Long Run Success

The last few weeks have seen me clock up my highest monthly mileage to date - 115 miles with 8 days still left in the month..

2 weeks ago saw me hit 21 miles. I had been struggling with some ankle pain and set out to do as much as I could do but would be happy to hit 10 miles. I did laps of a park just by my house so should the pain be too much I wouldn't be miles from home. At mile 7 I had some pain and decided to run through it, by 10 it had gone.

I then started working towards 18 miles as my new goal. Once I got close to 18 I decided 20 would be better and then as I'd already hit 20 went for 21. Although the last mile and a half were tough I was pleased to hit 21. This is my highest mileage for this training cycle and I felt good. It was such a sunny day and as I thought I wouldn't be out for long I ran on half a banana. I only had one packet of shot bloks and one bottle of Lucozade with me and no money on me so fueling wasn't ideal.

The following weekend was the Exbury Gardens 10k, which was changed to a 5 miler as the recent weather washed away part of the path. The plan was to run there which would have been 13 miles but a lot of the roads don't have pavements so not ideal. Then we were going to cycle but family commitments meant we had to be back by lunchtime so we drove. The race was really good, steady fast pace - may have set off a little too fast but really pleased overall. 8.15 average and finishing time of 41.03 and 7th in my age category. If it had been a 10k I think I would have a new pb. Later in the day I attempted to make up some mileage but only managed 3.5 slow miles so called it a day and had a smaller mileage week instead.

Today was the last long run before the taper begins. I wanted to hit 20 miles and had entered the Eastleigh 10k race. My boyfriend had the same plans so we ran 5 steady miles to the race starting point, averaging just under 10 min miles. We saw a few friends at the start and all started together.  I wanted to keep a 9.30 average for the 10k as this is my marathon goal pace and at the last minute my boyfriend and I decided to race together. As it turned out we averaged 9.15 min miles for most of the 10k which I'm very pleased about.

The race itself was pretty boring and although there was meant to be water at 6km they had ran out. This didn't bother us too much as we had Lucozade with us but other runners I think would struggle. It was a warm day for March and I imagine most runners were planning to grab some water at the water station so I was very unimpressed with the organisation.

After the 10k we went straight to the end of the road where we were meeting two friends from running club who were also out for a final long run. We did a 3-4 mile lap of the area and were hit with very unpredictable weather. We started with glorious sunshine, then had rain and finally hale stones which were so painful! After we said goodbye to our friends it was the final 5 miles home. Home was partly uphill and I did struggle for that mile but felt good when I got home.

It was really nice to break the run down and although the hale wasn't nice and the hill at mile 17 was brutal it was a really successful final long run. A warm bubble bath with lots of epsom salts, eggs on toast and an afternoon on the sofa followed :-)

Mid week I have been sticking with the early morning treadmill intervals in the gym and body pump in the evening. I have also started running the 3.5 miles to running club to have a slightly longer run on a Wednesday. I'm really pleased with how the final weeks of training have gone and am looking forward to tapering down for the next few weeks.

Fingers Crossed

Fingers crossed the ankle is on the mend (as I write this I am not convinced but I did have an injury free week so I'm taking that as a good sign).

I was a little disappointed about skipping the Bath Half mainly because I really wanted to do it. I knew I couldn't risk it with the ankle though. But from Instagram and Twitter I saw so many updates from those who took part in the Bath Half, Silverstone Half and Reading Half all on the same day, that I could help but feel like I missed out. Next year...

This week has been pretty good running wise though. No problems with the ankle but I am taking it steady. Tuesday I did 6 miles, which I thought I would love as I was back running again. In reality I was worried about going too far from home in case the ankle played up 3 miles away and I had to hobble home. So I ended up doing laps of the park opposite my house. I do return to Bodypump in the evening though after a week off.

Wednesday I was back with my weekly running group which was great. We did 3.8 steady miles. Again with no ankle issues.

Thursday was an am treadmill interval session in the gym. Was meant to be 6 miles but cut it to 5.5 to get in some ab work after. I then returned in the evening for a Body Pump class. Felt so good to be back with my normal routine. I'm trying really hard at the moment to incorporate abs, core work and stretching as much as possible. My legs feel really tight at the moment which is slightly worrying.

My ankle does feel sore today, I don't know if maybe I over did it yesterday or because I haven't iced it for a few days maybe? But I am going to ice it tonight and avoid Parkrun tomorrow - the temptation would be to push too hard. Instead I will do to 3 miles in the gym and then some abs and pray for a good long run on Sunday.

My new trainers arrived today, well they are the same as my old trainers, Nike LunarEclipse2+. They are actually the 2012 design - I think the current model is the LunarEclipse4. But I really like them and as they are the old design they were reduced :-) I have the LunarEclipse3 but the arch feels too high on my right foot and I think might have caused my ankle problems (I wore them for Bramley) so I have gone back to the 2's recently but they have over 400 miles of wear in them and should have been thrown away a long time ago. I might be clutching at straws but hopefully they will prevent any further ankle problems. Fingers crossed...

Don't Provoke The Injured Runner

This week saw my lowest mileage in a long time - all due to an ankle injury

My evenings revolved around resting and icing the ankle rather than clocking up the miles. Frustrating would be one way to describe it. 

But looks as though it has worked - it still feels tender so I'm trying not to push it but I did manage 2 miles in the gym on Saturday - it was far too nice to stay indoors so I then ran a further 4 miles outside in the sunshine. 

Sunday was meant to be the Bath Half Marathon but instead was 6 very happy treadmill miles. 

I'm not going to get too excited and rush back into high mileage but I am hoping this is the end of the injury problems. 

Glow in the Park, Parkrun PB & Injury

Following the Bramley 20 miler I decided to have a reduced mileage week to let my body recover a bit.

I took Monday and Tuesday off and it was nice to have some time to chill out and not worry about having to fit in a run or go to the gym.

Wednesday there was a local 10k called Glow in the Park - as the name suggests its in the dark (well 7.30pm is dark) and it took place on a local park and everyone has to wear head torches. It was really good fun, there were 8 of us from running club who went along. We did manage to get separated at the beginning and ended up running in 2 packs but it was a fun run so we could have a chat and enjoy it, rather than sprinting round individually hoping for a PB. A few times I turned around to see hundred of head torches all bobbing along behind us.

Thursday I hit the gym before work for a 3 mile interval session on the treadmill and 30 mins of abs. After work I went back and did body pump, spinning and had a little paddle in the pool after. I was pretty pooped by the time I got home but it felt good to be back in the swing of things again.

Saturday was the day I hit the magical sub 24min Parkrun - 23.56 to be exact. My intentions were to have a steady run but after I hit the first mile in 8.05 I knew I could PB. Recently I have been good increasing my speed as the miles roll by and knew I had it in me. The last mile I was one of those really annoying heavy breathers who are going for a death or glory style finish. I was too scared to check the watch in the last mile - I was terrified of discovering I was almost dying but only hitting 9 min miles. Needless to say I was pretty chuffed for the rest of the day. I did try to join the BF after Parkrun for a few extra miles but after I hit the first mile in 10.26 it was safe to say I was out of energy so headed home instead.

Sunday I really had to drag myself out for a run - we'd been to visit friends in Brighton on Saturday afternoon and left Sunday morning so it meant my long run was in the afternoon. After we got home I made the mistake of sitting down for half an hour so the idea of getting up and going for a 2-2.5 hour run didn't appeal. I was torn with how many miles to do - the plan said 18 but I was happy to hit the 11 mark as I wanted a less intense week so decided to see how I felt. Unfortunately at around mile 7 I started getting pain in my right ankle (well between the ankle and the arch of the foot). My planned route was a figure of 8 with my house being right in the middle, so I decided to see how it felt when I got closer to home. The pain was getting worse the more I ran so I had to call it a day at 9.6miles.

Annoyingly I have no idea what the pain is or what caused it. After Bramley I did have some pain there (and for the last mile - I put this down to being at mile 19 and everything starts to hurt) but stupidly didn't really do much about it. I just left it thinking it was a long run and would see how it was. And Wedesday, Thursday and Saturday I had no problem running. Another thought is it could be my trainers - but I've been wearing them for a while so I would have thought it would have played up before now?!

Needless to say this week has been very much a rest and ice week. The pain isn't constant or overly painful so it's hard to really assess it. I will try running later this week and see how it is. I am meant to be doing the Bath Half on Sunday but the slightest bit of pain and I will pull out - the marathon is my main goal not the half and I need to ensure I was injury free by then and can't afford a set back this close. If I do pull out of Bath I will book a physio app and go from there.

Fingers crossed that rest and ice will do the trick...

Bramley 20 & Feb Update

So in January I ran just over 100 miles. As of Feb 16th I am already on 90 miles...

The past two weeks have mainly been just running, I haven't found the time to incorporate cross training such as spinning or body pump. I have however made a serious effort to include some ab work after each run which I think is helping - my core feels stronger at least.

The main problem I have been finding is the weather is forcing me to run on the treadmill rather than outside. I don't actually mind running in the rain but I lack the motivation to do it a 6.30am. I am better at finding the motivation to get myself to the gym at this time tho. I have been increasing the intensity of my treadmill workouts though. Instead of my previous 2 mins power walking at 6km per hour pace I now just do one minute. I have also increased my 3 min run from between 10-11.5km per hour to 12-12.5km per hour. Baby steps.

I did manage a long run of 17 miles at the weekend though. Although the first half was fairly easy, by the end I was left wondering how I would ever run a marathon. Reassuringly though when I looked at my splits my last 3 miles were some of my fastest - my last was only 1 second off my fastest. This was very reassuring that although I didn't feel like picking up the pace I was able to.

My fundraising is also going pretty well. I organised a book, DVD and cake sale at work and was overwhelmed with donations and made £183 in total. I also spent a morning in my local Tesco store collecting donations. However there was a mix up and ended up being 3 charities collecting on the same day. We still made £113 but are going back next month for a full weekend and as the only charity so should be more successful.

I made it to Parkrun for the first time in a few weeks this past weekend. And although it felt like the eye of a storm at the beginning, it was glorious sunshine by the end. My PB (according to my watch is 24.08) so I knew I wasn't to break it just before the last corner but decided on a death or glory finish anyway. It turned out my Parkrun PB was 24.29 and I came in at 24.30!! Beyond annoying! Next week I will beat it.

My training plan includes a Saturday Parkrun (or 3 miles) each week, including before races and long runs so I kept did Parkrun and the Bramley 20 this weekend, making a total of 23 miles!

I really wasn't looking forward to Bramley at all. In fact I was very close to contacting the race director in the few weeks leading up and asking to drop down to the 10 mile race instead. I didn't in the end and the morning of the race was beyond nervous - I've never felt so nervous before, I was almost in tears and really didn't want to do it.

The course is a 10 mile lap that you do twice. There is also the option to just do the 10 miles. Last year I raced Bramley - set out as fast as I could, was worn out by mile 7 and seriously wanted to come in a 10 miles. I remember running past the 10 mile mark when everyone was dropping off and couldn't imagine how I would do another 10 miles. I also remember struggling from mile 15 and hitting the wall at 18. My official time was 3:09:48. My training went a bit off afterwards too, I stopped enjoying run, I rewarded myself with lots of takeaways and kind of felt tired of training.

Back to this year and I was worried about having a similar experience and also not being able to beat my previous time - surely year after year I should be getting faster right? A friend who runs a lot had said it is better to try and do Bramley in 3.30 to maximize time on the feet rather than to race it which was reassuring - no matter how slow I am it is all going to help on the day. I also told myself if I am having a tough time I will just come in at 10 miles.

I told myself I would set off slowly and see how I feel. I had a few plans in my mind - one was to take the first 5 miles slow, race the next 10 and then take the final 5 slow. Another plan was to just keep the average pace visible on my watch and try and keep under last years 9.30 average. And another was to try and do a tempo run, getting faster each mile.

In the end I ran with how I felt. I set off and decided to keep the first 5 miles slow. My first mile was 8.40 but it felt really slow. After mile 2 I noticed I was just behind a lady called Grace, who was a friend of a friend who I met at the Meet the Experts talk a few weeks ago. According to my watch she was keeping a 9.15-9.30 pace so I stuck behind her for about a mile and a half. Literally right behind, I was itching to go faster. Eventually I ran next to her for a bit and then pushed on. She caught up just up the road and I stayed with her until just after mile 5. I was amazed how quickly mile 5 came - were we really a quarter of the way through already?!

After a good start I broke the race down into 5 mile quarters in my head so I just had to reach the next 5 miles, rather than run another 14 miles. This really helped and I found the race flew by. The water stations were at miles 2.5 and just past mile 8. There was glucose drink stations at mile 5 and 10 so every 2.5-3 miles I could break up with a drink stop.

I also tried out Clif Shot Bloks for the first time (poss a little risky in a race but there were no spectators, just country lanes and plenty of fields should there be an issue). I was really excited to try these and they were my reward for the race. I tried them after Hell Runner and they were really yummy and easy to eat. I find with gels I can often feel a bit sick and I think it's because you take the whole thing in one go. With Shot Bloks you get 6 little cubes of jelly in a pack and one pack in the equivalent of 2 gels. I had the black cherry and the orange with me. I didn't realize but both contain caffeine and the black cherry is a shot and the orange half a shot. I'm not entirely sure what that means in terms of how much caffeine, but the orange is less.

I told myself I would have a Shot Blok every 5 miles. So just after mile 5 I rewarded myself with a black cherry one and they were yummy. I didn't feel like I needed one but I had planned it as a reward besides it would no doubt benefit me for the next few miles.

After mile 3 I noticed I was over taking a lot of people and rarely being over taken myself. Mentally this was really encouraging for me. Normally I start way too fast and start getting over taken from mile 2 until the finish, rarely overtaking anyone myself.

Before I knew it I was at mile 10. I had told myself if I was not enjoying it or struggling I could come in at this point but as I approached I knew it felt way to early to be coming in and I had loads left in the tank. My boyfriend was doing the 10 miler and I knew he'd have finished and I'd get to see him so that got my through from mile 9-10. After a quick high 5 and finding out he had finished in an amazing 1.23 (his Great South Run time in October was 1.34 so an amazing PB) I was past the point of no return and setting off for a further 10 miles.

I tried to to think about how far I had to go still and broke the race down into bite size amounts. The last time miles were still by the 5 mile markers but also my the drinks stations. It was a surprisingly hot day and I was getting pretty thirsty. I tried not to think about this though and just ploughed on. There were noticeably far fewer people around for the second leg. I did notice a lot of people up ahead but too far for me to catch, but slowly over the next few miles I overtook most of them. The second leg was harder but at no point did I think I can't do this or I'm struggling.

From mile 17 to the finish I had half a Shot Blok per mile and offered them to people around me (read as - as I overtook people). Miles 6.5-8 and 16.5-18 were a gradual incline and 17 and 18 were my slowest 2 miles at 9.53 and 10.03.

But before I knew it I was coming in to the finish. I was in shock at the finish. I didn't race but kept a steady pace the whole way round, I didn't hit the wall and I felt I had something left in the tank at the end. My official time was 3:09:04 - watch says 3:08:22 but I paused when I dived behind a bush for a wee at mile 11.5. But I feel so much better about my training right now. Annoying the 10 and 20 mile finishers got the same medal and goody bag - I felt mine should have been better as I ran twice as far lol

I think hydrating well in the days leading up helped. As did spending most of Saturday lying on the sofa watching House of Cards (after Parkrun). I also had porridge, 2 gluten free bagels, a big bowl of gluten free pasta and garlic bread on the Saturday so loads of carbs. I will be using Shot Bloks again too, if nothing else I liked the taste but I might try not using them much until London so they are a little treat for the day.

All in all I am pretty happy right now - everything staying on track I should definitely break the 4.30 mark in April. My right ankle is sore so I will take a few days off to rest then recommence training :-)

100+ Miles & Meet The Experts Recap

January saw my first 100+ miles month since last February, when I was training for the Paris Marathon. Coincidentally last January I only ran 37.6 miles. I feel like I have loads of energy at the moment and am not aching after long runs so clearly more miles agree with me.

I missed Tuesdays run due to other commitments so started skipped straight to Wednesdays run. Wednesday is the day my running club meet and we did a steady 7 miles (annoyingly my watch only kicked in at mile 2). We also incorporated some good hills, which are stating to get easier. This was our longest run in a while and despite some rain was a good run.

Thursday I got up early and did 5 miles worth of intervals on the treadmill, with a break after 3 miles for some ab work. Then in the evening went back to the gym for body pump and a spinning class. Surprisingly I could still stand at the end. I'm trying to incorporate pump and spinning into my training plan as much as possible for strength and cross training.

I knew I would miss Saturdays 3 miles due to Meet the Experts so managed to squeeze in a quick 3 miles Friday night. Technically it was 3.5miles as again my watch didn't kick in for half a mile. I was going to call it quits as it was pouring with rain and really windy but my watch picked up signal just as I got to the front door so I turned around and did my 3 miles.

Sunday I wanted to hit the 16 mile mark in preparation for the Bramley 20 miler in 2 weeks time. The rest of the group were wanting to stay closer to the 14 mile mark so I ran the 2.2 miles to the meeting point to get in the extra. We then set off on a lovely 14 mile lap of the city and surrounding area. The weather was kind to us again and we had a really enjoyable run. There are 4 of us in my running club taking part in the London marathon and Sunday's run was just us four - I'm not sure anyone else fancied the 8.15am start just for the fun of it. But we passed a lot of other early morning runners all training for London, which is always encouraging to see. We did stop and walk a few times, I paused my watch at this point so while the others had a total of 14 miles when we finished I only had 15 despite being 2 miles up at the beginning. Annoyingly we reached the car park at .8 miles so had to do a few laps of the car park to make the mileage even.

I was a little unsure as to if I should be sticking with the 20 miles for Bramley this early in the training. There is also a 10 miler taking place the same day and I wasn't sure if I should drop down but on Monday my legs felt so light that I am going to stick with the 20 miles. The fact I am not aching the following day makes me think I am not over doing it and pushing too hard at the moment. After the 20 miles I will drop down the long run mileage for a few weeks before picking it back up again mid March..

Saturday we went to the Institute of Education in London for a day of seminars organised by the London Marathon about what to expect on the day. I hadn't anticipated it being so good, but I found it really interesting and informative.

They did a run through of what to expect on the day from getting to the start, the baggage area, the race itself and what to expect at the end. I actually had a lump in my throat during this part (the others admitted they did too), it really got me excited for the day of the marathon. 

Interestingly they showed a photo of the Isle of Dogs (mile 9) a few years ago during the race and there are about 4 spectators, they then flashed forward to last year and in the same spot it was 4/5 deep with spectators. I went and watched the marathon last year and it really is like a 26.2 mile carnival and this year I get to be in it. It's amazing though what a difference a few years can make and how amazing each and every supporter really is.

The guest speakers included paralympian Richard Whitehead, health and fitness writer Sam Murphy, Runners world editor Andy Dixon and Olympian Liz Yelling, as well as race director Nick Bitel.

They all provided useful tips and insights into training and the marathon itself as well as their own first hand experiences. I was hooked on every word from start to finish. Sam Murphy included some great balancing exercises which I am trying to include in my daily routine.

Lucozade were also on hand to provide samples of their Lucozade Sport and Elite range and Buxton kept us hydrated with as much water as we wanted. Adidas were selling the official merchandise and I could resist a nice long sleeved training top.

I'm hoping the training top will help me run faster...

11 Weeks To Go

For the past week rather than cross training I have been trying to incorporate core work into my routine. The core is so important and often gets overlooked. So every time I have been running this week I have done at least 10 mins of core work afterwards.

The weeks running didn't get off to the best start - Tuesday I was up dressed and out the door at 6am only to discover there was zero visibility due to the heavy fog which had crept in overnight. After a few mins on the doorstep debating how safe it is to run in the dark and in such heavy fog I found myself back in bed having an extra hours sleep. So my morning run turned into an evening run. The plan called for 5 miles, consisting of one mile warm up, 3 miles fartlek and a mile cool down.

I mixed up the fartlek training the whole 3 miles; alternating between markers - traffic lights, lampposts, street signs etc. I've not tried fartlek training before but I found the 3 miles flew past and I felt like I'd had a really good workout by the end. I was expecting my average pace to be slightly higher but it was still a good run.

Wednesday I was in a spinning class at 7am and then running club in the evening. I parked at my parents and ran to the mile to where we meet. We then had a casual 3.5 mile run which incorporated one of the toughest hills in the area. Last time we ran up this hill I thought I might die - slight exaggeration but it was hard. I was surprised not to find it so hard this time - it was still tough just not as bad as before. Then I ran the mile back to my parents to collect my car so got in 5.5 miles.

Thursday I didn't want to end up in the same situation as Tuesday with the fog so did my scheduled run in the gym. I find getting to the gym a 6.30am so rewarding - there is great satisfaction in arriving at work at 9am having already done your daily workout. The plan called for 5 steady miles but I changed this to an interval workout as I felt Tuesday's run wasn't the speed workout I was hoping for.

I put the treadmill on a 1.5 include and did 2 mins on 6km per hour followed by 3 mins on 12/12.5km per hour. I did this for 3 miles then I paused my watch and did some core work. For the final 2 miles I only had 1 min at 6km per hour and stayed with 3 mins at around 12km per hour.

Friday I had a black tie event to attend and although had every intention of still doing Parkrun at 9am, this did not happen. But I did force myself to the gym later that morning for a Body Pump class. This was the first time I have tried the new release and I really enjoyed it. Feeling a little worse for wear I took it easy on the weights but still went into the gym after to do some core work.

Sunday I woke up in pain. Apparently I hadn't taken it as easy with the weights in Body Pump as I thought I had. To make matters worse the weather was horrendous - pouring with rain, windy, grey and miserable. I thought about postponing my long to Monday but the weather could have been just has bad and I'd have to do it after work so I sucked it up and kept to the plan. With my trusty baseball cap in place to keep the rain out of my face I set off and was drenched in minutes.

I wanted to do 12-15 miles. The plan called for a slow 12 miles but I have a 20 mile race on Feb 16th so want to be increasing each week until then. I ran a 6 mile loop twice. The loop incorporated some pretty big hills but they didn't feel too bad despite my sore legs. I also only took one energy gel but I didn't like I need it. I took it more because I'd took myself I would take it at mile 7 to break up the run. But all in all I felt pretty good and told myself I would do 14 miles. However at mile 12.5 as I was running past the end of my road, with the wind and rain (sideways rain at this point) it was too tempting to just head home to the warmth so I finished on 12.57miles.

I'm running the London Marathon to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and this week I received confirmation from my local Tesco Extra superstore that I can rattle a tin at the entrance for the 4 dates I requested between now and April. I lost my grandmother to breast cancer in 2008 so this is a charity really close to my heart and I'm really pleased my fundraising plan is also going to target.