Well it's been a long time and I've still been pootling along with my running, mostly short 5-6km runs with various groups and a couple of 10km trail races (one which was hilariously muddy and slippy and more like a walk/slide than a run!). Nothing challenging, but keeping going.
And now I'm back on the half marathon trail.
As well as the Royal Parks Half in October which I got in to (happily) via the ballot earlier this year, I'm now signed up for the Isle of Man Half in August (to coincide with a visit to family).
So far so good. It's early days. I've done a 7mile long run and a 7.5-8m long run (my tracker failed, so not sure exactly how far I ran!), the last 2 Sundays. Also a good parkrun last weekend where I pushed myself faster - not up to PB level but managed my fastest time so far this year.
I've also taken up pilates and started doing the occasional circuit class to help make me stronger and fitter.
Soooo not exactly my plan to focus on getting faster at 5kms this year... but at least having the halve's in sight keeps me focused. This weekend I'm running the 10km race for life in Milton Keynes, to support my friend - it's her first 10k!
Keep going keep going.
Showing posts with label Half marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Half marathon. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Racing again this week
On Sunday I'm running a 10 mile race. I am feeling very laid back about it. What's 10 miles after a half marathon! My training has been OK, not brilliant. I ran 9.5 miles 2 weeks ago and 8 miles this weekend past. I'll be fine. I just want to get the long distance running over with to be honest. I'm getting fed up of my Sunday mornings being eaten up by the long slow run. My family are also getting fed up with that too!
The 10 mile race is an interesting one - at Ford's car test track. So it should be relatively flat. And it's very close to home so that makes it easy in terms of logistics. One lady from my running group who runs a similar pace to me is doing it too. Also my super amazing marathon friend is running but I can't bear to think about him waiting for me at the finish line, getting cold, for an hour :-O He'll probably get a trophy.
http://testtrack10.weebly.com/
After that I want to spend the spring and summer getting back to loving my short distances, and bringing those 5k and 10k times down. And I want to work on eating less crap so I can lose a few extra inches and pounds... long distance running makes me eat badly :(
But then....
I got a place in the Royal Parks Half Marathon, through the ballot - first time I entered! I couldn't believe it. It's very exciting as it's like running the London marathon, but without the whole marathon distance lol. I'm very excited as well because my lovely running friend Michelle also got a place so we will be able to train together. But that's not until October so I don't need to think about that for just a little while!
The 10 mile race is an interesting one - at Ford's car test track. So it should be relatively flat. And it's very close to home so that makes it easy in terms of logistics. One lady from my running group who runs a similar pace to me is doing it too. Also my super amazing marathon friend is running but I can't bear to think about him waiting for me at the finish line, getting cold, for an hour :-O He'll probably get a trophy.
http://testtrack10.weebly.com/
After that I want to spend the spring and summer getting back to loving my short distances, and bringing those 5k and 10k times down. And I want to work on eating less crap so I can lose a few extra inches and pounds... long distance running makes me eat badly :(
But then....
I got a place in the Royal Parks Half Marathon, through the ballot - first time I entered! I couldn't believe it. It's very exciting as it's like running the London marathon, but without the whole marathon distance lol. I'm very excited as well because my lovely running friend Michelle also got a place so we will be able to train together. But that's not until October so I don't need to think about that for just a little while!
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Very post post race
So it's February ... I did my first half marathon last November. What happened? I couldn't bring myself to write about the race afterwards and I have no idea why. Because it was brilliant! I was on a high afterwards. I loved it (well, most of it!), I felt a huge sense of pride and achievement. I felt so much, I didn't know what to write. I just couldn't begin. So I didn't... and then time passed and it seemed to far away and I lost momentum.
But now I want to start blogging about running again, so I feel I have to update things. I hate leaving work unfinished!
So, quick race report.
Michelle was unable to run. She was still hobbling and in pain on the race day, but she insisted on coming to Norwich with me to drive me there and support me. She was awesome. I felt terrible that we couldn't do it together after all the training, and she was pretty gutted too, but she was/is an amazing friend.
It was a freezing freezing day. It snowed the night before, thankfully just a sprinkling but it was so cold and grey when we started. I was so excited lining up to start and was just determined to run my own pace and enjoy it.
And enjoy it I did. I made a point to say hello and chat to people and I had a couple of lovely chats with people who I ran with for the odd mile here or there. I said hello and thank you (and even high fived!) to all the marshals and people offering water. I smiled a lot and took some photos! After the first mile the sun came out and it was one of those glorious cold sunny winter days. We ran around pretty little country lanes, past houses where people came out to cheer and clap.
When I ran past the half way sign I felt elated. I hadn't stopped and walked yet and I was feeling great.
Between miles 8 and 9 it was horribly hilly but I kept going, but those hills made my hip start to ache. By mile 10 I was starting to really flag and slow down. And then I hit another massive hill approaching mile 11 and had to walk up it, and then the weather turned. I kept going, determined to try and get to the finish before it started to rain, but I was getting slower and slower, running for 5 mins then having to walk for a minute, and at mile 12 it started to bucket down, cold, heavy sleety snowy rain. My glasses were fogged, I was wading through freezing puddles. Started to hate it, just wanted to finish.
Shortly after that, we turned back into the Norwich showground and had a mile lap to do in front of the spectators (and earlier finishers), in the rain. It was miserable. Thankfully i saw Michelle as I started that final mile and that little cheer kept me going.
I still had to walk run that last mile, until the last quarter mile when I just went for it! I came over the line with a massive grin on my face and burst into tears. I couldn't believe how amazing it felt to finish. I was so overwhelmed by what I'd what I'd achieved. I finished in 2 hours 45. Fine for my pace and i was just glad to finish although I really wish I hadn't walked and got closer to 2.5 hours.
I ached a lot after- it was a painfully slow (and wet) walk back to the car. And I kept getting cramp in the car on the way home. But I felt epic. EPIC. I wanted to do it again...
But now I want to start blogging about running again, so I feel I have to update things. I hate leaving work unfinished!
So, quick race report.
Michelle was unable to run. She was still hobbling and in pain on the race day, but she insisted on coming to Norwich with me to drive me there and support me. She was awesome. I felt terrible that we couldn't do it together after all the training, and she was pretty gutted too, but she was/is an amazing friend.
It was a freezing freezing day. It snowed the night before, thankfully just a sprinkling but it was so cold and grey when we started. I was so excited lining up to start and was just determined to run my own pace and enjoy it.
And enjoy it I did. I made a point to say hello and chat to people and I had a couple of lovely chats with people who I ran with for the odd mile here or there. I said hello and thank you (and even high fived!) to all the marshals and people offering water. I smiled a lot and took some photos! After the first mile the sun came out and it was one of those glorious cold sunny winter days. We ran around pretty little country lanes, past houses where people came out to cheer and clap.
When I ran past the half way sign I felt elated. I hadn't stopped and walked yet and I was feeling great.
Between miles 8 and 9 it was horribly hilly but I kept going, but those hills made my hip start to ache. By mile 10 I was starting to really flag and slow down. And then I hit another massive hill approaching mile 11 and had to walk up it, and then the weather turned. I kept going, determined to try and get to the finish before it started to rain, but I was getting slower and slower, running for 5 mins then having to walk for a minute, and at mile 12 it started to bucket down, cold, heavy sleety snowy rain. My glasses were fogged, I was wading through freezing puddles. Started to hate it, just wanted to finish.
Shortly after that, we turned back into the Norwich showground and had a mile lap to do in front of the spectators (and earlier finishers), in the rain. It was miserable. Thankfully i saw Michelle as I started that final mile and that little cheer kept me going.
I still had to walk run that last mile, until the last quarter mile when I just went for it! I came over the line with a massive grin on my face and burst into tears. I couldn't believe how amazing it felt to finish. I was so overwhelmed by what I'd what I'd achieved. I finished in 2 hours 45. Fine for my pace and i was just glad to finish although I really wish I hadn't walked and got closer to 2.5 hours.
I ached a lot after- it was a painfully slow (and wet) walk back to the car. And I kept getting cramp in the car on the way home. But I felt epic. EPIC. I wanted to do it again...
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Short and sweet! Run report 3rd November
This will be short and sweet as I have a tonne of work to do!
Haven't managed to run for a week due to half term and being away but thankfully managed to get out with the lovely ladies at Chelmer Roadrunners (Tuesday group) this morning.
A lovely, slightly damp but crisp Autumn morning, perfect running conditions. Not too cold, not too hot. Lovely. We ran a new route around Galleywood, slightly hilly which was tough, but kept up a decent pace (averaged 7mins per km) and managed to run 7kms, partly because we weren't sure where we were going!
The only annoyance is that my hip started to ache again for the last kilometre. To be fair I have not done my physio exercises for 5 days now either due to being away over half term. And over the weekend I walked miles and had started to notice my hip aching at the end of a long day of walking around a foreign city (coupled with sleeping on a hard uncomfortable sofa bed at a friends house!). Going to work v hard on my exercises this week and next. Seeing my physio man again next Monday for the last time pre race.
Loved it again today, and it's made me excited about my next (and last pre race) long run which will be on Friday.
Oh yes, and I got home from my travels last night to my race number! My race number and info for my first ever half marathon has arrived and it is all real now. Gulp! 2 weeks 5 days!
Haven't managed to run for a week due to half term and being away but thankfully managed to get out with the lovely ladies at Chelmer Roadrunners (Tuesday group) this morning.
A lovely, slightly damp but crisp Autumn morning, perfect running conditions. Not too cold, not too hot. Lovely. We ran a new route around Galleywood, slightly hilly which was tough, but kept up a decent pace (averaged 7mins per km) and managed to run 7kms, partly because we weren't sure where we were going!
The only annoyance is that my hip started to ache again for the last kilometre. To be fair I have not done my physio exercises for 5 days now either due to being away over half term. And over the weekend I walked miles and had started to notice my hip aching at the end of a long day of walking around a foreign city (coupled with sleeping on a hard uncomfortable sofa bed at a friends house!). Going to work v hard on my exercises this week and next. Seeing my physio man again next Monday for the last time pre race.
Loved it again today, and it's made me excited about my next (and last pre race) long run which will be on Friday.
Oh yes, and I got home from my travels last night to my race number! My race number and info for my first ever half marathon has arrived and it is all real now. Gulp! 2 weeks 5 days!
Monday, 5 October 2015
Double run day and first time physio!
Yesterday was a beautiful day. Started off cold and crisp, and bright and sunny and my son and I headed off to Junior parkrun full of excitement and with a spring in our steps to enjoy the sunshine. The leaves are just starting to turn and the park looked so pretty and by the time we started to run, it was surprisingly warm. The last gasp of summer in October! As he is only 4, bless him, junior park run for us is more a fun thing, with lots of walk breaks, and chasing and racing from tree to tree and playing tag. He adores sprinting over the finish line though, and yesterday he was much faster than usual because he had a batman t shirt on!
He runs the 2km (1.5mile) course in times ranging from 18-20 minutes. Some of the over 10s at junior parkrun are amazing and finish in 7 minutes! My aim is not to push him into running or being competitive at all at this age. To me it's just important that he enjoys some physical activity and being outside, and it's nice to enjoy it together.
After dropping him at home I was off on my own run with my running buddy and by 10.30am it was positively tropical out! Such a nice sunny day for a run. As usual we went out all excited and feeling great, and went off far too fast (10m30s per mile!) so by mile 2 I was really out of puff! We had a plan to run for about 45 minutes, and we had said we would go slow and take it easy but we start talking and just speed up and even when we tell each other to slow down we do and then forget and speed up again!
It's good for me though, as if I ran on my own I would plod and never push myself. With Michelle I push myself to keep up with her.
After mile 3 my hip started to niggle again :( we kept going but decided not to push for an extra little loop around a park we like, and head back for home, with a plan of running for 40 minutes instead of 45. In the end we completed 6kms (3.75 miles) in 40 minutes and I was happy with that as it was faster than my usual pace, given that I hadn't run for a whole week and was recovering... however by the end my hip and butt cheek was very unhappy. I spent the day stretching and hoping this wouldn't turn into something serious.
However my biggest issue at the moment is that when this happens, I'm afraid to tell my husband, because he's so negative about me running that he will use it as an excuse to try to put me off running.
Likewise, I had not told him that I had an appointment booked in with a physio this morning....
Fast forward (through coffee shops, cooking, homework, mowing the lawn and Downton Abbey) to today (Monday) ... After the school run I had my appointment with a physiotherapist who specialises in sports and had been recommended to me by other runners.
He was brilliant! He obviously sees a lot of people with similar issues and was really positve. He concluded what I had an inkling of myself - that I lack good muscle strength in my body and in particular the muscles in my hips and thighs and bum that are the main controller of running, lack strength. This is fine if I just keep running comfortably up to 5-6kms but once running regular 10kms and more, my muscles are struggling as they don't have the strength to keep me going for runs over an hour without causing pain.
He showed me how, as a result, my knees are bowing in, to over compensate for the tightness and strain those muscles are feeling which is in turn making the hip hurt more, slowing me down, causing me to waste energy. After lots of questions, watching me stand, walk, stand on one leg, bend my knees, touch my toes etc, then he spent about 20 minutes manipulating the muscles in my right thigh, hip and bum to try and loosen up the muscles. It was EXTREMELY painful! But, it helped a lot, the mobility in that leg and hip improved immensely as a result by the end of the session.
He then took me through two exercises that I have to do twice every day for the next 6 days to start to build up my strength. He also thankfully said I should NOT stop running, but just stick to 3mile runs for the next week, as that is the point at which it starts to suffer.
His theory is that with perhaps 3 sessions with him and 6 weeks of exercises (and he said he will change and add more exercises each week), my hips will be a lot stronger, I will be able to run longer without pain, and ultimately run better with less after effect.
Very interesting talking to him and I'm feeling more positive now about tackling the half marathon next month. Just have to make sure I do these exercises twice a day now! Oh, those exercises if you're interested are:
Single leg bridge, 10sec Left, 10 sec right x 10
Side leg race (lying on left, raising right leg) hold for 30seconds x 10
And finally... last night, running buddy Michelle sent me a plan for our longer runs for Norwich. Our aim is to get up to 12 miles before then. So off we go!
Lisa x
He runs the 2km (1.5mile) course in times ranging from 18-20 minutes. Some of the over 10s at junior parkrun are amazing and finish in 7 minutes! My aim is not to push him into running or being competitive at all at this age. To me it's just important that he enjoys some physical activity and being outside, and it's nice to enjoy it together.
After dropping him at home I was off on my own run with my running buddy and by 10.30am it was positively tropical out! Such a nice sunny day for a run. As usual we went out all excited and feeling great, and went off far too fast (10m30s per mile!) so by mile 2 I was really out of puff! We had a plan to run for about 45 minutes, and we had said we would go slow and take it easy but we start talking and just speed up and even when we tell each other to slow down we do and then forget and speed up again!
It's good for me though, as if I ran on my own I would plod and never push myself. With Michelle I push myself to keep up with her.
After mile 3 my hip started to niggle again :( we kept going but decided not to push for an extra little loop around a park we like, and head back for home, with a plan of running for 40 minutes instead of 45. In the end we completed 6kms (3.75 miles) in 40 minutes and I was happy with that as it was faster than my usual pace, given that I hadn't run for a whole week and was recovering... however by the end my hip and butt cheek was very unhappy. I spent the day stretching and hoping this wouldn't turn into something serious.
However my biggest issue at the moment is that when this happens, I'm afraid to tell my husband, because he's so negative about me running that he will use it as an excuse to try to put me off running.
Likewise, I had not told him that I had an appointment booked in with a physio this morning....
Fast forward (through coffee shops, cooking, homework, mowing the lawn and Downton Abbey) to today (Monday) ... After the school run I had my appointment with a physiotherapist who specialises in sports and had been recommended to me by other runners.
He was brilliant! He obviously sees a lot of people with similar issues and was really positve. He concluded what I had an inkling of myself - that I lack good muscle strength in my body and in particular the muscles in my hips and thighs and bum that are the main controller of running, lack strength. This is fine if I just keep running comfortably up to 5-6kms but once running regular 10kms and more, my muscles are struggling as they don't have the strength to keep me going for runs over an hour without causing pain.
He showed me how, as a result, my knees are bowing in, to over compensate for the tightness and strain those muscles are feeling which is in turn making the hip hurt more, slowing me down, causing me to waste energy. After lots of questions, watching me stand, walk, stand on one leg, bend my knees, touch my toes etc, then he spent about 20 minutes manipulating the muscles in my right thigh, hip and bum to try and loosen up the muscles. It was EXTREMELY painful! But, it helped a lot, the mobility in that leg and hip improved immensely as a result by the end of the session.
He then took me through two exercises that I have to do twice every day for the next 6 days to start to build up my strength. He also thankfully said I should NOT stop running, but just stick to 3mile runs for the next week, as that is the point at which it starts to suffer.
His theory is that with perhaps 3 sessions with him and 6 weeks of exercises (and he said he will change and add more exercises each week), my hips will be a lot stronger, I will be able to run longer without pain, and ultimately run better with less after effect.
Very interesting talking to him and I'm feeling more positive now about tackling the half marathon next month. Just have to make sure I do these exercises twice a day now! Oh, those exercises if you're interested are:
Single leg bridge, 10sec Left, 10 sec right x 10
Side leg race (lying on left, raising right leg) hold for 30seconds x 10
And finally... last night, running buddy Michelle sent me a plan for our longer runs for Norwich. Our aim is to get up to 12 miles before then. So off we go!
Lisa x
Friday, 2 October 2015
Time for a new challenge
This week I have signed up for my first ever half marathon. YIKES! I said I would never do that.... my sneaky friend Michelle, who is a run leader with the Dynamos and has recently qualified as a Running Coach and set up the Chelmer Roadrunners group, made me do it.
I have been toying with the idea for a while but never dared say it out load. And I really didn't think it was something I could or wanted to do. Michelle started training for a half marathon in the summer (she's run other half marathons and even the London Marathon before, but has been struggling with injury and getting her fitness back. I offered to join her on the longer runs, just to test what my body could do. I didn't want to sign up to a race and put that pressure on myself... but was curious.
So over the summer we started doing longer runs on a Sunday morning. 7 miles, 8, 9, 10 and even made it to 11 two weeks ago, although I really struggled with 11 and I'm not sure I ran very much of the last half mile!
I started to think that maybe it's possible, with a bit more training, to get up to that magical 13.1 miles of a half marathon.
While we were on a high from our Women's Running 10km race last Sunday we talked each other into it and booked ourselves onto the Norwich City Half Marathon on 22nd November. EEEeeeeeeeek. What have I done?!?!
I can't believe that this time 3 years ago I was massively overweight and hadn't run since school, and now I'm happily paying out money and giving up my weekend to run 13.1 miles or 21kms. Freaking out a bit now actually.
So this week I am resting a little as I've had a sore right hip since running the hilly 10k on Sunday. It's now Friday and I haven't run since Sunday which has been tough ... I'm itching to get my trainers on. I may try and go out for a gentle couple of miles this afternoon or evening to see how my hip feels.
On Sunday my running buddy and I are going to run 4 or 5 miles to test our legs again after the 10k, and because she has her first half marathon next weekend she can't do too much this week.
Then after that, we will be back onto those runs again later in the month, and I look forward to posting my training diaries.
So here I go... wish me luck. Half marathon here I come.
Lisa x
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