Last night, just before I went to sleep, I spotted a Facebook post from my local ParkRun looking for pacers for 26th August. Maybe I was overtired or something, but I volunteered to pace either 32 or 34 minutes, then dropped off to sleep. I woke up with no memory of my insanity until I checked Facebook to find that I'd been assigned 32 minute pacing! Just to be clear, I have never paced before, or even attempted it! My PB for 5k is 26:06, and I tend to run 8:30-9:30 minute miles at the moment. A quick google told me that a 32 minute 5k requires an average pace of 10:17 minute miles, so I abandoned my plan for an interval session this morning and decided to practice pacing instead. I set out on my favourite local route, which (strangely as I'm a bit of a country girl) involves running across a busy motorway junction (on a footpath, I hasten to add!). I settled into a rhythm fairly quickly and set my FitBit to average pace, which I checked frequently. I then ran for 32 minutes, stopped my FitBit and checked my distance. This will probably sound weird, but I think this was one of my proudest running moments (and I've had a few!) - running 5k in 32 minutes, 6 minutes slower than my PB. But exactly the time I wanted and fairly even splits.
I'll be practicing a few more times I hope before the day, but this has definitely made me feel set up for success.
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I have decided to try a running "streak" - maybe for a month to start with. This means that I will be running at least 1 mile every day. I started on 25th May, so my initial aim is to keep it going until 25th June.
I noticed a distinct lack of streak support groups on Facebook, so decided to create one if anybody is interested in joining me! We turned ParkRun into a bit of a family affair this week. After Pickle's first attempt last week, his eldest 2 brothers decided to give it a go. Eldest bro Will decided to set off on his own, whereas Jamie started with me and Pickle. After about 1km, Jamie decided to head off alone as well. The conditions weren't ideal this week. Although the day had started with rain and thunder, the clouds cleared for 9am leaving it hot and humid. It was really too much for Pickle who struggled to even walk the course this week. The result was a 44:59 finish time and a sad Pickle. Will and Jamie fared much better - Will's time was 30:08 and Jamie's was 36:06. Once we had collected cake, Will said to me "No offence, but I think you're insane - I'm never doing that again!". Insane. I think I'll take that as a compliment :) In 8 weeks, Pickle and I are going to doing Race for Life together, something that he's been very excited about. Now that I've got a few ParkRuns under my belt, I thought I'd see if he fancied giving it a go, so I registered him and off we tootled on Saturday morning.
We had a bit of a wait before the start as he said he'd rather get there early and park closer (!!!), so we looked at the geese and goslings by the river and watched the rowers. What can I say? He kept going - even though his legs "hated him"! We were lucky that a rogue photographer was hiding in the undergrowth, so I have some lovely photos of us running (1st lap) and walking (2nd lap). With the end in sight, his little legs decided to get a second wind and we ran to the finish. Although I let him go through first, we shared a finishing time of 38:44 - not bad for a first time and a non-runner. A PB set...watch this space! On 1st April, I managed a 27:02 ParkRun, which was close to my PB of 26:27 - close but no coconut in this case. I pushed pretty hard, I felt pretty awful (see photo!) and I really didn't think I could have run it any faster. Fast forward a week, back at the start line and my trusty friend Andrew said to me "I reckon you'll go faster this week." My response was quite literally "not a chance" - I'd quite literally given it everything the week before and I didn't think I had any more in me. Added to which, I was feeling groggy and my lower back was stiff and sore. But, as is the way of group running, I set off fast and kept pushing. In fact, I had decided last week that ParkRun was destined to be my "tempo" training run of the week. As with the previous week, I started my FitBit then didn't look at it again as I ran - there was no need to check the distance as it's a set course, and looking at my time might either depress me or make me anxious to push harder. I followed my body and my breath (out of) and... Over the weekend I managed both ParkRun and a 10k short long run!
ParkRun was great - I hadn't managed it for the previous 3 weeks (felt like a lifetime) and I was well motivated by my friend and part-time training partner Andrew. We took it gently (he is nursing an ankle injury worse than mine, unfortunately) and got round in 31:55. My ankle is holding up very well, with only a slight ache after the 10k that was gone by the end of the day. So, that's almost it. This week I've run a 5k (Tuesday, 29:50) and I'm planning a gentle ParkRun on Saturday, plus plenty of yoga (today will be day 22 of "30 days of yoga with Adriene") and maybe some meditation, possibly a bike ride and/or swim. Not to mention a spot of carb-loading on Friday and Saturday! We also had lots of fun trampolining at Rush on Monday (where we were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves for half an hour - the joys of home educating). Bring it on... Just 10 days now before my first half marathon. My ankle is hardly even swinging now, which is great, and I managed to squeeze in a 3.3 mile run yesterday in spite of events attempting to conspire against me (one child with flu, another injured at gymnastics class requiring hours waiting in A&E). It was far quicker than I was intending or anticipating, but again I didn't push, it just happened, which was nice. Then today Mike the Bike and I had a date. Quite a short ride for me, but fast and nice to blow the cobwebs away. I rounded the afternoon off with day 15 of my "30 Days of Yoga" practice, which was pretty blissful if I'm honest.
I am also now the proud owner of a meditation cushion and a yoga block! So on to the serious stuff. The Day is fast approaching and I'd really love it if people felt able to sponsor me. Here's the link to my Just Giving page - even just £1 from each visitor to my bog would make a massive difference. Thank you :) Last night I was babysitting, which was fine, except they said they'd be back at 11pm and they didn't get back until 12.20am! So by the time I got to bed it was around 1am. I woke up at 7am, so was really thinking I'd take it easy at PR today. That was my intention. Honestly. My mum says "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"... I started myself somewhere in the middle and LOADS of people passed me as well. But in the second mile I found my running stride and just kept going, and it was me doing the passing! It was a little muddy underfoot (but I was wearing my trail shoes) and the snow held off for the duration, which was nice of it. Really pleased with my time and a new ParkRun best for me... Distance: 3.11 miles
Time: 29m:02s Average pace: 9' 28" Fastest mile: 8' 59" Type of run: ParkRun (threshold) Cardio fitness score: 41 Today's run was my weekly intervals session. I used the AudioFuel "Power Up" pyramid interval session, which I've had for quite a while now (maybe the subject of my next review!) Today's session was pretty tough - I was expecting it not to be too bad as I'd had a complete rest day yesterday - but no. My legs felt heavy, my breathing felt difficult and I was sure I was running at my slowest - and windy conditions really didn't help (hair in my eyes, ugh!) Imagine my surprise when I saw that all of my miles were sub 10 minutes, the first time that's happened in quite some time. I was also exited to find my RHM race pack waiting for me when I got home! Sophie. 7985. And there was me thinking I was Runner 5... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Marathon-for-Archie
Distance: 3.12 miles Time: 29:55 Average pace: 9:35 Fastest mile: 9:17 Type of run: Pyramid intervals Cardio fitness score: 40 This morning I bit the bullet and signed up for the Green Park Royal Berkshire 10k on Sunday 21st May. This falls between Reading Half Marathon and starting proper training for the marathon. I also have a whole load of Race for Life 5k and 10k events in my diary, as my marathon entry gets me free access to these for the year! My next plan is to look at routes for longer runs around home, as my longest training run is meant to be 20-22 miles! This afternoon, despite feeling tired and totally lacking in motivation, I dragged myself out for a run down the local byways. I made the mistake of not wearing my "safety glasses", and ended up with a midge committing suicide in my left eye - won't be leaving them at home again, then! The shoes performed nicely in "proper" mud, and my socks were still dry (except for sweat!) when I got home, even though I stomped in several puddles on the way. A refreshing 5k, although I'm now feeling in a "PJs and dressing gown" mood... Please do sponsor me if you can - even just £1 - it's a long way to my target! Thank you. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Marathon-for-Archie
Distance: 3.13 miles Time: 32:17 Average pace: 10:19 Fastest mile: 9:41 Type of run: Trail Cardio fitness score: 40 |
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May 2018
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