Maria Runs - Maria Runs

2014 Running review

So, I am a few days late, but better late than never I suppose.

I have enjoyed reading the recap post that have been popping up all over blog-land, and I like to look at my own race calendar and see what I have been up to this past year (I won’t link to any of the recaps here, but if you have a burning desire to read them, then they are all linked from that race calendar link). When I looked, I was surprised to see that I did 10 races last year. That sounds a lot to me.

This year I really wanted to speed up. I think I mentioned before that I really wanted to do another marathon, but before I signed up to one I wanted to get faster. Of course I love getting a pb, but I am never going to be at the front of the pack (unless the pack is very small), and to me finishing a race and enjoying it is what is important to me. But running non stop for nearly five and a half hours is pretty tough, so I wanted to work on speed before aiming for that distance again.

Anyway, the year started well with the Bath half, although that would be a race I would not do again. I had wanted to run it for a few years, but a combination of things (late start, awful weather, no foil blankets at the finish, finish line being away from the bag drop, expensive cost and rubbish cotton t-shirt) meant that I didn’t massively enjoy it. But I ran my fastest ever half, and the closest to the 2 hour mark I have ever been. On a side note, when I trained for my first half (before I even started this blog) I read that if you finished in 2 hours you would be with the average runner and that had stuck with me. And after all this time, I am still not there. I can’t remember where I read it (it was a magazine but can’t remember which one) but it annoys me that it has stuck with me.

After that was the Sports Relief 6 mile run- loops of a 400m running track! I ended up being the first female finisher, due to most people doing the 3 mile option instead. It was a good run though, and surprisingly I enjoyed the repetitive nature of the track. I just hope if they do it again it gets a bit more publicity.

I was meant to do the Oslo Rock and Roll half (such a cool medal) but it got cancelled, so I signed up to a trail half marathon instead. Wow it was tough. But really enjoyable. It gave me a glimpse of ultra running I think, as people were stopping to walk, check maps, and everyone was very friendly. It was all about finishing, and I did, in my slowest ever time, but that didn’t matter as the scenery was just beautiful.

I did a couple of 10K’s, including the Women’s Running one- I wasn’t sure I would like a women-only event, but the scenery around the lake was lovely, and there was a good mix of club runners and first timers.

October was my busiest month, with 3 races. My beloved Ware 10 miles (how all races should be- small but perfectly formed)- I managed a pb which really boosted my confidence, as since March and Bath, I hadn’t managed pb’s in any races and was starting to worry I was slowing down again.

The 15K breakfast run (which changed to a Women’s run or something) was enjoyable to run (I saw deer and parrots!) but it reminded me that the hassle of getting in and out of London for a race is not generally worth it for me.

I did a 5K Poppy run which wasn’t timed, but a really lovely event with lots of families taking part.

In November I finished the year on a short-but-speedy streak, with a new 10k pb of 55.23 in Brighton, and then a new 5 mile pb of 44.44 (the coolest time).

So there we have it. I really should look into getting a medal hanger, as they are still just hanging on the door handle of our living room door.

I think best medal goes to the 15K (that cool pink shoe with the deer on it), best goody bag goes to the WR 10k, with an honourable mention to the Poppy run, best scenery goes to Ashridge, best pb potential goes to the Brighton 10k, and best overall race goes to Ware.

I am really pleased that I have managed to speed up some more. I know that running with Sweatshop helped, and I think I have a bit more belief in myself now. Before the 5 mile race I knew that I could hold a certain pace as I had achieved that in the 10k, so although it sounded fast, I also knew it was do-able. I went to parkruns a bit more regularly too (and achieved 25 in total by the end of the year) and I want to keep that up, although my new favourite parkrun course is really cross-country so not really speedy.

I am also looking forward to more runs with the club I have joined- I know running with other people helps. My fitness has taken a bit of a dive recently, but I am pretty much over the cough now.

I am going to have to work pretty hard though as I have a 10 mile race in a few weeks time (and 6 miles was very tough yesterday), then the Brighton half not long after that, and then the Brighton marathon in April (I didn’t quite get my 2 hour half, but I was only 6 minutes off so decided to have another try). So 2015 is going to be about running long (until April anyway) and then running for fun.

What are you looking forward to in 2015?

White towns, grey rocks, blue skies

Around where we stayed in Spain there are lots of little white towns. One was signposted nearby, so we drove the very steep and winding road to Comares one day to have a walk around.

The town was so high up so as well as admiring the town, we were treated to magnificent views across the valley.

There was a path with tile footprints to follow, although we diverted from this towards the end due to the large amount of stray dogs.

Another day we drove to El Torcal, a national park famed for strange rock formations. The limestone has been eroded by wind and water, leaving interesting shapes in the rocks.

It reminded us a bit of when we visited Bryce Canyon in the USA (only smaller, and grey).

At one point we saw a herd of mountain goats- one balanced right on top of a rock with a perfect silhouette, but my phone could not zoom in that far. The agility those creatures have is amazing though.

It was also freezing cold here! When sheltered by the rocks we were OK, but when you got to the edge of the mountain the wind whipping up the sides was chilling (and so strong that it was nearly blowing my phone out of my hands- I couldn’t hold it still enough for a proper photo!).

The clouds were covering the very top of the mountain at some points.

We had packed a picnic, and there were benches outside, but we wimped out and opted for a warmer lunch in the car!

Another day we opted for another beach trip. This time we headed to Nerja, which came recommended as having less concrete monstrosities and a pretty view.

We were very pleased with our choice. It was a really windy day, so the sea had huge swells and lines of waves crashing into the rocks and beach.

It was hard to capture, but the waves that were rolling in were enormous.

2014-12-28 12.57.18 I love this photo, the water was almost silvery, and not a weird instagram filter in sight.

We walked down the beach for a bit, then up in the other direction, then back and into the town.

We spotted some beautiful tropical flowers (hibiscus are my favourite).

Then we walked around the town to find this beautiful cove on the other side. Again, it was teeming with people- I was still surprised to find so many people there (and so many shops and restaurants open) but I really shouldn’t be surprised.

For the last couple of days Andy had to work, so we stayed around the apartment. I spent most of the day sitting outside reading and it was bliss.

Or just looking at the birds in the trees.

A lovely end to our winter break.

Sunny Spain

Hey peeps,

I hope everyone has been enjoying the festive period and relaxing/ doing whatever you enjoy.

After our long journey to and from Granada on Christmas Eve, we decided to stay nearer to the apartment on Christmas day. After a leisurely morning, we packed a lunch and drove off to the coast. We were so lucky.

The weather was just gorgeous.

No coat needed!

We walked up and down the beach, sat in the sun and had our picnic lunch, and then walked some more.

I packed this gingerbread in our suitcase (from the Vienna markets) so we had that to make our picnic festive!

I even made a Christmas tree and snowman (sand-man?).

But the snowman kept being washed away by the tide- should have chosen a more sensible place on the beach perhaps!

I expected it to be fairly quiet, but it was really busy with people walking along, eating or drinking in the bars by the beach, and a few brave (stupid?) sunbathers. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as the climate was good, but I think as where we are staying is so isolated, it feels like there isn’t anyone else in the country. I can’t imagine coming here in the summer though- not being a beach-to-bar person anyway it would not be my kind of thing, but also it would be so hot. And as you can see, the sand isn’t exactly perfect for making castles. But for winter sun this has been perfect.

Good news on the cough front- it seems to be nearly gone, apart from a few coughing fits when I first wake up. But all the shortness of breath that I was experiencing has gone, and I feel like I have my normal amount of energy, no headaches, my rubs and back don’t ache any more, and my cold is pretty much gone too, so I am certainly passed the worst, and am hoping for a New Years Day parkrun to kick off Jantastic 2015 in style- hooray!

Has anyone picked up anything good in the sales? We have wi-fi here, so I have browsed a few shops and ordered myself a pair of very warm and cosy looking slippers, and (how exciting) a new washing basket. Yep, I know how to live!

Feliz Navidad

Hey peeps, I hope you have all been enjoying the last few days.

The two of us have been relaxing in our little Spanish apartment. The road up to this is a very steep track, and the roads beyond are thin and twisty mountain roads, so I don’t think I would have been brave enough to go running here anyway. But we have been doing a lot of walking.

On Christmas Eve we drove to Grenada to see the Alhambra. We had booked tickets in advance, but then had a bit of a mix up with our times (my Garmin thing is still on UK time as I am not sure how to change it) so initially we thought we had loads of time, but in fact we were nearly an hour late. Whoops. Luckily we were still allowed in.

The weather was fantastic, although pretty cold ( it is right up near the mountains).

I didn’t know what to expect- I had seen photos but it was just spectacular. These intricate carvings were everywhere, plus beautiful coloured tiles.

We must have walked around for at least 3 hours.

There were some lovely gardens too- we could smell the oranges as we walked towards the trees (like being on Disney’s Soarin’, except it was real and not fake orange scent….).

It was well worth a visit, and we were pretty shattered when we got back later in the evening (it was nearly a two hour drive each way). We took a lot of DVD’s with us, so watched The Snowman (my favourite Christmas Eve film) and then It’s a Wonderful Life, although I fell asleep during part of it!

The other day we found some oven bake churros, so the night before we heated some up and had them with nutella- when in Rome right? They were enjoyed in front of Home Alone- another Christmas classic right there.

25 before Christmas

So a while ago I mentioned that I wanted to do 25 parkruns before Christmas. When I told Andy, he thought I meant run a sub 25 minute parkrun (although he did think that was possible)- but no, I meant run a total of 25.

But, for the last few weeks I have done no running at all. I had a cough, it cleared up, I did the Hatfield 5 mile race, and a run on the Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, and then the cough was back with a vengeance. One Thursday I could barely speak (made for amusing times at work asking the children with the loudest voices to say things like “tidy up time” ), and from there it got worse. I even went to the doctors last week but depressingly was told that I could have it for 6 or 7 weeks and not to worry, just do the steam inhalations to help get things out.

Anyway, by the end of last week I was feeling loads better- I actually had energy again, and after seeing my dad on Friday night we agreed to go to parkrun in the morning.

I felt fine, and I wrapped up warm as I knew I would be doing a gentle jog at the back, no chance of warming up. But as soon as we started running, I didn’t feel so good. Every step was hurting the back of my ribs- I think they are a bit bruised from all the coughing, and because of that I was then not being able to take really deep breaths. The parkrun course is beautiful, and again it was lovely weather- sunny for the most part but cool. I felt like I was right at the back, but I kept telling myself that it didn’t matter where I finished- the lovely volunteers would wait. I was trying to take longer strides to minimise the pain (it only happened when my foot hit the ground) but that didn’t really work. I did feel a bit fed up when I got to the 4k point at the same time as when I usually finish, but quickly talked myself out of that negative thinking.

When I got to the finish line my dad was waiting for me- I think a bit worried as I was so much slower than usual. But once I stopped I felt OK, and we had a good chat on the walk back to the car and the drive home. I still can’t decide if it was a good thing or not, but it did help me decide about what to pack. (Andy and I are off to Spain for Christmas, and I was considering taking running things just in case, but after that I decided that enforced rest would only be a good thing).

Anyway, I do love getting the text results through, and when I got mine this week I felt pretty pleased. My time was 35.35 (I do like repeating numbers) and I was 125th out of 133 runners. When I first started running, I did a 5K race for life, and my finish time then was 35 mins- it was the first time I had run without a walk break, and the furthest I had ever run, and I was so proud of myself for doing something that I didn’t think I could do.

I think what I realised this weekend is that finally my mindset has changed. Even though I have now been running for years, I still felt like someone just starting out, and a bit of an imposter at races. But this weekend I felt like, even though I had not run for a few weeks, in fact I am a runner, I have just been out with a bad cough, and once I am back to full health I will be running regularly again.

And here, for fun, are candy cane cupcakes that I made last week. They are chocolate cupcakes (the Hummingbird recipe) and then butter icing with some peppermint extract and pink colouring. I saw on TV how to do swirls, and thought I would give it a go. Inside the piping bag you paint strips of colouring (which got very messy indeed) and then put the pink icing into the bag. Then, as you pipe, the swirls appear.

I am not the best at piping, but I thought they looked quite pretty. I added some crushed candy canes to the topping, and then sprinkled with edible glitter (or non-toxic glitter as I think it is officially called).

Wow, look at that, a post about running and cupcakes! Who would have thought it?