Running - Maria Runs

Sport Relief 6 miles

So this morning I woke up early to have some porridge before my run.

I was feeling quite relaxed about the whole thing, as it wasn’t chip timed or anything I felt like there was less pressure for some reason. After pottering about a bit I got dressed and Andy dropped me off at the sports centre. The directions just said “head to the athletics track”. Well, I did, along with about 5 other people. I am not kidding! I was there about 20 minutes before it was due to start, and gradually a few more people turned up. A lady came to chat to me as I was on my own- she was going to do the 6 miles but had a cold so had decided to stop at 3.

At around 10.25 we were ushered to the running track and told: 12 laps for 3 miles, 24 laps for 6 miles- keep a track of how many laps you do yourself- I was glad I had my Garmin as I was sure I would lose count otherwise!

We did a little warm up (well needed as it was freezing) and then were counted down. I was not keen on the idea of 24 laps- I was worried that I would get rather bored. But in fact it was not too bad- the laps went down quite quickly. There was a mixture of 3 and 6 mile runners- there was one lady in front of me who was going just that bit faster, but in the end she turned out to be a 3 miler- I was only around half a lap behind her when she stopped so I was pleased she didn’t lap me (and I did think that if I was doing the shorter distance I could have kept up with her). I was lapped in about my 4th lap I think by some fast 3 milers. At around the same time I was also lapping other people- there were quite a few people doing it in little groups who were run/walking, and also an amazing lady who was doing the whole thing using a push along walking support thing (not sure what they are called)- she did about 1/4 of a lap for each one lap I did, so I went past her several times and a few times she encouraged me on (and me to her too). I lapped the lady I was chatting to at the start, as she was coming up to her final lap, so it was nice to wish her well.

At this time I realised that most people (and I tried to count- I think there were about 30 people running) were stopping at 3 miles- I almost chickened out at that point but for Jantastic I had said I would do 8 miles so needed to keep going. Plus it was actually quite therapeutic- as you went around one corner you were into the wind a bit, but then of course it was behind you for the rest, and there was music being played and other people to watch.

After I had done about 4 miles more people were turning up at the track as there was a one mile run at 11.30- I really wanted to be finished by then. There was one man running and he finished when I had 2 laps to go- by this point all the one milers were doing their warm up (the lovely marshals were having to ask them to mind out of the way as I was coming through).

Finally I was on my last lap! I was about half way around when the one milers set off, so I really went for it as I wanted to finish on my own (my final mile was 8.38- my fastest). I was the first female haha! There were 2 girls who finished about a lap behind me- no prizes of course but you have to be in it to win it! It took me 56.07 for 6.05 miles (all that overtaking!!). I looked up my pb for 10K, which is 56.14, so I was pretty close to that. And the best thing is that I felt comfortable- in the back of my mind I knew I had to run home, so I could not go crazy, but except for the final lap where I really went for it, I felt like I was running pretty hard, but still in control.

One of the guys gave me my medal and some water, and I took a few photos of the milers going around the track, although the dark clouds were looming at that point so I didn’t hang around.

I was pretty cold on the way home- it rained a bit and I was unlucky with traffic lights too. At one point I was waiting and noticed that my watch said 7.99 miles- I even tried sticking my arm into the road in case that would get to the 8 miles (you know, otherwise that mile would be a lot slower) but it didn’t work. In total I ran 8.5 miles, not too shabby.

I was hungry after that!

I had a few chocolate truffles and a drink, before a hot shower and pancakes for lunch.

After finishing the lovely buckwheat pancake mix ages ago I have been hunting far and wide, and found it last weekend, so I had some of that. One with blackcurrant curd, and the others with chocolate pb, plus some melon.

I really enjoyed it in the end. I was feeling a bit apprehensive at the start when there were hardly any people there- I had visions of me running around on my own, but actually I do prefer smaller races. It was good to not have to worry about crowds, and because there were more runs later on, I didn’t feel like I was holding up the staff or anything. If I had needed to drive there, there was plenty of parking, and “real” toilets, and really friendly marshals too.

A nice morning out 🙂

Speeding up again

Hey folks.

So this week I went to Sweatshop as usual, and luckily as we did the hill last week, we were on a flatter (but more boring) course this week. I started off chatting to one of the girls who is quite a bit faster than me, so I decided to try and keep up with her for as long as possible. I managed it for over half a mile, but then after we stopped to cross a couple of roads she was right up to speed and whizzed off. Then I tried to keep up with a couple of others who are normally a bit further ahead of me. I kept them in sight for the next couple of miles, and caught them up when they were stopped at traffic lights- at that point I did an 8.56 mile so I was pretty pleased. Still not quite my parkrun pb speed, but getting there (and it is hard to compare as we have to cross a lot of roads, and it is not pancake flat which the normal parkrun route pretty much is).

This week I have been adding some of the course oatmeal to my porridge- it is really lovely. It gives the porridge more of a texture and of course makes it even more filling too.

On Thursday I was on a course when meant I got home nice and early. Before dinner I made some muesli bars for work, as we were all doing a mile for Sport Relief. I took the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook- basically they were raw flapjacks- you melted butter and syrup together, then stirred in oats, cornflakes, muesli, dried fruit/ nuts and coconut.

Then you pressed the mixture into a pan, covered in another sheet of baking paper and put it in the fridge with something heavy to weigh it down.

I sliced it in the morning, but it had not really set that well. I don’t think I would make them again, but anyway people seemed to enjoy them.

On Friday my car has it’s MOT and service to Andy had to pick me up after work. It wasn’t quite ready so we went down to the park and walked around the lakes- the paths are still underwater! So parkrun will be off road for the next few weeks I imagine. I looked on the Jantastic website to see if I could change my distance for my predicted time (as I could choose my 6 mile Sunday run) but you can only change the time, so I will have to do that as there is no way I can do 26 something for the off road route!

Right, I am off to run my 6 miles for Sport Relief in a bit- have a great Sunday.

Jantastic week 10

Double figures! Amazing!

I do love challenges like this as they really show how far you have come- at the start 3 months seemed a long time but it really is flying by.

So, how did this week go? I am having trouble remembering!

Monday- Went for a sports massage after work- a lot of work on my shoulder which really helped.

Tuesday- Short run after work around the little fields near me and up and down a little lane. I found it really tough, my calves were so tight but I did remind myself that after a hard race it takes one day per mile to recover, so in theory I would need 13 days after Bath before being back to normal again.

Wednesday- The Hill with Sweatshop, plus an extra sprint when someone took a wrong turning! I was pleased that I found it much better than the day before, and managed over 5 miles which is not bad for an evening after work.

Thursday- Pump. Why do the lunges never get any easier? I ended up with a sore shoulder that evening, which I think was from lifting a table at work (not recommended) and not pump at all.

I was sent some of these patches to try so on Friday I wore one of the heat ones (they are unscented which is good)- it did help and my shoulder was loads better. I will do a more detailed review at some point.

Friday- Went to see my Nan after work, then just chilled out all evening.

Saturday- I had decided to go to parkrun as I had not been in weeks, but I also knew I had pledged 6 miles. Neither my Dad or brother were going which made my decision easier; I went and did the off road route which was great. There is a little hill (and you repeat the loop 3 times) and there was the most enthusiastic marshal at the top of the hill EVER! I love her! She was cheering everyone up, shouting out motivating words, and generally being a beacon of cheerfulness at the top of the hill.

Then I got my chip scanned (in super quick time), got my mp3 player from the car and went to do the normal route. I had heard that a bit of the path was still under water, which was why we were using the off-road route, but both ends of the lake was underwater, the public toilets were still flooded, and even some of the paths at the sides were covered. So my route ended up being all over the grass. I topped it up to just over 6 miles, and then headed home via the post office.

Mornflake have sent me some lovely porridge and breakfast goodies- this will keep me going for months!

Then after some baking (more on that another day), cleaning and tidying, I walked around town to pick up some bits, and then went to the allotment and did about an hour of weeding. A pretty active day.

Sunday- We went out for breakfast (we tried Carluccio’s but I think there are much nicer places), wandered around town, went to see my parents and then came home and did some work while Andy watched the Grand Prix, then went to his parents. I was going to do yoga but we got home rather late and more work was in order.

Anyway, another good week. 3 runs ticked off, and the distance ticked off too. Although I was planning on doing parkrun as my timed 5k, but it looks to be the off road course for a good few weeks so I might have to adjust my predicted time. I had a go at guessing (having only done that course once before)- my guess was 29.29, and in the end my official time was 29.41 so not bad (but a lot slower than the normal flat course).

I also signed up to do 6 miles for Sports Relief on Sunday. I am meant to be running 8 miles, but it is about 2 miles away so I am thinking that Andy can drop me off and then I can run home- perfect! I do feel a bit antsy when I don’t have any races in my diary, and now the Oslo one is cancelled I have nothing else to plan for, so it is great to have something on.

Sprinting with Sweatshop

Hey folks

So on Wednesday I was off to Sweatshop, and when I got there they had decided on the dreaded “Hill” route. It is not actually that bad, but the hill in the first mile is pretty steep and just that bit too long. Normally when we do this route the front runners head back after each roundabout and join at the back again, which is good as then when we get to the underpass in the town centre no-one is on their own (I hate the underpass). But although we said we would do this, the faster people must have decided against it while they were running. I got to the top of the hill and realised that the girl ahead of me (who was a bit unsure of the route having only done it once before) had gone straight ahead instead of turning left, and no-one had turned back. I decided that I really should go after her, as there was only one person behind me, and I would not want her being lost on my conscience. So even though I was out of breath after the hill I had to pick up the pace and was shouting “hey, come back, it’s this way”. My poor legs could not go any faster! The trouble was she was wearing headphones, and I didn’t know her name. Luckily when I had nearly caught up with her she stopped to cross a road and saw me. Phew. She said she would have just turned at the next road but I am not sure where that would have ended up anyway. We ran the rest of the way together, chatting at times and gasping for breath at others, and even added on the optional loop at the end. That route ended up being about 4 miles so including running there and back I was over 5 miles for the evening which I was pretty pleased with.

We bought some amazing coconut dark chocolate in France at Christmas, and I enjoyed a couple of piece with some tea after dinner.

Thursday was pump- my back was a bit sore last weekend so I didn’t go too high on the back track. I am going to have a moan also about people who are members so don’t book on. There were not enough steps for everyone, hardly any weights. Non-members have to pay and get a receipt to get through the barrier, but if you are a peak member then all classes are included, so loads of people just turn up without booking on. Grrrr. Anyway, why do the lunges never get any easier???? I find that generally after a while I can add to my squats weight (although I am nearly at my limit of lifting the bar off my shoulders at the end), but the lunges just burn my legs. I stood on a mat this week which really helped as the floor is quite slippery and often I worry I will slide over during that track.

Friday I went to see my Nan after work, and then we watched a film (Behind the Candelabra- weird) and then Gogglebox which I just love.

This morning after my run I tried out a recipe similar to this one, from memory as I think I saw it on Ffion’s blog a while back.

Basically after my run I had to pick up a parcel and just wanted to jump in the shower and not stand by the oven and cook pancakes, so I made a batter with some melted coconut oil, an egg, some soya milk, ground almonds, coconut flour and baking powder, and poured it into a greased dish and baked for 25 mins. When I looked on-line later I was pretty pleased that I had got it mostly right! I had it with some cherries (defrosted in a pan with a little coconut sugar) and lovely teapigs chocolate tea.

Tasted better than it looked! Although I prefer buckwheat flour to coconut flour- the coconut flour just seems really dry in things.

Well it is a gorgeous day here- I have some baking going on at the moment, then a trip to the shops, some work and hopefully some weeding at the allotment too- it’s going to be a busy Saturday!

Jantastic week 9

I had to check that I got the week number right!

So, how did this week go following on from the Bath half?

Monday- total rest day! I was having a bit of trouble walking. I was going to do some yoga in the evening but was pretty sore so opted for a bath with some salts in there instead.

Tuesday- Went for a little run after work- was going to go for about 3 miles and felt fine at the start, but after 2 miles I suddenly felt tired and my legs were very sore, so I went home and did a bit of yoga and some foam rolling.

Wednesday- Went to Sweatshop. I nearly turned around and ran by myself, but I had texted my brother so knew he was going. We ran together at the back but it was great to catch up and the miles sped by. When I got home I realised I had run 4.5 miles, so ran to the end of the road and back to top it up to 5.

Thursday- Pump. Ouch! I had missed 3 weeks so I was expecting it to be tough.

Friday- Rest. I was going to do yoga, and then some cleaning and bits when I got home, but I had a headache so just had a cup of tea and lay on the sofa with the TV on.

Saturday- Had a lovely walk to and from the shops in the sunshine.

Capris! No running tights! This was at about 8 in the morning and it was already gorgeous and sunny.

Sunday- 6ish mile run in the morning (spent a lot of it mucking about on the fields looking at maps and birds and things), then around a 3 mile walk around the lakes in the afternoon. Loved the sunshine!

Muddy trainers are also very happy (I was taking photos of the fields and things and so took a picture of my shoes too, as you do).

At one point there was a red kite swooping so low, it’s markings were so clear, but of course in the photo it looks like a tiny dot.

I found a new bit of field too, although the new path further on was far too boggy so I retraced my steps. A lot of stopping and starting of my Garmin (when I remembered). It was so fun to just be out wandering about, not worrying about time or pace or anything else, just being outside. That is what I love most about running.

After my run I was pretty thirsty and so had a drink and an apple, as we were going to go to breakfast. We showered and headed out but when we got to the Waffle House the car park was full and the queue was out the door, so we came home again and had pancakes.

Later on I got my car washed (what a treat) and while we were waiting for that we went for a cold drink in a fairly new coffee shop as we had been walking around the lakes in the sunshine. Well, we weren’t that impressed- several things were not right including the barista asking me how to make the drink as she had not had training yet! (I don’t blame her but I do think they should have training! Or at least a sheet that tells them how to make all the drinks). Anyway I have emailed them because I was charged for the wrong size (but didn’t realised until we were leaving) and a few other things- it has been open for at least a month so it is not as if it was their first weekend.

Anyway, I have got sidetracked. Jantastic week 9 done- 3 runs complete, distance target complete, no attempt at my time trial yet.

How did you enjoy the sunshine this weekend?

Fellow Jantasticans- we are on to double figures! The end of the challenge is in sight! Give yourself a pat on the back and tell me what you have been proud of achieving over these past two months.