Singing ice, ice, slippy, slippy ice...

It's winter! Oh yes.  I'd completely forgotten the horror of running in the winter.  Firstly, what to wear?  Admittedly it's freezing cold so the temptation is to pile on all the layers, gloves, hat etc. But as we all know, you soon warm up and then you're merrily shedding skins like a snake but alas you have to carry them all.  Plus the shorts are long gone and the capris also and out come the least flattering of all garments - the running tights.  All I can say is...

Exactly!
Least said, eh?  And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, I have just sent off for some compression tights.  More of that next time methinks.

Anyway talking of ice, today was quite horrific.  I went running on a route I know quite well.  I was all alone (aaaah) and so, ever conscious of my safety, I was running through the wooded bit with my mobile phone on Mr LM's number and my thumb poised appropriately.  Unfortunately my running pals have scattered far and wide.  One is recovering from an op, one recovering from a race, one is away and the other is finding it difficult to 'get out there'.  Not much fun running on your own but still - I need to keep at it, it is so easy to give up.  It was very foggy so I was wearing an extremely bright top plus some reflective bands around my ankles so that I could pretend I was a cyclist instead.  Then all of a sudden I noticed that the ground in front of me was not wet, it was SHINY.  At that exact moment I was on it and skating about like Bambi.  Whoa! What a shock.  That slowed me down I can tell you.  I took it a lot more carefully after that.

Hip hip...

Hooray! I got under the hour in my 10k race at Barton-on-Humber.  Woop! woop! 59.05 to be precise.  The course is described as 'undulating' but not for me folks.  Oh no.  All those sessions running round the Lincolnshire Wolds and I laugh in the face of their so-called hills.  In fact, it seems that my pace was fairly constant, hills or not.  The way I look at it, just keep going and pray that it evens out soon.  Of course there are always benefits too i.e the downhills wheee-ee--ee.

My husband thought I'd stayed behind because he could see the sweeper vehicle coming along and yet there was no sign of me.  In fact I was the last person but one.  Well someone has to be at the back and you won't catch me haring off at the start, I've learnt the hard way.  But as the race went on I managed to gradually work through.  It was a great route, well marshalled and with lovely scenery.  Plus at the end we got homemade cakes.  Oh yes!

Deepdale Dash

My hip started playing up in the last mile as soon as I started to up the pace so I took advantage of the post-race massage.  Oh boy did he get to the root of the problem.  So he recommended a massage from my regular sports therapist.  My right glute muscle was particularly tight and that was giving me the pain in the hip.  So that's what I did.  And the upshot is that it's recommended I stay off the running for ten days. 

It's torture to miss out but I'd rather do that than risk injury so hooves up and a nice glass of mulled wine please!

Yay I did it!!

Whe-hay! I did it in a time of 2:20:57  including two, yes two, toilet stops.  I can't believe I've managed to do something which seemed so insurmountable just a few months ago. Talk about on a high.  What a brilliant experience.

I'd been ill the previous week so on the Thursday I decided to take to my bed and indulge in a bit of Inspector Rebus.  No it's not a euphemism, just a gripping crime novel I'd just started.  Fortunately after plenty of rest and some serious snoozing I felt much better and so the trip to Birmingham was definitely on!

Come the morning of the race I felt pretty good and no sign of the nerves that often plague me pre-race.  So I joined my fellow Pink Wave-ers and eagerly awaited our start of 11:07am.  What an atmosphere.  Plenty of live music and everyone raring to go.  Off we set and after that it was simply a matter of getting from mile marker to mile marker.  Plenty of water stations and Powerade stations, loads of support en route, little children waiting to high five you or give you sweeties, live bands playing including the awesome gospel choir and also the DJ-ing lady vicar. Plus hilarious fellow runners such as the man with the false buttocks (raising money for Bowel Cancer), the 'baby', Austin Powers running backwards talking to the forward running frog, the giant bee and Simba from The Lion King.

I kept my pace down for fear of burning out before the dreaded hills at mile 10.  But guess what?  What hills?  I didn't even notice them! I don't know what they're talking about, if they want hills they want to come to Caistor, I'll show them a hill. So when I suddenly saw a 800m sign I started sprinting - until I remembered that 800m is still actually quite a long way and decided to slow down again.  Then when I saw 200m I decided to do a Usain Bolt.  It was brilliant racing to the Finish line.

So around £200 raised for the RNLI and a great big smug smile on my face.

What's next?

What in blue blazes...?

I've got blisters on the soles of my feet!!! Aaargh! How did that happen?  Months of training, miles of cantering - then I go mincing round Lincoln in a pair of black boots and tights and totally scupper me hooves.  Oh the agony! What a fool.

This morning was my last run before the race.  No turning back now.  I'm ready and raring to go.  Must try and get plenty of rest now. Especially with my poor feet to rescue and pamper. 

Last one

Long run that is.  I went out today to do 12 miles but stopped at 11.5.  Stomach cramps.  So that's me done now.  Just a couple of short runs next week and then hooves up till Sunday.  I got my race pack in the week and that got me all worked up. There's nothing like seeing your race number (15047 by the way) to make it all official and also make you wonder WHAT THE HECK HAVE I DONE?!!!!!!!  Especially when you read a little more about the route and realise there's a thumping great hill right at the end.  How evil.  I start cutting out at 10 miles and then I have to go up a hill? Nice one.

Norman Wisdom moment

Yesterday I braced myself for the usual Friday two-lap horror-that-is the long run.  11 miles was my intention.  First lap accompanied by my trusty running pal and her sturdy Jack Russell-type terrier.  He puts us to shame.  For every mile we do he probably does two, cantering randomly off into the fields and woods and pelting back at high speed.  Of course the downside is that he invariably materialises just in front of me, causing me to hurdle him like Jessica Ennis (not!). 

For the second lap I find myself alone and, having forgotten the ipod, have to call upon every mental strategy going.  Consequently after 9 miles I start to feel a bit desperate..  Scoff a couple of jelly babies.  Plan to run to the next tree.  Take an extraordinary interest in how many conkers are on the tree.  Count my footsteps.  Concentrate on breathing out for longer than I'm breathing in. Visualise the skinny latte I'm about to imbibe at the cafe after. As a result when it comes to the last mile I find myself dragging myself along like Norman Wisdom, one arm punching out in front in an attempt to push my body forward.  All I need is to wail 'Mr Grimsdale!' to complete the effect. What a state. How on earth are the last two miles of the race going to feel?  I'll be Norman-Wisdoming my way up Broad Street, Birmingham in full view of all.

Oh well.  One plus is that I seem to be losing weight at last.  Good job really, I've got quite enough weight to carry round that course as it is.

Dances with squirrels

That's my new Red Indian (sorry - Native American) name.  Or it should be.  Today I practically did a fandango with a particularly lively squizzer who decided to skitter across my path and then back again in the blink of an eye.  Just at the moment I had embarked on another surge in my pace.  It's called intervals.  You run at a pace and then for one minute you run faster and then drop for another minute and then back up etc. 6 times.  It's supposed to get easier.  Hah! And then you're supposed to either run faster or longer.  We'll see my friend.  Could do without the Strictly Come Squizzer moments though.

Giving me the cold shoulder

I don't know whether it was all that running in the rain but boy oh boy was my shoulder aching in the night.  It woke me up.  Good grief.  The joys of Ralgex.  Anyway it's not too bad today but who knows what brought that on.

Today I ran alone on account of not being able to dredge up any of my usual running pals.  I'm getting faster, which is an interesting byproduct, I'm certainly not trying to.  If anything I'm trying to keep my pace down for fear of 'doing a Lincoln'.  Don't ask.  It's all in the past now.  My first 10k back in March which means that I have managed to double my mileage in 7 months.  Pat on the back for me, says I.

Oh and I forget to mention that I'm going into complete meltdown now that there's only TWENTY DAYS TO GO!!!!! Aaaaaaaaah!

Serves me right

Remember all that snivelling about the rain last Friday?  Well somebody up there has a sense of humour because I set off today in the dry... for all of 10 mins.  Then the heavens opened.  Result: complete saturation by the end of the first lap.  Splishy splashy trainers, soggy shorts and you don't want to know what was going on up top.  So another lap to go and everything clinging and chafing.  But what's a gal to do?  I had to do 10 miles today.  Especially in light of last week.  The man in the signalbox continues to look bemused as I trot past him for the fourth time.  Probably laughing his head off at the drowned rat scuttling past.

Still I did it.  Three weeks to go my friend.

Guilty as charged

I'm afraid I didn't do much running last week.  I was all set for the big one on Friday but when the day dawned it was absolutely throwing it down.  I waited to see if it would abate but instead it got more and more torrential.  Now I know that it might very well rain on my race day.  Plus I have run in the rain in the past and don't really mind it (except for trying to dry out trainers later).  But this time I couldn't face two hours of saturation.  The downside is that I had already scoffed a pre-run Snickers in anticipation.  What a gut! Now it sat there inside me, fattening me up.  I have to admit I felt very guilty all day knowing I hadn't done the run.

Anyway, out today bright and early with a friend and  5 miles in the bag.  Let's hope it stays dry this Friday...

Where you bin?

I know that's what you're thinking.  She's gone.  She's had it.  She couldn't hack it.  Actually the truth is that I've just been completely lazy.  Re the blog that is.  I just haven't got round to blogging all my activities of late and I blame it all on the Olympics! Yes I was so busy watching the TV I couldn't drag myself away to the computer.  Then of course the Paralympics started.  Even more inspirational.  People running with one leg, half legs and no legs!  How can I possibly gripe about the odd aching foot or blistered toe?

So here's where I'm at.  Last week I did an 11 mile run so finally I feel that the half-marathon is not entirely unrealistic.  I have a new pair of trainers and all is well.  From now on I promise I'll keep you posted.

Back with a vengeance

I had a most enjoyable short break in France.  The only downside being that I went ten days without running and boy is that a mistake!  Not that the break was ten days of course.  If only.  No it's just that what with all the organising pre-hol and all the exhaustion afterwards, I just didn't get the chance.  The result was that I ran with the club last Thursday and it felt soooooo hard. Then I ran with the club on Saturday morn and that also felt very hard.  On Monday I ran 4.5 miles on a very hot morning and on a hilly trail route.  It's most dispiriting to feel you are going backwards when I need to be going forwards with my mileage.  Anyway, the upside is that last night I decided to do a bit of speed training so I did a 1 mile warm up followed by 3 lots of 0.5 mile fast, 0.5 mile recovery.  Although it felt quite challenging it was OK and I felt pretty good about myself afterwards.  I also used my heart rate monitor for the first time though I'm not entirely sure what the results prove!

So I'm back into it and I'm not going to let it beat me.  You read it here.

Mud Runner

Well today was a disaster.  Started off badly in that I had to run in glasses due to my sore eye and that's always a bad thing i.e. Eric Morecambe- style poking up of the bridge of the specs every 5 mins.  Then I went off around the corner of the house, with my head down,  trying to zip my iPod into my waist belt and walked straight into the postman.  It gave me such a fright that I screamed my head off.    To which he replied "I always have that effect on people".

It was a really hot humid day when I had expected it to be a cool rainy one.  Consequently running felt like very hard work and I'd only just started.  I wanted to do 7 miles so as to keep up my weekly mileage.  Off I ran up the farm lane and across a footpath across a field.  All good.  Next footpath was overgrown so I had to slow to a walk.  The next field has a bull in it.  Now I know my running has improved but I'm not taking him on. No sirree!  So I had to walk round the field and it was waist-high in grass and thistles and nettles and I was wearing shorts. Owch.  Then I tried to run again but the ground was muddy and slidey and everytime I took a step I slid sideways or backwards so it was twice as hard as it should have been.

In a nutshell I did 7 miles of running/walking/sliding/leaping and at the end I was one big sweaty, muddy mess.  What a day.

Hammy Hamster's Adventures on the Riverbank

Or should that be my adventure? On Saturday the running club decided to try a new route which involved running alongside the River Ancholme.  We set off merrily and almost immediately the heavens opened.  So that's pouring rain, an uneven towpath and long grass/nettles to contend with.  What fun.  It was certainly an experience.  Particularly the soaked to the skin bit.  Still at least it wasn't cold.  And overall a nice 6.7 miles clocked up.  Though I have to say that for the last mile or more I was battling with the demon on my shoulder that urges me to walk.

On Monday 2 July we had another Croxby Crawl.  This time I managed the whole route with no walking and in 45 mins.  Oh yeah!

So what have I been up to?

Yes indeed.  Well on Saturday 23 June I went running with the club.  It was so supposed to be a 'gentle' one but believe me it felt BAAAAADDD.  Talk about concrete boots.  It just felt very hard so I did my best to keep up and in the end we had done about 5 miles.

On Monday 25 June I did the Croxby Crawl which is 4.4 miles of hilly hell.  And guess what?  I did it all with NO walking.  Yay! Woo Hoo.  I was very pleased with myself.  Of course we are down to two from four on account of the two knees.  Still the two of us were feeling very smug at doing that route.

On Wed 27 June  one of the knees came running with me and oh no, the knee played up and reduced her to a walk which was so frustrating for her. So looks like it needs a bit more TLC.  So annoying for her as she has the Great North Run  in her sights.

And today I decided to try out my new trail shoes and hit the fields.  Verdict:  Yes I think they are going to be very useful.  Nice fit, lightweight, waterproof.  Watch this space...

Soaked to the skin

Decided that I needed to do a morning run on Thursday 21 June.  That's if I want to stay on schedule re training etc.  Of course the weather had other ideas.  There's rain and there's a monsoon.  And the only Monsoon  I'm interested in is this one Monsoon.  Ooh what pretty frocks!  If only I could lose a bit of weight and get back into mine.  But I digress.  Yes it was pouring down but off I went all the same and decided to do a short i.e. 2.5 to 3 miles with alternate kms at a faster pace.

It was great.  Yes I was soaked to the skin but what the heck. It's good to see that you can cope in the rain because you never know what the conditions will be like on your race day anyway.  I didn't dissolve.  Took yonks to dry out my trainers though.

Looking good

Well Monday was a great day.  Went running in the Lincolnshire Wolds
Click 'em Inn Run

It was very beautiful and as long as I can quell the inner voice urging me to stop and have a break I reckon I could have done at least a mile or so longer than the 5.7 we actually did.

I thought I'd make a note of when I actually feel good on a run because there are so many times I don't!

More like 

Than

Easy as riding a bike

So they say. They obviously haven't seen me riding a bike.  Usually with my hands gripping the handlebars for dear life.  Don't laugh.  It's a shame.  Anyway I thought I'd go for a short ride down the lane with my youngest.  He's very good and likes to "teach" me. 

I have concluded that cycling is a good thing if only I was a bit less scared and could relax a little.  It is a good alternative to running on the days when I shouldn't be running.  So I think I will persevere.

Dropping like flies

My running pals are falling apart.  We've six knees between us and two of them have given up the ghost.  And they're are not even on the same person.  So what are we to do?  One is resting up with frozen peas on it.  The other is off to see a physio. 
Knee pain

Injury: When to Run When to Stop

So it looks like I'm going to have to be a lone runner for the next week.  Watch this space...

So it starts...

OK.  So I'd better start a blog then.  There's nothing like a countdown timer on your fundraising website to give you a right royal kick up the back cheeks.

I need to be able to run 13.1 miles by October.  I feel like laughing even as I type that.  At the moment the furthest I have ever run is 7.5 miles and that wasn't all in one go.  I do two speeds:

• Speed 1: Canter along gently like an antiquated seaside donkey just heading off for its lunchtime nosebag - chatting away to my fellow runners and generally congratulating myself on being able to run at all. Face = salmon pink  Sweat level = slight droplets on nose

• Speed 2: Hurtling along like a knock-kneed wildebeest having spotted a cheetah - lungs fighting with each other to pop out my mouth and generally wheezing like a blocked hoover extension pipe. Face = Victoria plum  Sweat level = rivulets trickling down my knees

Heading for the finish line

 
So what I'm hoping to do is mostly do speed 2 whilst feeling like speed 1.  Obviously this is never going to happen so I'll settle for occasionally doing Speed 2 for longer intervals.  Then and only then may I get to my ultimate goal of effortlessly gliding along like a gazelle, drawing gasps of admiration as I pass instead of mutterings of  'call a paramedic' and 'is it supposed to be that colour?'

Ho hum.  127 days to go y'say?