Month: May 2011

Out of routine!

Hey!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and stuff about the run- it means loads to me to have so much encouragement and advice and so on. So thanks.

Because of my general excitement yesterday, I totally forgot about my training review of the week- these bank holidays are messing up my routine big time.

So this is for last week:

Monday- 9.5 mile run in the morning (think it was cooler but can’t really remember back that far!)

Tuesday- Aerobics as usual

Wednesday- 5.7 miles after work- think this was when my enthusiasm was low. But I did it.

Thursday- Body pump- back to my highest weights for the squats, a bit higher for the back.

Friday- Quick 3 mile run before breakfast (30 mins), plus some walking

Saturday- lots of gentle walking- we walked all day around various gardens and towns and stuff. So not really much rest!

Sunday- 20 mile race/ training run. (Check it out- I looked at the results here and the last person finished after the 4 hour cut off! I really did not need to panic! And seriously, how did the winner finish in 2 hours??)Plus some walking (and worrying about falling into a river- Andy only took pictures of me in case I fell in I reckon!).

Honestly my legs were so sore and some of the gaps are really big (plus the surface was slippery) I really did think I might fall in!

This means that in that past week my mileage got up to a whopping 38 miles! And as I have had my Nike+ a year (it was my pressie from Andy last year) I have done 948 miles in a year! Not bad!

So Monday was a rest day, and I just realised looking back that it was my first real rest day in a week. Phew!

Today my leg was still sore- I did a lot of foam rolling last night, which helped (and had some birthday carrot cake- this is sure to help with muscle soreness), so I opted out of aerobics and did a gentle 3 mile run after work. It surely was gentle as it was the same route as Friday, only it took me 34 mins instead of 30. Plus a lot of stretching afterwards.

Also I have a weird feeling with my little toe- I thought I had a blister when I finished, as it hurt. But there is no blister. All day today it has felt sore, as if I stubbed it perhaps. I then convinced myself (while driving home) that the nail was going to come off, but I checked and it is still attached. So I have no idea what it is, but any pressure on the toe (or could be the nail- my little toe is really very small) is sore. Who knows.

I now have some reflections from the run on Sunday.

I can run without my mp3 player and not panic about my breathing (I had one point going up a hill where I got very self conscious as I was with the cyclist guy, and it got very hard to breathe properly, but then I got out my tissue to wipe my nose and that distracted my brain! Clever). I know that clif bloks, jelly beans and cocoa orange nakd bars are good for me to eat while running. I should trust my pacing and go nice and slow and steady. I am getting stronger because I managed a walk later on that day (compared to my first half marathon where I could hardly move). I need to remember to drink a lot (and I can run for 4 hours nearly without needing to go to the toilet despite drinking loads).

I also again want to emphasise how great all the marshals were on the race. The entry fee was small (I think £12 for non club members or something) which made it great value for money. Most runs around here were geared up for London so were too early for us, so this one (billed as a run up to Edinburgh) was perfect timing, and I would really recommend it. Check out the website here.

Right, I am off to pop up on some blogs now- need to catch up on the latest 🙂

Birthday weekend!

Thanks for all the good luck and birthday messages- I had a fab weekend.

First- Hooray!

This was me on Sunday afternoon! (That is the lovely view from where we stayed). Hooray! I finished the 20 miler!

I am proudly wearing my race t-shirt (although you can’t see that from the picture)- I was so pleased!

Race report further down! And impressively, later that very same day, we even managed a bit of walking.

My legs were so stiff that I was worried I would fall in the water!

Anyway, we had a lovely weekend away- some walking, some tea rooms (of course), lots of relaxing! I actually woke up in the middle of the night and remembered safety pins, and then while we were there I nearly left them in my washbag.

Warning- long rambled and garbled race account coming up!

The race was about an hours drive away, so we were up early (7am) for porridge and lots of water before we drove there. We had seen there were showers available so we packed a change of clothes and towel too. The race HQ was in a leisure centre, and started very promptly (and there were pots and pots of safety pins on tables so I didn’t need to worry!). Now I was planning on going slow and steady, but within 100m of the start I was about 50m behind everyone else. There was a police car driving behind me for a bit, but then decided that I was too slow to be in the race (maybe) and so left me behind. I had a few minutes of panic as I had no idea where I was going, but then I saw some marshals who realised I was last, and so then I had a guy on a bike escorting me for the first 5 miles! As it was on roads (no pavements) for the first bit he had to go right behind me. So we had a nice chat for the most part. Then I was left to my own devices- where the maths and internal dialogue began. It went like this “all those people on the start line looked so professional, they all had energy gels and everything. Don’t be silly, you have energy gels, we all need them for this distance. But they all went so fast. Yes, but you can’t run that fast- you need to finish this- it is a training run not a race. OK, so I did 5 miles in 57 mins- I can do the other 3/4 in 3 hours, so I will be fine. Gosh, the showers in the leisure centre didn’t have curtains. Don’t panic- you can dash in and out really quick. OK, so 8 miles in 1.30ish- that leaves me 2 1/3 hours to do 12 more miles.You can do 13 miles in 2.20 so you will be fine.(At this point the lovely marshals started telling me “there is a guy up ahead, you can catch up with him”). Oh look an extremely steep hill- keep running, power through, (I overtook the man at that point)- woah you are not last any more. Yes but being last does not matter, you need to finish this! Look, I am halfway! Yay! Halfway in under 2 hours, you can manage this in the time. Gosh 13 miles in 2.20- oh if I had done a half marathon I could have beaten my pb (2.19) because I would not have to save anything in the tank for the next 7 miles. Half marathons seem a much more civilised distance. Why did I not sign up for a half instead? Who’s crazy idea was this marathon anyway? 14 mile marker- wow that is the biggest marker I have seen. Oh my legs hurt. I am thirsty. Drinking out of cups is hard work. 15 mile marker- only 5 miles to go, come on, nearly there. 16 miles, gosh it is hot. 17 miles, come on I can run 3 miles before breakfast. 18 miles- oh pants I thought I already saw that marker. Come on, only 2 miles. I see some more people up ahead! I overtook a couple more people (only never sure if they were in the race as I didn’t look back to see their race numbers). Oh, a baby rabbit, how cute. Pick up your feet. Ow, my back aches. I am so thirsty. I ran out of water. Pour the dribbles into your bottle lid and drink it that way. (Here the marshalls are telling me “only half a mile to go, not far”)- Oh look Andy is waving at me over the fence 🙂 I can see the finish line. No, actually that is a sign saying finish line this way. Only the field to go, past the tapes, up to the table. Can I stop now?

Gulp down 2 cups of water, eat an orange nakd bar, stagger to the changing rooms (I even braved the shower- sort of- there were 3 showers at the end with 1 curtain to share, so I went behind that), then walk like a cowboy to the car. Andy finished in 3.02 (although he really struggled and was a bit down about it after)- so he had showered and changed while waiting for me. I finished in 3.48.58, in the time limit hooray! I am glad that I managed to keep my pace up and get to the end.

We went home and had some lunch (I also had a banana and half a protein bar in the car), then went out for the afternoon.

We had a gentle walk by the river (plus an ice cream- yummy) and then went out for a pub dinner for my birthday. Fab!

My right thigh (front and back) is so sore today, but the rest of me is actually alright. Going up and down stairs yesterday was hard, but I managed it!

I got to open a present this morning;

A PB&Co cook book! (And a close up of the t-shirt which I think is pretty understated compared to most that you get). 🙂

I learnt a lot from the race at the weekend, which I am sure will pop up in here in the coming weeks. Although I am not sure where the last 6 miles will come from. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, enjoyed the fab weather etc.

Byeeeeeeeee