Back in training

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.

6 days to go!

Well I'm really in countdown mode now.  It's Monday and my first half marathon is this week - this Sunday!   Excited and terrified all at the same time.

This weekend Michelle and I had planned a 10km run on Sunday morning when disaster struck! Michelle has injured her back.  I'm so gutted for her, as she's so desperate to do this for me after training together all the way.  I don't want her to feel bad at all but I do feel so sorry for her.  She is under strict orders to rest.  There is a tiny chance she may feel better enough to run next Sunday, but I'm carrying on this week on the belief that I am going to have to do this alone. (Sob sob sob!)

Although that does make me panic slightly, I am not as panicked as I thought or might have been, because... I went out yesterday, on my own, without Michelle and ran that planned 10kms.... and I did it!  And I know I could have kept going.   I did it all alone. No music, no running buddy. I just ran!

That in itself is a massive massive achievement for me.  Some weeks I can't run a 5k on my own. Even a few months ago I couldn't finish a 10km run without some walking.  Seriously.  For me to get over all my mental demons and keep going was amazing.  I felt epic afterwards, even though i wasn't even very fast, my target was just to do it. Without walking. On my own. Result.

It was so windy, but a decent day - no rain, not too warm and not too cold.  I managed to find a good flat out and back route.  Since running these longer runs I've started to really enjoy out and back routes - i like the physical marker of turning around and running back towards home, knowing that the miles left to run are getting shorter with each step.

I ran from my house, up into town, through the parkrun park and was passing 5kms and ready to turn back before I realised it!  I won't lie, i did have my usual negative thoughts for quite a few stretches of that first 5kms but I just kept using all the mental tricks Michelle has taught me.  I would focus on being positive, slow right down when I started to get out of breath and panic, break down the route into chunks in my head.  Then play little games like, I won't look at my tracker on the phone until after that traffic light etc, to stop me getting down-heartened about my pace or miles to go every 5 minutes. I tried to focus on everything around me, and enjoy seeing the city, peering into windows, smiling at parents walking in the park, saying hello to other runners.

I actually ended up doing 10.5kms to get home.  It took me 1 hour 12 minutes.

And then I had a little epiphany.  I'd spoken to a few people about the half marathon and many of them were surprised I wasn't fundraising.  I had said I wouldn't, partly because I didn't want to tell lots of people I was doing this challenge, in the fear that once I started to tell people there was more pressure and more chance of things going wrong or me failing (oh the silly mind games we play!).  But I realised that there is a very very low chance that I will ever do this again, and a few of my friends, on being told I was doing this wanted to support me and asked if I could choose a charity to get sponsorship for.

So I've caved - I've set up a justgiving page for a small charity that works in South Africa that i have been closely linked to for 15 years.   Here is a link.  https://www.justgiving.com/Lisa-Mills4/
I don't want to set a target to raise lots of dosh, but any donations will help keep me mentally focused on the day.  (Especially if I do have to run without Michelle! Sob sob sob!)

So what for the week ahead?  Not a lot, as I know I need to rest to ensure my hip and bum muscles don't get too sore ahead of the long long run on Sunday!  I'll have a little 20 minute run tomorrow and the same again on Thursday, and I'm planning lots of lovely food for before and after.  He he he!

In 6 days time it will all be over!

In the beginning

In the beginning there was a fat girl who worked hard and played hard but never found time to eat healthily or get any exercise.  In the beginning there was a girl who took up music and joined the band and the choir at school so she could get out of P.E. Lessons. In the beginning there was a girl who had such bad asthma she relied on inhalers and could barely walk up stairs without needing a puff (and with creaking knees). In the beginning there was a fat girl who was disgusted with her body and struggled with low self esteem. 

And then she had a baby.

And although at first it was hard to put herself first because the baby cried and kept her awake and demanded her time so she ended up surviving on gallons of coffee, coke and chocolate biscuits... the baby changed her.

She realised that she didn't want to be looked down on anymore as she made new mummy friends. She realised that she didn't want her child to be embarrassed of his fat mum. She realised she wanted to set an example and raise a child who loved to be active and wasn't addicted to sugar. She realised that after years of depression and low self esteem that something had to change.

And she changed. Something inside her changed. 

At first she joined a well known slimming group and ate lots of home cooked veggie based meals, had one portion of dairy and one portion of bread each day and counted her syns. And the weight came tumbling off.

And as the weight dropped and her love for herself and her body grew, the girl decided that she could do anything...

Any thing ..

Including wearing leggings and running  in public. Well at first she ran in the dark, and tried very hard to find places to run where no one would see her.  She followed a c25k app on her smart phone.  It was tough, incredibly tough. (There will be another post about C25k to look out for that will give more detail).  But she kept going and kept going all by herself. And she ran 5kms 3.5 months later. Ran. 

She still doesn't think she's a runner though... And her journey is really only just getting started.
I hope you enjoy reading the rest. 

Head up, shoulders down,
Lisa x