So now I'm onto "pastures new" as it were.
I have 2 events booked in to my diary for next year. The first is Reading Half Marathon (18th March) and the second is Endure 24 in June, which coincides with my birthday (almost). I am teaming up with my lovely husband, Dave. A non-runner, but willing to take part and spend the weekend in a tent with me and try at least one lap (as per the rules). We have completed the Shine Walk together twice now, so I know he's good to his word. Other than that, I am looking into some local sprint duo- and tri- events and upping my speed work and cross training. It's been great to get back into some stuff other than running and not to feel pressured by a "big event" on the horizon. I've also be addressing my general wellness and eating habits - more on that in my next blog :)
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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. I think I was really lucky to come home from the Cotswold 24 with no blisters or major damage (bruised toenail probably doesn't count!), but I think I underestimated how much it affected me physically as it's taken these 3 weeks for me to be able to run longer distances again.
I must admit I was starting to get a little worried, but faith has been restored with a couple of good interval sessions in the week (which have actually proved to me that I can run fast when I push myself a little), a 5 mile run yesterday then 13.1 miles today. This also brought my total weekly mileage up above my previous efforts (except the week of the Cotswold 24), which makes me feel a lot better. The balls of my feet are sore and I'm quite tired, but still able to function (I even mowed the lawn!). I've also managed to maintain my running streak (which I'm enjoying most days), and have managed to reach day 81 today! I'm planning to increase my long run to 15 miles next Sunday, followed by 17 the week after. I am having to juggle the long runs a little as I am (possibly stupidly) doing the Shine Walk two weeks before the RFL marathon. That's all for now - I'm off to give my feet a well deserved "volcanic foot mask" and moisturise! I kept it a bit quiet, but I was inspired to look for a 24 hour event after a friend (Emma) posted on Facebook about one she'd done in June - it sounded like a challenge I wanted to take up. The only one accessible to me this year was the Cotswold 24 Hour Race organised by 100 Mile Run, so I signed up.
I'll be honest, I didn't do any particular training except for continuing to train for my marathon. The laps were 9km (around 5.6 miles), so my aim was to complete 5 laps over the 24 hours which is 28 miles (just over a marathon). In retrospect, this may have been a little ambitious as I'd never completed more than 13.6 miles in training. Well, OK, canal, but it didn't have quite the same ring to it! I'm now on day 52 of my running streak, which I wasn't quite expecting. I've been suffering a bit lately due to the heat and being tired from early mornings/life etc, so a lot of my runs have been quite short, leaving me feeling a bit concerned about being in shape for the marathon. Last weekend I did my long run along the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath (once I'd run to it, which is about 3 miles from home). This week, I thought I'd see how Lexie would handle a run-walk-run down there, but decided to drive down instead so that we could just run and enjoy the scenery. I did have some concerns about how far she'd manage, so I set off with very few expectations (and a backpack full of supplies!). Turns out I needn't have worried. We settled into a rhythm of run 0.5 miles, walk 0.25 miles which seemed to suit us both pretty well. We stopped every couple of miles for water, and Lexie seemed to totally love it, even having the energy to hop into the back of the car at the end after 9 miles! It was blissfully cool and even drizzled for some of the time which was really nice. I stupidly didn't take any photos whilst we were out, but here's one of Lexie zonked out on the bath mat when we got home! Something unexpected happened this week. I found a running partner... A year or so ago, Ollie was my running partner but as his age has started to catch up with him, he's decided that running is on his terms these days and it's pretty much limited to a mile. Which is fine. He's my best buddy and totally adorable. After our other dog, Leia, passed away from heart failure in June 2016, I didn't think we'd be a multi-dog household again. But then Lexi came along. She belonged to a local family who didn't have time for her, and I umm'd and ahh'd before offering her a home. We had a 48 hour trial period. She was totally loopy, literally bouncing around the house to begin with. She arrived with us on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning we walked 1.5 miles and ran 1.2 miles. Then we walked 5 more times during the day! On Thursday morning we walked 1.5 miles and ran 2.5 miles. She started to calm down significantly. Today we walked 1.5 miles and ran 1.25 miles. I've been taking her on the school run (she loves being in the car and just snuggles down to sleep, which she was struggling to do at home initially), and in fact anywhere she can come with me, she does. This is a massive difference as Ollie hates being in the car and is leash-reactive, making it difficult to take him anywhere. Lexi seemed to have no "off" switch when she came to us, but it turns out that she does. She now settles happily next to me and is zonked out asleep as I'm typing this. She's tiny, I'm not sure whether she'll ever make marathon material (then again I'm not sure that I will!) - but she'll give it a damned good try! ParkRun tomorrow. Woof woof! P.S. Just realised I'm on day 37 of my running streak! I think I (accidentally) picked a very good time to have an "easy" week - we are now in the middle of a mini-heatwave, with temperatures peaking at around 31 degrees today (and still around that even now it's evening!). This morning I went for my little mile-and-a-bit run around the local housing estate (slightly better than it sounds) and was extremely glad not to be going any further. Most of the rest of the day was spent at a local country park with Pickle, who had a whale of a time in their splash pad and sandpit, including making friends with lots of little people! In fact there was one little boy (around 18 months) who took a real shine to him and followed him around for about 2 hours, taking his hand and leading him where he "needed" to go. The little boy's mum was so impressed with Pickle's kindness and patience that she treated him to an ice-cream. Yesterday I did my yoga in the garden and I'm now off to do the same again.
Namaste. This week has been hot (for the UK) and heat is something I don't really like that much, even more so if I'm running. But run I did - my highest mileage week to date, I believe.
I'm now 25 days into my streak and can see both pros and cons to running daily. This morning I set out before 7.30am for my planned 10.2 mile run and even at that time it was unpleasant. There were a couple of moments when I considered quitting early, and not because I'm a total wimp but because I was feeling so flipping awful! But I made it. I did run:walk:run intervals (4:1 minutes), and I think the walking saved me from quitting! I also managed to keep fairly even splits again which was nice. Yesterday's ParkRun wasn't much easier to be honest, but I made it round in 29:11, so not too terrible. I'd made a conscious decision not to push at all as I really don't want to make myself ill by pushing too hard in hot weather. Next week I am planning a low mileage/low effort week - Monday to Friday I am just going to do my 1 mile-ish circuit in the mornings. ParkRun is cancelled on Saturday, but I may turn tourist (not sure where yet!). My "long" run will be around 6 miles on Sunday. Hopefully I'll feel refreshed... So this weekend I did my long run (9 miles) on Saturday as I knew I was going out in the evening. I ran to town and back which is fortuitously exactly 9 miles. I won't say it was easy, but I did run/walk - I was aiming for 10:30 minute miles but ended up bang on 10:00 minutes per mile with fairly even splits.
On Sunday morning, not wanting to break my streak but feeling really tired after 5 hours' sleep, I set out for a 5k run. After about 3 steps I realised it wasn't going to happen, so settled for a "streak holding" mile instead. Definitely the hardest run of the week! So I'm now on day 18 of my running streak and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. I wondered if I'd feel too tired or injure myself but fingers crossed all good so far. As long as I stay injury free, I may continue for longer than my planned month streak. On Wednesday, Dave and I went on a pre-birthday shopping trip and bought me a few bits and bobs including some new running gear - a crop top and some new running shorts (see photo). It's been rather warm recently and not having to totally cover up was very refreshing on my run yesterday. The other big thing for me has been that I would never have had the self-confidence to wear something like that in public until very recently. I only bought my first bikini a couple of years ago. Very liberating! My mid-length run this week was an eye-opener. I was aiming for an easy pace, which I tried to gauge by how I felt, so I was maintaining a breathing pattern that was "easy" and not running so I felt fatigued. I tried to avoid looking at my FitBit as I had my route planned. In spite of all of this and not feeling like I was pushing myself, I ran 4.87 miles at an average pace of 9:26, a minute faster than my target pace.
No ParkRun for me tomorrow, as I'm going out in the evening so want to do my long run (9 miles planned) on Saturday rather than Sunday. I am not sure whether I will aim to run or run:walk:run yet, but I am going to be really aiming for a very easy pace! Really really! I've been keeping up with my yoga as well (most days), which is really great for stretching me out and relaxing me. My anxiety is pretty much a thing of the past, which is a fantastic feeling I have to say... |
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May 2018
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