work. The camp itself wrote off week 2 of training which I reasonably expected, but in silver linings, it was a very active week even if it was constantly walking to water taps and toilet blocks rather than actually running.
So week 3 has really started in earnest. I did my long run mid-week on a child-free day. I opted to do it cross country so it was slow with extra hills and walking intervals, but longer in time than my plan. I thought that would be a lower impact way of getting used to a jump back to a longer time when I've done little above 35 minutes recently. Buggy Babes was also back on after several weeks of various interruptions. I followed up that day with a shorter run. I've used my other child-free day to go swimming. I'm a regular at the pool, but rarely for my own interests! I set an alarm to make sure that I made it to a lanes session, and enjoyed 55 minutes of pounding up and down a lane doing 60x 25m using mainly front crawl and some back stroke and breast stroke.
I've got similar opportunities again next week. Then there'll be the interruption of a 10 day family holiday...
Oh well, I keep reminding myself that I'm stronger and faster than my first try this time last year. Actually, that reminds me, this morning Timehop threw up that I'd posted 2 years ago about being really chuffed with myself for a walk. This was a few weeks after I couldn't face the pain of walking up the hill from the local shops because my joints were still suffering from pregnancy related issues, despite having had the baby a few months after. If you'd said to me 2 years ago that I'd be training for my second HM, I'd have assumed it was a complete joke! A bit of perspective can be a useful thing.
Tuesday 7 July 2015
Never say never again!
OK, I've cracked and signed up for another half marathon. I didn't say "never again" after the last one, just "not yet".
A little bit has changed since then. My youngest child is a little bit more independent in the mornings which makes heading off for a run a bit easier on family life. I've not done many longer runs in a while, but I have improved my speed in that time which will have a benefit.
I've had another June lull as I've been busy with work taking over. The pressure is now easing with a little more time to run coming up. The summer holidays will bring some disruption to the training program, although they will be active times. I'm pulling out the one I used last year which worked well enough. It helped me build up the longer runs, but I struggled on some of the interval/ tempo runs which I now have more experience with. I liked the way that this one included cross-training which fits with my usual routines.
I'm trying to dig out my mojo. At the weekend I did a short interval run which felt plenty in the heat, and a longer run/ walk of just over an hour which is the longest non-race I've done for a while. I returned to the Greenway route now the rapeseed and its pollen have gone. I then encountered a different environmental hazard- nettles! The recent warm, wet weather has made them grow like crazy, and a path which was perfectly clear some weeks back was overgrown higher than my head! I was still throbbing the next day.
Here's to plenty more runs...
A little bit has changed since then. My youngest child is a little bit more independent in the mornings which makes heading off for a run a bit easier on family life. I've not done many longer runs in a while, but I have improved my speed in that time which will have a benefit.
I've had another June lull as I've been busy with work taking over. The pressure is now easing with a little more time to run coming up. The summer holidays will bring some disruption to the training program, although they will be active times. I'm pulling out the one I used last year which worked well enough. It helped me build up the longer runs, but I struggled on some of the interval/ tempo runs which I now have more experience with. I liked the way that this one included cross-training which fits with my usual routines.
I'm trying to dig out my mojo. At the weekend I did a short interval run which felt plenty in the heat, and a longer run/ walk of just over an hour which is the longest non-race I've done for a while. I returned to the Greenway route now the rapeseed and its pollen have gone. I then encountered a different environmental hazard- nettles! The recent warm, wet weather has made them grow like crazy, and a path which was perfectly clear some weeks back was overgrown higher than my head! I was still throbbing the next day.
Here's to plenty more runs...
Monday 15 June 2015
Deja Vu
In imitation of last year, I have done my fun run then had a lull.
As promised, I did the fun run in my ancient tutu completing my childhood daydream. Despite my body's attempt at sabotage, the run went well. It was rather a cool soggy day, so I headed down the town sporting a fetching bin bag and wearing a cap instead of putting my hair into a bun. The uphill start got my body warm fairly quickly, and as I reached the top of the hill, my little people were there to cheer me on looking more enthused than last year.
One of the great things about this run is that its's a true community event with the town coming out to support despite inclement weather, and participants of all abilities. The logistical glitch is that in the early stages, it's hard to pick your way around people of a variety of paces. After a couple of miles as you enter the park, it spreads out and gets easier to pace. Much of the run is through the park; very scenic on the eyes. This time I had more sense of where I was going. Last year at 5 miles there was the thrill that this was already the furthest I'd run without resting or walking. This year was the confidence that I knew I could do it, with a tad of pressure of wanting to beat my time.
Mile 6... Cardiac Hill looms. It's late in the race, and people are flagging. The challenge is to keep running and get past the walkers without losing momentum. The hill was not creatively named, it has claimed its victims in the past, The water station at the top is well placed. From this point you know the main challenge has been passed. It's pretty much downhill from here, but it is still two miles. I reminded myself that this was just the walk home from school, and as I bonus, I'm not laden with A-level textbooks (David Waugh's Integrated Approach fed my mind and gave a good strength workout). I'm still smiling and enjoying it. At this point I register the difference a year makes. Last year, this point hurt, and mental steel got me to the end and the stunned realisation that I could actually run the whole thing. I now expect to run the whole thing, but how fast? The gentle downhill meant that some of my fastest kms were along this stretch. I began to hum "run for home" out loud. I approached my mums house... I spotted my children... I waved manically. My husband shouted something daft and insulting and I responded with a brief sprint before returning to my intended pace.
The last half mile. I'm beginning to feel it. It's a mental battle to keep it going that little bit longer. The town centre comes into sight, the final sprint- no need to reserve the energy to keep going. Past the finish line. Before deducting the two minutes on the clock from passing the start line, I have definitely been faster than last year. But how much faster? I have an estimate on my GPS, but there's a wait until the local paper is published before it's issued online. It's sweet to maintain the tradition of the paper declaring it first, but boy is is frustrating!
The recovery was astonishingly smooth. No additional aches or creaks the following day and a mild stiffness the day after, but that may have been more to do with Buggy Babes and an astute 4 year old claiming the shelter of the pram and ousting his brother to the carrier on my back!
Friday came... the target was to beat last year's 1:30:44. Hopefully down to 1:20:00, but I didn't know how realistic that could be. The official result was... 1:21:52, so I wasn't way off in my ambitions.Given the rain and my body not feeling it's greatest before starting, I'm happy with that. My training in recent months has been more about pace and speed rather than distance. I've done very little of an hour +, so to sustain that effort for that long is a pleasing result.
Typically, I've had a lull of life taking over again. My husband has been away a few times in the last couple of weeks, so I've been kept in from that. Guiding commitments and general work have also been getting in the way, I have ended my drought now. Yesterday with a soggy monsoon walk/ run effort with an obstructive stitch, but at least I made it out. This morning with a short interval session before my husband popped off to the airport. I got the best weather of the day, fresh sunshine before the cloud and drizzle returned. Yesterdays soaking was the refreshing type when it's quite enjoyable when you're prepared for it. Today was more of a mizzle.
So... What next? The calendar is empty of running events. I have something I'm considering, but it's the classic issue of time and building up the training runs over a busy summer. I need something on the agenda though...
As promised, I did the fun run in my ancient tutu completing my childhood daydream. Despite my body's attempt at sabotage, the run went well. It was rather a cool soggy day, so I headed down the town sporting a fetching bin bag and wearing a cap instead of putting my hair into a bun. The uphill start got my body warm fairly quickly, and as I reached the top of the hill, my little people were there to cheer me on looking more enthused than last year.
One of the great things about this run is that its's a true community event with the town coming out to support despite inclement weather, and participants of all abilities. The logistical glitch is that in the early stages, it's hard to pick your way around people of a variety of paces. After a couple of miles as you enter the park, it spreads out and gets easier to pace. Much of the run is through the park; very scenic on the eyes. This time I had more sense of where I was going. Last year at 5 miles there was the thrill that this was already the furthest I'd run without resting or walking. This year was the confidence that I knew I could do it, with a tad of pressure of wanting to beat my time.
Mile 6... Cardiac Hill looms. It's late in the race, and people are flagging. The challenge is to keep running and get past the walkers without losing momentum. The hill was not creatively named, it has claimed its victims in the past, The water station at the top is well placed. From this point you know the main challenge has been passed. It's pretty much downhill from here, but it is still two miles. I reminded myself that this was just the walk home from school, and as I bonus, I'm not laden with A-level textbooks (David Waugh's Integrated Approach fed my mind and gave a good strength workout). I'm still smiling and enjoying it. At this point I register the difference a year makes. Last year, this point hurt, and mental steel got me to the end and the stunned realisation that I could actually run the whole thing. I now expect to run the whole thing, but how fast? The gentle downhill meant that some of my fastest kms were along this stretch. I began to hum "run for home" out loud. I approached my mums house... I spotted my children... I waved manically. My husband shouted something daft and insulting and I responded with a brief sprint before returning to my intended pace.
The last half mile. I'm beginning to feel it. It's a mental battle to keep it going that little bit longer. The town centre comes into sight, the final sprint- no need to reserve the energy to keep going. Past the finish line. Before deducting the two minutes on the clock from passing the start line, I have definitely been faster than last year. But how much faster? I have an estimate on my GPS, but there's a wait until the local paper is published before it's issued online. It's sweet to maintain the tradition of the paper declaring it first, but boy is is frustrating!
The recovery was astonishingly smooth. No additional aches or creaks the following day and a mild stiffness the day after, but that may have been more to do with Buggy Babes and an astute 4 year old claiming the shelter of the pram and ousting his brother to the carrier on my back!
Friday came... the target was to beat last year's 1:30:44. Hopefully down to 1:20:00, but I didn't know how realistic that could be. The official result was... 1:21:52, so I wasn't way off in my ambitions.Given the rain and my body not feeling it's greatest before starting, I'm happy with that. My training in recent months has been more about pace and speed rather than distance. I've done very little of an hour +, so to sustain that effort for that long is a pleasing result.
Typically, I've had a lull of life taking over again. My husband has been away a few times in the last couple of weeks, so I've been kept in from that. Guiding commitments and general work have also been getting in the way, I have ended my drought now. Yesterday with a soggy monsoon walk/ run effort with an obstructive stitch, but at least I made it out. This morning with a short interval session before my husband popped off to the airport. I got the best weather of the day, fresh sunshine before the cloud and drizzle returned. Yesterdays soaking was the refreshing type when it's quite enjoyable when you're prepared for it. Today was more of a mizzle.
So... What next? The calendar is empty of running events. I have something I'm considering, but it's the classic issue of time and building up the training runs over a busy summer. I need something on the agenda though...
Sunday 17 May 2015
Last minute panic training
Yep, that stage of training, the two-weeks-to-blitz.
In two weeks I'll have done my 8.5 mile fun run. With tutu. I'm on good form for 10k which is most of the way there, so it will be a bit of a jump from my current comfort zone, but I'm optimistic. It's my first repeat of an event, and this time last year I hasn't gone that far before, and still did it in a good time, and this year, I've got a better fitness base behind me.
This week saw my first pre-work run. I was prepared. Prepared as in substituting pajamas for fresh running clothes to cut my pre-run faffery. I'm chuffed to have got myself out of the house by 6:22 am. It was just a short one, a trip around the block, and my body wasn't really interested in waking up and shaking off my regular morning stiffness. But I did it. It counted as a run. I followed up the next morning with a short kettlebell DVD.
Saturday saw another deviation from my routines. 9am is my circuits slot which usually wins over Parkrun as it covers strength work and only involves a 4 minute walk to get there. This week I had an awkwardly timed osteopath appointment which made the location and timing more convenient. It's in the same park as Buggy Babes, so I'm used to the big hill on the course. As I slog the two laps up there, I remind myself that it's easier to run than lug the pram, 2 year old and 4 year old up it! The run went well, I followed my strategy from the 10k of keeping my watch displaying pace. I could feel my body working hard, but I reminded myself that it was only half the work of the 10k, and that I could do it. I ran all of it, and was cheered on near the end by my husband's colleague who had finished a few minutes earlier. Early indications showed a time of 29:15. The official time came in at 29:02. A PB shaving just over a minute off my first attempt of 30:13 in February. I think that counts as progress. According to Parkrun stats, I'm average for my age/sex rating- I'm happy with that! Given that 2 years ago I couldn't walk home from the local shops.
Sunday is my usual long run day. The youngest woke early, then mercifully went back to sleep after a light breakfast. I stayed up. I wanted to be out for the amount of time I want to run the fun run in. I wasn't so concerned about distance, just the stamina to be moving that long. Just as well, as my body wasn't on best form from it's endeavours the previous day. I used the Stamina track twice to help keep me moving, but I developed a twinge around my knee so adjusted my route to get me closer to home and walked to the beat to avoid aggravating it. I don't want an injury! It was still an enjoyable trip out. Lots of birds, startled squirrels, cats and a St Bernard and Irish Wolfhound. The bluebells are still out, and I got the best of the day's sunshine.
Next weekend... camping!
In two weeks I'll have done my 8.5 mile fun run. With tutu. I'm on good form for 10k which is most of the way there, so it will be a bit of a jump from my current comfort zone, but I'm optimistic. It's my first repeat of an event, and this time last year I hasn't gone that far before, and still did it in a good time, and this year, I've got a better fitness base behind me.
This week saw my first pre-work run. I was prepared. Prepared as in substituting pajamas for fresh running clothes to cut my pre-run faffery. I'm chuffed to have got myself out of the house by 6:22 am. It was just a short one, a trip around the block, and my body wasn't really interested in waking up and shaking off my regular morning stiffness. But I did it. It counted as a run. I followed up the next morning with a short kettlebell DVD.
Saturday saw another deviation from my routines. 9am is my circuits slot which usually wins over Parkrun as it covers strength work and only involves a 4 minute walk to get there. This week I had an awkwardly timed osteopath appointment which made the location and timing more convenient. It's in the same park as Buggy Babes, so I'm used to the big hill on the course. As I slog the two laps up there, I remind myself that it's easier to run than lug the pram, 2 year old and 4 year old up it! The run went well, I followed my strategy from the 10k of keeping my watch displaying pace. I could feel my body working hard, but I reminded myself that it was only half the work of the 10k, and that I could do it. I ran all of it, and was cheered on near the end by my husband's colleague who had finished a few minutes earlier. Early indications showed a time of 29:15. The official time came in at 29:02. A PB shaving just over a minute off my first attempt of 30:13 in February. I think that counts as progress. According to Parkrun stats, I'm average for my age/sex rating- I'm happy with that! Given that 2 years ago I couldn't walk home from the local shops.
Sunday is my usual long run day. The youngest woke early, then mercifully went back to sleep after a light breakfast. I stayed up. I wanted to be out for the amount of time I want to run the fun run in. I wasn't so concerned about distance, just the stamina to be moving that long. Just as well, as my body wasn't on best form from it's endeavours the previous day. I used the Stamina track twice to help keep me moving, but I developed a twinge around my knee so adjusted my route to get me closer to home and walked to the beat to avoid aggravating it. I don't want an injury! It was still an enjoyable trip out. Lots of birds, startled squirrels, cats and a St Bernard and Irish Wolfhound. The bluebells are still out, and I got the best of the day's sunshine.
Next weekend... camping!
Saturday 2 May 2015
To add house arrest to injury
Yet another post race lull.
The recovery was short and sweet, a little stiffness the next day, but nothing to stop my usual Buggy Babes session. Other than that it was a fairly quiet week taking it easy.
Got up as usual for my Saturday Circuits class. Shortly after getting up, I found I had a sharp stitchy pain in my shoulder. I went to Circuits, but took it easy with some of the moves; it was more the jolting jumpy moves that made it moan rather than lifting. Later on I stiffened up, and got crampy around my neck. My initial thought was that I'd slept funny. I later realised that I wasn't far wrong, I'd fallen asleep in the chair, and curled around the wooden arm, something I usually get away with.
Sunday was little better, but at least any shot at running was off the agenda as my husband headed abroad with work for most of the week, eliminating any chance of a solo escape from the house. I managed Buggy Babes, even with a stint of 4 year old on my back, but my main focus of the week became yoga and pilates in a hope of trying to ease the remaining stiffness.
I headed out today with no agenda and few expectations. The weather wasn't inspiring, and I wasn't sure what my body would feel up to. It ended up being mostly a walk with some running intervals mixed in. I was in the kind of mood to pause and take pictures of the bluebells in the woods, and the fields behind. I'm getting better at accepting runs like this. I am a runner. I can perform on the day. Sometimes by brain and body aren't in the mood. I have found times like this frustrating. I want to run, but sometimes the mental battle of those first couple of miles is too much, and ultimately I need to enjoy my running. It shouldn't be an obligation or burden.
So onwards and upwards. Tomorrow is a new day.
The recovery was short and sweet, a little stiffness the next day, but nothing to stop my usual Buggy Babes session. Other than that it was a fairly quiet week taking it easy.
Got up as usual for my Saturday Circuits class. Shortly after getting up, I found I had a sharp stitchy pain in my shoulder. I went to Circuits, but took it easy with some of the moves; it was more the jolting jumpy moves that made it moan rather than lifting. Later on I stiffened up, and got crampy around my neck. My initial thought was that I'd slept funny. I later realised that I wasn't far wrong, I'd fallen asleep in the chair, and curled around the wooden arm, something I usually get away with.
Sunday was little better, but at least any shot at running was off the agenda as my husband headed abroad with work for most of the week, eliminating any chance of a solo escape from the house. I managed Buggy Babes, even with a stint of 4 year old on my back, but my main focus of the week became yoga and pilates in a hope of trying to ease the remaining stiffness.
I headed out today with no agenda and few expectations. The weather wasn't inspiring, and I wasn't sure what my body would feel up to. It ended up being mostly a walk with some running intervals mixed in. I was in the kind of mood to pause and take pictures of the bluebells in the woods, and the fields behind. I'm getting better at accepting runs like this. I am a runner. I can perform on the day. Sometimes by brain and body aren't in the mood. I have found times like this frustrating. I want to run, but sometimes the mental battle of those first couple of miles is too much, and ultimately I need to enjoy my running. It shouldn't be an obligation or burden.
Sunday 26 April 2015
The 10k
Sunday 19th April was race day. The local 10k, and my first event of this distance. The goal: an hour. The chances: promising with a small leap of faith.
I was dropped off near to the start, with a small warm up walk to wake my body up. I got into conversation with another runner on the way with a pleasant 10 minute friendly chat of runners' small talk. It was rather a chilly start, overcast with a bracing breeze. Fine once I got going, but I was rather grateful for the foil blanket I'd saved from my HM, especially as it folded up into my belt.
On my way to finding the assembly point for my wave, I bumped into my friend also in the same wave, so we stayed together for a little while, ending up at the front of the wave. The glitch of this was that on setting off, many people were passing me out, and no one slower ahead to pass. A little demoralising until I looked at my watch which showed a pace between 5-6 min kms, which was the right league for my goal. Slightly faster than I anticipated, but I felt good on it so kept going.
The first couple of kms were a bit uninspiring around a commercial park, with a there and back loop before heading off to town. The return leg was better as I appreciated seeing the wave of people behind, coming up in the opposite direction.
By the time we got to town, my body was in the flow and feeling very grateful for my osteopath beating, dragging and "massaging" the tension out from my legs earlier in the week. Before too long it was the halfway point and the drinks station. This was the more interesting section through the city centre. My pace was still consistent. At some point early on, S Club 7s "don't stop moving" started rattling through my head, a pleasantly distracting motivation that I was suprisingly happy to keep there.
The last zone out of town, the runners more spaced, people begining to flag. I was doing more passing than being passed. My thigh began to whinge so I lied to myself that pain is just muscles saying more please! " It was just a tired muscle ache, and the end was drawing nearer. It was mildly annoying, but wasn't looking likely to be a hinderence. The final kilometre, my family standing on the corner to cheer me. My plan of psycadellic leggings for easy spotting worked! I had enough breath to enthusiasticly greet my children. The stadium came into view. I ramped up into my final gear, the finishers sprint. I was feeling good, my pace had been consistently better than my intended 6 min km. I passed the line. I stopped my watch as I walked the lap around the stadium. My chip time would be better than what my watch told me, and I was more than pleased with the watch.
The official verdict was 0:55:35, 24 seconds better than my watch's recording. My target of 60 minutes was smashed! The aftermath wasn't bad, a couple of days of routine muscle tiredness, not enough to put me off Buggy Babes the following day. I really enjoyed the experience, a good combination of managable, yet remaining a challenge. My next event is the 8.5 mile fun run in a month, so this will stand me in good stead.
Postscript
Later in the week, a Brownie parent who had also been in the race commented that she'd seen my picture in the paper. I thought she meant the Buggy Babes picture, but no, it was the 10k. I'd noticed a gaggle of photographers near the start, and being about 3 peopke deep in the wave, they'd got a clear shot of me and published it in the suppliment. Two photos of my athletic prowess in the local paper in a month! Not bad from the girl who came in a lap behind in the 1500m on sports day 20 years ago, wheezing over the finishing line as requests for a first aider were made!
I was dropped off near to the start, with a small warm up walk to wake my body up. I got into conversation with another runner on the way with a pleasant 10 minute friendly chat of runners' small talk. It was rather a chilly start, overcast with a bracing breeze. Fine once I got going, but I was rather grateful for the foil blanket I'd saved from my HM, especially as it folded up into my belt.
On my way to finding the assembly point for my wave, I bumped into my friend also in the same wave, so we stayed together for a little while, ending up at the front of the wave. The glitch of this was that on setting off, many people were passing me out, and no one slower ahead to pass. A little demoralising until I looked at my watch which showed a pace between 5-6 min kms, which was the right league for my goal. Slightly faster than I anticipated, but I felt good on it so kept going.
The first couple of kms were a bit uninspiring around a commercial park, with a there and back loop before heading off to town. The return leg was better as I appreciated seeing the wave of people behind, coming up in the opposite direction.
By the time we got to town, my body was in the flow and feeling very grateful for my osteopath beating, dragging and "massaging" the tension out from my legs earlier in the week. Before too long it was the halfway point and the drinks station. This was the more interesting section through the city centre. My pace was still consistent. At some point early on, S Club 7s "don't stop moving" started rattling through my head, a pleasantly distracting motivation that I was suprisingly happy to keep there.
The last zone out of town, the runners more spaced, people begining to flag. I was doing more passing than being passed. My thigh began to whinge so I lied to myself that pain is just muscles saying more please! " It was just a tired muscle ache, and the end was drawing nearer. It was mildly annoying, but wasn't looking likely to be a hinderence. The final kilometre, my family standing on the corner to cheer me. My plan of psycadellic leggings for easy spotting worked! I had enough breath to enthusiasticly greet my children. The stadium came into view. I ramped up into my final gear, the finishers sprint. I was feeling good, my pace had been consistently better than my intended 6 min km. I passed the line. I stopped my watch as I walked the lap around the stadium. My chip time would be better than what my watch told me, and I was more than pleased with the watch.
The official verdict was 0:55:35, 24 seconds better than my watch's recording. My target of 60 minutes was smashed! The aftermath wasn't bad, a couple of days of routine muscle tiredness, not enough to put me off Buggy Babes the following day. I really enjoyed the experience, a good combination of managable, yet remaining a challenge. My next event is the 8.5 mile fun run in a month, so this will stand me in good stead.
Postscript
Later in the week, a Brownie parent who had also been in the race commented that she'd seen my picture in the paper. I thought she meant the Buggy Babes picture, but no, it was the 10k. I'd noticed a gaggle of photographers near the start, and being about 3 peopke deep in the wave, they'd got a clear shot of me and published it in the suppliment. Two photos of my athletic prowess in the local paper in a month! Not bad from the girl who came in a lap behind in the 1500m on sports day 20 years ago, wheezing over the finishing line as requests for a first aider were made!
Tuesday 14 April 2015
Preparing for the 10k
I have my 10k race at the weekend. The timing is quite good as the start of school term is a natural time to taper, and the 2 weeks of Easter holiday was a good chance for a last boost to my training. I'm capable of running it all, so I've been trying to concentrate on that 6 min km pace to try to reach my goal of an hour. I've been close, so I'm hoping that the race day atmosphere, flat course (compared to my training) and lack of roads to cross will make that subtle difference.
I've had some good sessions. On one, I ran the 10k, and just felt really good. I came in slightly off my target, but it was a really enjoyable run with little resistance from my body. I went for a longer run/ walk into the countryside on another day, 8 miles in 2 hours, bearing in mind, it's hilly, muddy and lots of gates and stiles to slow me down. I wanted a hit of countryside, and thought a longer session would be good for stamina. I also drove to an interesting park and ran a couple of laps. I normally run from home to maximise my time, so a change of scenery is a nice novelty.
My main gripe at the moment is tight calves and thighs, so hopefully a visit to the osteopath will ease those out. It's the time of the month when my body reminds me I'm due for a visit with random niggles and tension.
My 4 year old wants to go and spectate. He's getting into my fitness bug. He's even been in the local paper! A couple of weeks ago, our Buggy Babes class were working out as a reporter for the local paper passed by, so he took some pictures of the class, and last week we had a spread of pictures including one of me pushing the pram, accompanied by my son jogging along with us. I hope this is the start of a long term love of active living, because fitness helps you get the most of life in all areas. It's good for me to have the motivation of my time goal for the race, but in the big picture, the key thing that matters is that I am fit and able to enjoy my life much more than when I am not. But I won't argue with the bonus of meeting some goals along the way!
I have also achieved my 100th run. Permission to feel smug please.
I've had some good sessions. On one, I ran the 10k, and just felt really good. I came in slightly off my target, but it was a really enjoyable run with little resistance from my body. I went for a longer run/ walk into the countryside on another day, 8 miles in 2 hours, bearing in mind, it's hilly, muddy and lots of gates and stiles to slow me down. I wanted a hit of countryside, and thought a longer session would be good for stamina. I also drove to an interesting park and ran a couple of laps. I normally run from home to maximise my time, so a change of scenery is a nice novelty.
My main gripe at the moment is tight calves and thighs, so hopefully a visit to the osteopath will ease those out. It's the time of the month when my body reminds me I'm due for a visit with random niggles and tension.
My 4 year old wants to go and spectate. He's getting into my fitness bug. He's even been in the local paper! A couple of weeks ago, our Buggy Babes class were working out as a reporter for the local paper passed by, so he took some pictures of the class, and last week we had a spread of pictures including one of me pushing the pram, accompanied by my son jogging along with us. I hope this is the start of a long term love of active living, because fitness helps you get the most of life in all areas. It's good for me to have the motivation of my time goal for the race, but in the big picture, the key thing that matters is that I am fit and able to enjoy my life much more than when I am not. But I won't argue with the bonus of meeting some goals along the way!
I have also achieved my 100th run. Permission to feel smug please.
Wednesday 1 April 2015
Still Marching on
I've been quiet of late. Mainly due to the tablet lying hidden at the bottom of the toy box for 6 weeks. In good news, my running hasn't been so badly neglected. It's been a plodding phase of one or two runs per week, plus my usual cross training. Hopes of more strategic training for my 10k have been thwarted by feeling poorly, and a busy phase at work. A weekend away meant none of my usual fitness routine, but that was more than mitigated by it being the International Fitness Showcase. The Saturday saw 7 hours of aerobics, dance and urban bootcamp. The Sunday saw some restorative pilates! I enjoyed it much more this year as a result of my improved fitness and stamina. This time last year, I was completing the C25k, and had less than 3 months of serious exercise behind me as I recovered from the toll of baby 2.
One of the attractions of running at the moment, is that it's a measure of my fitness. I've kept a log since the start, and have done about 95 runs now. By the time I've do the 10k, I should have done my 100th. My current plan is to use the Easter holiday to polish pace a bit more. I can do the distance, and know that I mentally find races easier for keeping going in a pack and having a crowd of support. This one will also be easier for being flat compared to my neighbourhood. No up hills will help my pace on the day. I'm still hoping to run it in an hour.
Last night I focused on pace. I was slightly under target, but that wasn't helped by strong head winds while running up hill. My other challenge of the evening was losing my gloves. As I lapped past the house, I pushed them into a bush, but failed to find them on my return. Fortunately that was down to struggling to see grey gloves in dark green foliage by the LEDs on my cap, as I managed to see them easily enough by daylight.
For my birthday a few weeks back, I got a GPS watch with HR monitor. I'm finding it more reliable than my previous one. Also the GPS signal is being more reliable, and not creating some random declartions of sucess like 3 minute miles. Being able to break the recordings into sections is quite interesting for my inner geek! Hopefully I can use it in a meaningful way to boost my speed.
One of the attractions of running at the moment, is that it's a measure of my fitness. I've kept a log since the start, and have done about 95 runs now. By the time I've do the 10k, I should have done my 100th. My current plan is to use the Easter holiday to polish pace a bit more. I can do the distance, and know that I mentally find races easier for keeping going in a pack and having a crowd of support. This one will also be easier for being flat compared to my neighbourhood. No up hills will help my pace on the day. I'm still hoping to run it in an hour.
Last night I focused on pace. I was slightly under target, but that wasn't helped by strong head winds while running up hill. My other challenge of the evening was losing my gloves. As I lapped past the house, I pushed them into a bush, but failed to find them on my return. Fortunately that was down to struggling to see grey gloves in dark green foliage by the LEDs on my cap, as I managed to see them easily enough by daylight.
For my birthday a few weeks back, I got a GPS watch with HR monitor. I'm finding it more reliable than my previous one. Also the GPS signal is being more reliable, and not creating some random declartions of sucess like 3 minute miles. Being able to break the recordings into sections is quite interesting for my inner geek! Hopefully I can use it in a meaningful way to boost my speed.
Sunday 18 January 2015
A little bit faster
My January total of runs now equals November and December. I'm finding two runs a week sensible to manage, plus my cross training. Circumstances conspired against my usual activities so I headed out for a short, quick run, and short and quick it was! I did my fitness test loop and got a PB of 00:10:34 for a 1.34 mile run. That's 4 minutes quicker than last year. Back in 2008, before there were two twinkles in my eyes, I did it in 18+ minutes with a mixture of running to a lamp post and panting to the next.
Since the HM, my runs have been fairly short, usually around the 30-40 minute mark, so I felt it was time to go for the hour / 6 mile zone, and I did! I've changed my pre run preparation as I've noticed that dairy seems to have inconvenient side effects, so today I went for an energy drink which seemed to give the right amount of fuel for the job without creating too much digestive work. My energy remained good, and I managed to maintain a good pace of running without burning out or needing to walk like usual, and that had a really positive effect on my pace. Most of my miles had a pace of 10 mins or less which bodes well for my 1 hour target in April.
Today I used my usual combination of Zombies app and music, but to encourage faster pacing on my shorter runs, I've recently downloaded some tracks aimed at specific paces. Not my favoured style of music, but it seems to be having a positive effect to getting to target.
Since the HM, my runs have been fairly short, usually around the 30-40 minute mark, so I felt it was time to go for the hour / 6 mile zone, and I did! I've changed my pre run preparation as I've noticed that dairy seems to have inconvenient side effects, so today I went for an energy drink which seemed to give the right amount of fuel for the job without creating too much digestive work. My energy remained good, and I managed to maintain a good pace of running without burning out or needing to walk like usual, and that had a really positive effect on my pace. Most of my miles had a pace of 10 mins or less which bodes well for my 1 hour target in April.
Today I used my usual combination of Zombies app and music, but to encourage faster pacing on my shorter runs, I've recently downloaded some tracks aimed at specific paces. Not my favoured style of music, but it seems to be having a positive effect to getting to target.
Saturday 3 January 2015
Snow fun
On Boxing Day it snowed. Properly. Then froze and stuck around. No gritters ventured in to the neighbourhood so the roads and pavements were in dreadful condition. I'm proud to say that I was not thrawted. I decided to do a short, fast run, doing laps of the local wood where there was more give in the ground. I couldn't help but say "wow" at the view of the fields behind, pristinely white and sparkling against the sharp blue sky. Alas, I didn't have my phone in me for a crafty picture.
One of the things I love about running is the freedom combined with the rebellion of being severely underdressed compared to the booted, hat and gloved walkers in their snug coats. Two long sleeved t-shirts and my windstopper, gloves and a fleece headband were more than enough to keep sufficient body heat for the occasion, a strong contrast to my sledging gear!
I then had a couple of days off as the state of the ice got worse. By New Years Day it had thawed so I hit the roads aiming to do 3x3min interval runs. I need to work on the recovery bit as I tend to end up at a walk rather than gentle run. This was the weak part of my HM training, so I'll focus on this type of work before starting a 10k plan (excuse to rummage through my magazines)
This morning was a return to circuits. I've noticed since the autumn that I'm able to put a bit of power into burpees for the first time which I think can be attributed to the running. All in all, a productive start to 2015.
One of the things I love about running is the freedom combined with the rebellion of being severely underdressed compared to the booted, hat and gloved walkers in their snug coats. Two long sleeved t-shirts and my windstopper, gloves and a fleece headband were more than enough to keep sufficient body heat for the occasion, a strong contrast to my sledging gear!
I then had a couple of days off as the state of the ice got worse. By New Years Day it had thawed so I hit the roads aiming to do 3x3min interval runs. I need to work on the recovery bit as I tend to end up at a walk rather than gentle run. This was the weak part of my HM training, so I'll focus on this type of work before starting a 10k plan (excuse to rummage through my magazines)
This morning was a return to circuits. I've noticed since the autumn that I'm able to put a bit of power into burpees for the first time which I think can be attributed to the running. All in all, a productive start to 2015.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)