Any tips for a long-long-term training plan?!
Friday, 18 May 2012
What have I done?!
Any tips for a long-long-term training plan?!
Monday, 14 May 2012
Recovery week
Last week started with a boom when I raced the 10K on Monday. Did I mention that I got a PB? Of over 3 minutes? With a time of 51m17s? Well I mentioned it again!
After that exertion, my legs were really achey on Tuesday (and the next few days), so I decided to go for a cycle rather than a run. I did my usual route around a lot of farms and then on a cycle path, and I went quite gently as my legs were so tired. It was really nice, but unfortunately I forgot that I hadn't had lunch! As a person who is quite obsessed with food, this is very unlike me, but Emma and I had been out in the morning, and when we met a friend for coffee, I just had a snack while Emma had a sandwich. After I dropped her at nursery, I went straight out on the bike without eating anything else.
So after about an hour's cycling, I started to feel a bit weak and shaky. It was a relief to get home and have a sandwich and a big medicinal bar of chocolate...
On Wednesday I did my (now traditional) early morning run. The Garmin was playing up and couldn't seem to find any satellites, so I set off with it still on the 'Loading' page. I didn't know my pace for the first mile, which was quite nice as my legs were still stiff, and I just had a relaxed 3 miles without caring about speed. A good job too as I was pretty damn slow, at 9.03 min/mile pace.
Thursday was a rest day, but I did a few weights and some stretches to try and get my legs back to normal. All week I had been feeling hints of heel pain, so I wanted to do some of the old foot exercises to try and keep it in check.
With this in mind I opted for another bike ride on Friday. I found a new route, which basically meant going in one direction to a nearby town, turning round and coming back. I was super fast on the way there, and pleased with my speed, although I knew I'd had some downhill help. But on the way back I realised I'd also been assisted by the wind, which now hit me like a wall on the way home.
It was the first sunny Saturday we've had for a while, so I decided to do the local Parkrun race, but without actually racing. It was a lovely morning, and Pete kept an eye on the kids as they played on the swings while I jogged round. A guy I know often paces for different times, and luckily he was pacing 30 mins on Saturday. We ran together, chatting all the way round the 5k, and it was great to do this course without feeling like I wanted to die at about 2 miles, which I usually do.
I couldn't help but sprint the last bit, and swerved off course to high five Robbie and Emma, but I felt a bit mean as I overtook a couple of runners. I wasn't trying to show off, I just felt as though my legs needed a bit of speed at the end there. My time was 29 minutes something, which felt a lot more comfortable than 24 something!
Afterwards I ran home, which made 6.8 miles in total. So my total running mileage for the week was 16.45 miles, and I cycled 25.5 miles. I only ran 3 times, so hopefully my body has had a chance to recover a bit.
Away from all that, it was a great week for Robbie, as he got a couple of certificates from school for good behaviour, and his first badge at Boys Brigade (an organisation a bit like scouts). He was really pleased with his achievements, and we were very proud, especially of his school behaviour. He also made me this lovely picture, which apparently showcases 3 of my favourite activities - running, reading and eating biscuits!
After that exertion, my legs were really achey on Tuesday (and the next few days), so I decided to go for a cycle rather than a run. I did my usual route around a lot of farms and then on a cycle path, and I went quite gently as my legs were so tired. It was really nice, but unfortunately I forgot that I hadn't had lunch! As a person who is quite obsessed with food, this is very unlike me, but Emma and I had been out in the morning, and when we met a friend for coffee, I just had a snack while Emma had a sandwich. After I dropped her at nursery, I went straight out on the bike without eating anything else.
So after about an hour's cycling, I started to feel a bit weak and shaky. It was a relief to get home and have a sandwich and a big medicinal bar of chocolate...
On Wednesday I did my (now traditional) early morning run. The Garmin was playing up and couldn't seem to find any satellites, so I set off with it still on the 'Loading' page. I didn't know my pace for the first mile, which was quite nice as my legs were still stiff, and I just had a relaxed 3 miles without caring about speed. A good job too as I was pretty damn slow, at 9.03 min/mile pace.
Thursday was a rest day, but I did a few weights and some stretches to try and get my legs back to normal. All week I had been feeling hints of heel pain, so I wanted to do some of the old foot exercises to try and keep it in check.
With this in mind I opted for another bike ride on Friday. I found a new route, which basically meant going in one direction to a nearby town, turning round and coming back. I was super fast on the way there, and pleased with my speed, although I knew I'd had some downhill help. But on the way back I realised I'd also been assisted by the wind, which now hit me like a wall on the way home.
It was the first sunny Saturday we've had for a while, so I decided to do the local Parkrun race, but without actually racing. It was a lovely morning, and Pete kept an eye on the kids as they played on the swings while I jogged round. A guy I know often paces for different times, and luckily he was pacing 30 mins on Saturday. We ran together, chatting all the way round the 5k, and it was great to do this course without feeling like I wanted to die at about 2 miles, which I usually do.
I couldn't help but sprint the last bit, and swerved off course to high five Robbie and Emma, but I felt a bit mean as I overtook a couple of runners. I wasn't trying to show off, I just felt as though my legs needed a bit of speed at the end there. My time was 29 minutes something, which felt a lot more comfortable than 24 something!
Afterwards I ran home, which made 6.8 miles in total. So my total running mileage for the week was 16.45 miles, and I cycled 25.5 miles. I only ran 3 times, so hopefully my body has had a chance to recover a bit.
Away from all that, it was a great week for Robbie, as he got a couple of certificates from school for good behaviour, and his first badge at Boys Brigade (an organisation a bit like scouts). He was really pleased with his achievements, and we were very proud, especially of his school behaviour. He also made me this lovely picture, which apparently showcases 3 of my favourite activities - running, reading and eating biscuits!
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Hampshire 10K Race Report
After March's Half Marathon, I did several speedy runs in training which let me know that I could comfortably beat my 10K PB if I could find a race. I entered one in April, which turned out to be a DNS. So I looked for another, and when I couldn't find anything local, I entered one about 70 miles away, but which was helpfully round the corner from my brother-in-law's house.
We drove along the South coast on Sunday, and stayed at my parents-in-law's overnight. On Monday (Bank Holiday) morning, we went to Portsmouth to my brother-in-law's place, where I got changed and ate a cereal bar, then Pete and his brother walked me to the sports centre where the race was to start. It was pouring with rain, and we were all pretty soaked when we got there, although it was only about 10 mins away.
My goal was to average around 8.30 min/miles, in order to dip under 53 minutes, and I knew I had run somewhere around this pace in training, so it was definitely achievable.
The race started on a running track, and after a quick loo stop, I joined 141 other runners at the start. I think this was the first race I have done which began with the firing of a starter's pistol, and as it went off, several runners exclaimed in shock - it was really loud!
We set off for a couple of laps of the track, which was lovely to run on, before leaving the sports centre and continuing up a path alongside the sea, and next to a park. As this was a club race, and most of the participants were fairly serious runners, the pace was fast. I got carried away on the first mile as usual, and ran it in 7m43s - my fastest mile of the race! Oops! I reined it in a bit, but tried not to get overtaken by too many people. I seemed to get passed a lot in the first 2 miles or so.
We got to the end of the path, and ran a loop before heading back to the track. I started to get a bit of a stitch, but luckily it never came to anything. Having had a bit of heel pain during the week (due to wearing work shoes instead of my usual trainers for a couple of days), I was relieved not to feel much discomfort while I was running, and certainly not enough to slow me down.
Along the path I noticed a lot of race numbers had fallen off, and at about 5K, mine came off too. The rain had soaked the paper so it just fell away from the safety pins. By the end of the race, very few runners were wearing their numbers, but at least I managed to grab mine, and I stuffed it in my pocket in case I needed it.
We ran another lap of the track, then headed out to repeat the first loop. I was still feeling good, and a few people who had overtaken me were grouped ahead of me. Gradually I started to pick them off. It gave me great pleasure to catch up each one and overtake them!
By about 8k, I knew I was going to get my PB, it was just a question of how fast I could go. At 9K I could hear someone behind me. It sounded as though his footsteps were getting closer and closer, and I thought he would come pass me. I was feeling strong though, and put on a surge of extra speed! We came onto the track again, and I tried to sprint as fast as I could. The chap behind me fell away and as I came to the finish I could see the clock read 51 minutes! This was so exciting, and I felt great as I charged across the line. There was no chip timing, but someone recorded my time, and I gave them my soggy number.
The unfortunate thing about running such a fast time was that I finished before my family arrived to meet me! It was a shame that the kids didn't see me finish, especially as I felt so fast and happy, but I was really thrilled to have run such a good time.
The official results gave me 51m17s, and 17 of 37 women, 12 of 28 in my age group, 100 out of 142 runners altogether. I had expected sub 54 mins, hoped for sub 53 mins, but never imagined going sub 52 mins!
It was a completely flat race, the flattest race I have ever run and really well organised. The only downside was the weather, but I don't think I'd have gone any faster without the rain. My splits were as follows:
Mile 1: 7.43
Mile 2: 8.18
Mile 3: 8.18
Mile 4: 8.19
Mile 5: 8.13
Mile 6: 7.51
0.2: 7.14 (pace)
Average pace: 8.04 min/miles
So although the first mile was a bit fast, I'm pleased with the consistency of the middle miles, and with that last mile being under 8mins!
As far as the 10K is concerned, I suppose the next goal must be sub 50 mins - something I'd never have dreamed possible a few months ago, but which is beginning to seem almost attainable!
We drove along the South coast on Sunday, and stayed at my parents-in-law's overnight. On Monday (Bank Holiday) morning, we went to Portsmouth to my brother-in-law's place, where I got changed and ate a cereal bar, then Pete and his brother walked me to the sports centre where the race was to start. It was pouring with rain, and we were all pretty soaked when we got there, although it was only about 10 mins away.
Getting ready...
My goal was to average around 8.30 min/miles, in order to dip under 53 minutes, and I knew I had run somewhere around this pace in training, so it was definitely achievable.
Ready!
The race started on a running track, and after a quick loo stop, I joined 141 other runners at the start. I think this was the first race I have done which began with the firing of a starter's pistol, and as it went off, several runners exclaimed in shock - it was really loud!
We set off for a couple of laps of the track, which was lovely to run on, before leaving the sports centre and continuing up a path alongside the sea, and next to a park. As this was a club race, and most of the participants were fairly serious runners, the pace was fast. I got carried away on the first mile as usual, and ran it in 7m43s - my fastest mile of the race! Oops! I reined it in a bit, but tried not to get overtaken by too many people. I seemed to get passed a lot in the first 2 miles or so.
We got to the end of the path, and ran a loop before heading back to the track. I started to get a bit of a stitch, but luckily it never came to anything. Having had a bit of heel pain during the week (due to wearing work shoes instead of my usual trainers for a couple of days), I was relieved not to feel much discomfort while I was running, and certainly not enough to slow me down.
Along the path I noticed a lot of race numbers had fallen off, and at about 5K, mine came off too. The rain had soaked the paper so it just fell away from the safety pins. By the end of the race, very few runners were wearing their numbers, but at least I managed to grab mine, and I stuffed it in my pocket in case I needed it.
We ran another lap of the track, then headed out to repeat the first loop. I was still feeling good, and a few people who had overtaken me were grouped ahead of me. Gradually I started to pick them off. It gave me great pleasure to catch up each one and overtake them!
By about 8k, I knew I was going to get my PB, it was just a question of how fast I could go. At 9K I could hear someone behind me. It sounded as though his footsteps were getting closer and closer, and I thought he would come pass me. I was feeling strong though, and put on a surge of extra speed! We came onto the track again, and I tried to sprint as fast as I could. The chap behind me fell away and as I came to the finish I could see the clock read 51 minutes! This was so exciting, and I felt great as I charged across the line. There was no chip timing, but someone recorded my time, and I gave them my soggy number.
The unfortunate thing about running such a fast time was that I finished before my family arrived to meet me! It was a shame that the kids didn't see me finish, especially as I felt so fast and happy, but I was really thrilled to have run such a good time.
The official results gave me 51m17s, and 17 of 37 women, 12 of 28 in my age group, 100 out of 142 runners altogether. I had expected sub 54 mins, hoped for sub 53 mins, but never imagined going sub 52 mins!
It was a completely flat race, the flattest race I have ever run and really well organised. The only downside was the weather, but I don't think I'd have gone any faster without the rain. My splits were as follows:
Mile 1: 7.43
Mile 2: 8.18
Mile 3: 8.18
Mile 4: 8.19
Mile 5: 8.13
Mile 6: 7.51
0.2: 7.14 (pace)
Average pace: 8.04 min/miles
So although the first mile was a bit fast, I'm pleased with the consistency of the middle miles, and with that last mile being under 8mins!
As far as the 10K is concerned, I suppose the next goal must be sub 50 mins - something I'd never have dreamed possible a few months ago, but which is beginning to seem almost attainable!
Robbie, Emma and cousin Joshua posing at the track afterwards!
Monday, 7 May 2012
Job Done!
Yay I did it! On my second attempt, I got the 10K PB I knew I could run. After a very off-putting week including 2 rubbish runs, a sniffy nose and cold symptoms, a planned run swapped for a nap and worst of all the ominous re-emergence of heel pain (NO!!), I finally got my sh*t together this morning.
Despite the above concerns and pouring rain throughout the race (skies brightening as soon as the last runners had completed the course), I smashed my PB by about 3 minutes, and my highest expectations by 1 minute to finish with a Garmin time of 51m15s!!
The official result has not been posted yet, but there was no chip timing, so I'm just hoping it's similar to what I've got on the Garmin.
I'll post a proper race report in a few days, with some more interesting photos and the official time. Meanwhile, my legs ache!
Despite the above concerns and pouring rain throughout the race (skies brightening as soon as the last runners had completed the course), I smashed my PB by about 3 minutes, and my highest expectations by 1 minute to finish with a Garmin time of 51m15s!!
The official result has not been posted yet, but there was no chip timing, so I'm just hoping it's similar to what I've got on the Garmin.
I'll post a proper race report in a few days, with some more interesting photos and the official time. Meanwhile, my legs ache!
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Pre-Race Concerns
After running a PB in a fantastic Half Marathon race in March, I have found myself at peak fitness, running faster than ever before. I have run several training runs over 6 miles which have been faster than my 10K PB pace, so naturally I've been looking for a 10K race to do.
Last month I entered a local 10K, only to have the car ruin my plans (it turned out to be a flat battery, just when my batteries were fully charged and ready to go).
So next Monday I'm going to try again. I've entered the Hampshire 10K, which is held in Portsmouth, just down the road from my brother-in-law's house. It's a Bank Holiday, and we'll be combining the race with a family visit, staying over on Sunday night before the race.
The course is 2 laps of a flat route, starting and finishing in an athletic stadium, but mainly on road. Sounds good so far, but it can be a very windy spot, apparently, so I'll just have to hope that there are no gales forecast.
I've been browsing some comments from people who ran this race last time it was held, and it seems that the competitors are mainly fast club runners, and that it is not really suitable for beginners. I'm not planning on coming last, but I don't mind being near the back, and hopefully a fast race will spur me on.
Although I know I am in good form and should easily beat my PB, I must admit that my last few runs have been rubbish. On Monday I ran 6 miles, and felt very heavy legged. I decided it would be fine to make it an easy run, but I was still shocked by my overall pace of 9.04 min/miles. I felt very achey afterwards, so rested on Tuesday, only to have another tough run yesterday. It was just 4 miles, but again I struggled to feel good, and averaged 8.48 min/miles.
These runs have done nothing for my confidence. Usually my running really benefits from a rest, so I'm hoping that if I don't run at the weekend, I'll feel fresh and revived for the race.
The other potential spanner in the works is the weather. It's been very changable recently, going from this:
to this:
in a matter of hours.
I don't mind cool temperatures and a spot of drizzle, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have strong winds, storms or pouring rain. And if that bloody car lets me down again, we'll be needing a new one!
Last month I entered a local 10K, only to have the car ruin my plans (it turned out to be a flat battery, just when my batteries were fully charged and ready to go).
So next Monday I'm going to try again. I've entered the Hampshire 10K, which is held in Portsmouth, just down the road from my brother-in-law's house. It's a Bank Holiday, and we'll be combining the race with a family visit, staying over on Sunday night before the race.
The course is 2 laps of a flat route, starting and finishing in an athletic stadium, but mainly on road. Sounds good so far, but it can be a very windy spot, apparently, so I'll just have to hope that there are no gales forecast.
I've been browsing some comments from people who ran this race last time it was held, and it seems that the competitors are mainly fast club runners, and that it is not really suitable for beginners. I'm not planning on coming last, but I don't mind being near the back, and hopefully a fast race will spur me on.
Although I know I am in good form and should easily beat my PB, I must admit that my last few runs have been rubbish. On Monday I ran 6 miles, and felt very heavy legged. I decided it would be fine to make it an easy run, but I was still shocked by my overall pace of 9.04 min/miles. I felt very achey afterwards, so rested on Tuesday, only to have another tough run yesterday. It was just 4 miles, but again I struggled to feel good, and averaged 8.48 min/miles.
These runs have done nothing for my confidence. Usually my running really benefits from a rest, so I'm hoping that if I don't run at the weekend, I'll feel fresh and revived for the race.
The other potential spanner in the works is the weather. It's been very changable recently, going from this:
in a matter of hours.
I don't mind cool temperatures and a spot of drizzle, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have strong winds, storms or pouring rain. And if that bloody car lets me down again, we'll be needing a new one!
Monday, 30 April 2012
April Rundown
What a wet few weeks that was! Last month really lived up to the expression 'April showers', as we finally had heavy rain, along with strong winds and cold temperatures for several days in a row. It didn't stop me running, but it did make some of those runs slightly less enjoyable!
The biggest disappointment was a rare DNS, at a race I felt confident of PB-ing in. Hopefully I'll be able to put that right next month.
The biggest excitement was a course PB at Eastbourne Parkrun, where I shaved almost 40 seconds from my previous time, and ran within 15 seconds of my (faster course) 5K PB.
Two weeks of Easter holidays and the children off school meant that my mileage was not as high as I would have liked, and although I cranked it up over the last couple of weeks to make up for the first two, it's still my lowest mileage of the year...
Ran 17 times = 77.12 miles
Cycled 2 times = 20 miles
1 Race
1 (sort of) PB!
Overall though, I've kept things pretty consistent - I'm still running 4 times a week, and usually over 15 miles each week. I'm still feeling as though I'm as fit as I've ever been, so bring on the next month!
The biggest disappointment was a rare DNS, at a race I felt confident of PB-ing in. Hopefully I'll be able to put that right next month.
The biggest excitement was a course PB at Eastbourne Parkrun, where I shaved almost 40 seconds from my previous time, and ran within 15 seconds of my (faster course) 5K PB.
Two weeks of Easter holidays and the children off school meant that my mileage was not as high as I would have liked, and although I cranked it up over the last couple of weeks to make up for the first two, it's still my lowest mileage of the year...
Ran 17 times = 77.12 miles
Cycled 2 times = 20 miles
1 Race
1 (sort of) PB!
Overall though, I've kept things pretty consistent - I'm still running 4 times a week, and usually over 15 miles each week. I'm still feeling as though I'm as fit as I've ever been, so bring on the next month!
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Dodging the Downpours
Since we moved to the South of England last August, I have been pleasantly surprised by the weather. We English are pretty damn interested in the weather (and I am definitely no exception), perhaps because it can be rather changeable and unpredictable. We also tend to think our climate is terrible, and we love to moan about it. But having lived in Scotland for 6 years, I have a more favourable view of English weather now. Suffice to say, there was a lot more wind and rain up north, (although admittedly we have moved to an area known as 'The Sunshine Coast', which prides itself on having more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in the UK, so it may not be entirely representative).
The last few months have been very dry and we've had a lot of sun, so much so in fact that the South of England and the Midlands has received drought warnings and we are being urged to save water.
But this has all changed over the last couple of weeks. The rain is BACK, and now it just won't go away. Every time I look at the local 5-day forecast, it has rain scheduled for every day. At first I thought we deserved a bit of rain, it's fair enough, and of course we need to fill those empty resevoirs. But now it's just getting boring, and there seems to be no sign of improvement.
On Monday, spurred on by having watched the London Marathon on Sunday, I decided to run 8 miles - my longest distance since the Half Marathon 7 weeks ago (which was a rainy day too, by the way...). I didn't let the rain out me off, I put my baseball cap on to keep the rain off my glasses and face, and got out there. After spending over an hour in the great outdoors, naturally I was soaked by the time I got home, but it wasn't too bad.
Then this morning I crept downstairs at 6.20am while everyone else was asleep, only to see that it was pouring with rain and blowing a gale. I reluctantly put my running gear on - jacket and protective baseball cap included - and willed the sun to break out. It didn't, and I started to think of a few good reasons why I shouldn't go out. I'm not following a training plan, it doesn't matter how many times I run this week, I could run tomorrow instead, I'd be better off doing a fitness DVD in the living room etc etc.
Then I remembered something that I heard a couple of days ago. I was listening to the Marathon Training Academy podcast, and someone described how Angie, the show's presenter, doesn't miss runs she has planned because her mindset is 'It's already decided'. That resonated with me, because since January, going for an early morning run has been something that I've done almost every Wednesday. It fits in well with my usual weekly routine, and I've just got into the habit of doing it.
On Tuesday night before going to bed, I'd got my running stuff ready and set my alarm for the morning. It was already decided. So in spite of the constant blustery wind and horizontal rain, I toughed it out for 3 whole miles. I was cold, and it wasn't much fun, but it wasn't that bad either. And it didn't matter what the weather was like anyway - my run was already decided!
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