Unlucky for some

So they say.  Today I weigh 12st 4lbs which means that somehow, miraculously I have lost 3 pounds which seems unlikely considering the excesses of the Christmas market and the hot chocolate with Baileys which I allegedly consumed.  And for that read 'consumed'.

Anyway this week has been very good.  On Tuesday in Zumba we were doing the Plank.  That's not a dance by the way.  Now since I have no upper body strength whatsoever, and since my core muscles seem to be non-existent, this was very difficult.  Come Thursday I realised I couldn't even cough without my stomach muscles hurting.  What a state.  Better do more of those.

On Wednesday I ran 11 miles which went a lot better than I had anticipated.  It was very foggy and very cold but I plodded along regardless.  I had been reading that on the long runs you should run a minute/minute and a half slower than your anticipated marathon pace.  I did my utmost to keep at that and hey presto! it worked. In addition my new compression socks meant that my legs felt OK through the whole run.  So that's the secret then.  I had meant to do this run on Monday but I was a wimp and allowed myself to talk myself out of it.  Shame on you! So come Wednesday I did a Ray Winstone on myself  -  ' Oi Leggy! Wotcha doin'? Get yourself out there or else! You're going dahn...'

On Thursday I walked across to the nearest village, scoffed a toasted teacake and a skinny latte and walked back.  Then I went for my appointment with Mick the Marmaliser and had my legs well and truly pummelled into oblivion.  Ooh the agony.  Especially my right Achilles. Got to pay more attention to that.

Today I ran a 30 min interval session with my TMP (Trusty Marathon Pal).  It was very mild and still so that was ideal.  Mind you a minute can seem a long time when you're running fast.  Hopefully that's going to feel a lot better the more we do it.

Now gearing up for the Great Yorkshire Pieathlon on Sunday.  My last race of the year.  It sounds a right hoot, can't wait!

Finally the sunrises and sunsets here have been beautiful recently.  Who can't help but marvel at them?  

More running

So that's two more runs done this week.  On Thursday I ran with my fellow Paris Marathon chum and we decided to attempt a 30 minute tempo run with the add of the app on her phone.  All good in theory but cue unprecedented windy weather.  Now tempo running is hard enough without feeling that you are running into a concrete wall.  Nevertheless we achieved.  Bring it on as they say.  Good job we did it when we did because it all went bonkers after that with flood alerts and the works. 

Today I ran 8 miles with the club which was very good as they are excellent fun.  Not sure whether schlepping round the Xmas market yesterday and stuffing myself with goodies, mince pies, mulled wine and hot chocolate with Baileys (what a combo!) was such a good idea pre-run.  Especially when I woke up with a headache and feeling distinctly under the weather.  Never mind, the route was beautiful, mostly off road and through some lovely villages. Afterwards we were treated to sausage rolls, hot chocolate and cake.  What could be better? It was most amusing when another group of runners approached as we were scoffing and we were tempted to frantically stuff it all back in the boot of the car!

Next weekend I am doing the Great Yorkshire Pieathlon .  That's 6km of trail, 220m ascent and a pie station every 2k.  Hah! Can't wait.

It starts today...

Okay Okay... deep breath... here we go... today is the start of 16 weeks of training culminating in my first marathon on 6 April 2014.  The Paris Marathon.  Or should I say Marathon de Paris.  Ooh la la. At the moment this is a terrifying prospect.  Let's hope that over the next few weeks it will become a little more believeable.

Today I weigh 12 st 7.  How did that happen?  I'm heavier now than after I had the kids.  So much for taking up running and losing weight.  I'm getting bigger by the minute.  By the time the marathon is here I shall be the size of Pavarotti.  If there was any justice in the world I would be stick-thin and running along like a gazelle with all the running/swimming/walking/zumba I do.  And now Christmas is on the horizon so that's not going to help is it? Anyway each week I will post my weight in the hope that it will spur me to lose some.  Let's face it, all that weight slamming down on my knees with each footfall is not good.

Today I ran nearly six miles on a loop from home to the nearest village and back.  Since the local farmer (!) has not marked and flattened the footpath I had to run around the field and got stung to high heaven and soaked for my trouble.  Nevertheless it was a lovely morning for a run, slightly misty and with a very interesting pinky/beige sky.  The nice man in the signal box poked his head out and let me go through the side gate over the railway line. So that's the first run of Week 1 over. Stick with it gal!

I like to move it move it

Yes I'm out there and doing it.  The Sting, that is.  No it's not a crazy dance from the 60s.  It's our running club's 10k race which this year is on 14 July.  And the Sting?  Well that's the last mile and believe me, if you're not prepared for it you might as well pack up and go home.  Two glute-wrenchingly horrific hills and an uphill finish.  Pure torture.  So three weeks ago I made a pledge to myself to run the route every week.  Can I get anyone to run with me?  Hah! So every time I do it I find myself bursting into the market place like a Wild Woman of Wongo, all breathless and gasping like a maniac.  Meanwhile all the normal people are going about their daily business, standing chatting, posting a letter etc. What must they think?  Plus I have to struggle up a hill right next to the school and cross my fingers that my kids aren't going to spot me. Oh the shame for them!

Excellent news on  Wed 1 May when I did the first  Croxby Crawl of the season and managed to knock two and a half minutes off last year.  Woo hoo! What a course that is.  I think I may have left a lung on that last hill.

Anyway onwards to my next race which is the 10k Trailblazer at Clumber Park on 18 May.  Bring it on!

What a day!

Still on a high after the Lincoln 10k.  Wow.  What a brilliant day.  The sun shone and I actually got to wear my shorts for the first time this year. Yes I didn't think anyone else would be wearing bright orange shorts.  And I was right.  You've been Tango-ed.  It was perfect.  I was very smiley as I joined the sub-60 section this year as opposed to the 60 plus section like last year.  It is an incredible feeling to line up with 4500 runners, pretty sobering in fact.

The race went well.  For me it was all about running the whole distance in order to put away the demons of last year.  It was very uplifting to see familiar faces round the route and that always gives you a boost just when you need it.  I finished in 59:16 which puts me under the hour yet again.  Whe-hay! And a very impressive medal too.

Happy Birthday!

Yay! Tomorrow is the Lincoln 10k race which makes it one year since last year's which was my first ever 10k race.  Where did that year go? And if you'd told me that within that same year I would have run a half marathon I'd have laughed you out of town. Wowee.

So what's different this time?  Well for a start off I'm not going to head out like a rocket.  Experience has taught me to start off slow and get well into my pace before picking it up.  Also I will be spending more time looking around at the surroundings instead of my feet.  Mind you I was in a bit of a desperate state last time. Especially when I got my km mixed up with my miles and thought I had done 4 miles but alas I wasn't even half way! I'll never forget that feeling of despair.

Anyway the sun is actually shining for once.  Hooray.  So I think it will be a nice day for a run and there will be thousands doing it.  Plenty of bods in fancy dress too.  Last time I was overtaken by a man dressed as Pamela Anderson from Baywatch, complete with red cossie, long blonde wig and First Aid pod.

Wish me luck!

From bad to worse

So the half marathon is cancelled til March 2014.  Yerk!  I suppose it's all very well, the weather is just not conducive to running especially on roads that are still covered in ice and haven't been closed to traffic. I don't fancy my chances against a Seddon Atkinson.

Apart from that I seem to have lost the plot completely.  Firstly I appear to be trying to scoff my entire bodyweight in chocolate cake and secondly I have a horrendous cold. Both of which are detrimental to running.  In fact I can't see me ever getting out again.  Could this be the end of my short-lived running career? Surely not.  I think I may have to do something completely radical i.e. join the nutters (mostly male, obviously) at the running club on Saturday morn for the horror-that-is the 6 Peaks Challenge.  Yes it's every bit as horrendous as it sounds.  It could be kill or cure but frankly I need to do something radical.  The Lincoln 10k is looming on 7th April.

It's been postponed! Aargh!

So the snow has stopped play.  I should be running today but instead I'm scoffing a bacon roll.  It's all very well but what now?  Well they've postponed it till Saturday 30 March.  This means two things a) I've tapered too early and will now have basked for two weeks instead of one in preparation and b) I will only have a week to recover before the Lincoln 10k.  Hmmmm.  How's all that going to work out?  Still that's the way the snowball rolls I suppose.  I notice nobody is laughing and sledging and frolicking in the snow now! Everyone is far too cheesed off with the way this winter is dragging out.

She's back!

Yes and I've stopped griping.  OK I haven't had the most brilliant couple of weeks but I'm still running and last Sunday I did the Gainsborough 10k which was fantastic! At one point I turned a corner and ahead of me, snaking into the distance along the riverside was a veritable necklace of brightly coloured runners.  It looked so pretty.  There were over five hundred taking part and the day was cool but dry.  Did a time of 58:40 which I was very pleased with.  I didn't want to drive myself into the ground, after all got a half marathon on Sunday.  Aaaargh!

Not brilliant

It's all going horribly wrong.  Somehow I'm finding it very difficult to keep motivated at the mo'.  Partly due to my lack of running pals to keep me distracted.  I've been trying to do some long runs because the half marathon is a mere 3 weeks away.  Aaaargh!  But it's a slow old process and I'm still going off too fast and then struggling to keep going at the end.  Plus the weather isn't helping.

However, on the up side I am still going out three times a week so at least I'm in with a fighting chance. I'm making a right mess of getting to the running club though.  Either there's some sort of parents' evening or school/kid-related gubbins going on.  Then the Saturday run was too short/hilly for what I needed to do.  But by the time I'd finished ferrying everyone around I only managed to start running at 430pm and then the light started to go before I could do as long as I needed.  Not to mention a very aggressive bramble which managed to slice right across my calf.  Serves me right for going completely mad and wearing capris just because it was a lovely sunny day. And having to stop and wait at a level crossing which stayed down way too long on account of two trains. At which point I was caught up by two very strange youths (actually one might have been a girl but I couldn't really tell) on bikes who then proceeded to talk about me whilst I was actually there! Don't know if they thought I was listening to my iPod but I wasn't.  Very odd.  Almost as odd as the man with binoculars who keeps staring into the wood and never says 'Hello'.

So, what to do?  I have a 10k race on 17th so I've only got another week to do anything.  Maybe I'll just keep my chin up and keep plugging at it.  Good days and bad days, that's how it goes.

Pride comes before a fall

So the Market Rasen 10k was a triumph.  Yes it was freezing cold.  No it didn't have half the original numbers I'm sure.  Yes it was muddy and difficult underfoot but guess what? A personal best of 57:07.  Oh yes! (Does that sort of stirring dance whilst hopping from one leg to the other).  Thanks to the fantastic support from fellow Caistor Running Club members at the finish.  And one anonymous chap who, on hearing the frantic shouts from my chums, turned around and proceeded to encourage me  through the last 200m and no doubt secured my brilliant time.  The fact that my entire cardio-thoracic system had decided to throw itself out of my heaving chest and across  the finishing line first had little to do with it.  That bottle of water tasted so good!

Doing well in a race creates a kind of personal glow and a sense of smugness.  So when a pal suggested a run a couple of days later I was ready and raring to go.  Perhaps a couple more days of rest might have been advisable. Of course I didn't know that we were going to head up such a steep set of hills.  Nonetheless I was trotting along quite contentedly when I found myself hurtling through the air with my legs well and truly behind me.  Scrabble as they might to try and get back underneath me, my arms flailed out wildly and the tarmac started to loom.  Funny how things appear to happen so slowly, I even had time to note the pattern of diamonds on the tarmac.  Then I managed to lurch sideways towards the grassy verge, resplendent with sharp thorny twigs left behind from the hedgecutting tractor that we had just run past. Oh and did I mention the lorry carrying hay bales that was just passing us on the other side of the road? Basically I hit the verge and the momentum pushed me along a distance.  Like a sack o' spuds. My entire body weight (not unsubstantial)  landing on my right arm and shoulder. Whoooompf! Lying there like a complete idiot.  But not hurt.  Just a little punctured. As I sat up and looked to see what I had fallen over, I spotted the culprit.  A sneaky little root growing out of the verge.  I must have stepped on one end of it and caught my other foot under the loop it had made.  Why I oughta...!

So there's my lesson.  And I am still aching but alas with no real bruises to show for it and garner any sympathy whatever. 

Race is looming

Yes the best way to keep yourself motivated to run is to have a race in the offing.  In this case the Market Rasen 10k this Sunday coming.  It was rescheduled after being cancelled at the end of November due to the hideous storms.  So there it is.  10am I'll be lining up with all the other maniacs (I mean runners) and wondering 'Why O why am I doing this?'.  Of course I know why I'll be doing it - I love it!

So last week I went a bit crazy and did the Croxby Crawl on two occasions and then did The Sting on Saturday. My poor calves and knees after all those hills.  For those not familiar with the Croxby Crawl, think rollercoaster and you might have some appreciation of the route.  As for Caistor's 'Sting in the Tail' - simply run for 5 miles and then just when you feel you can hardly get through the final mile add two killer hills.  Nice. Not.

I think I deserve to treat myself to a leg message.  The old pins need to be in tip-top form.

When I recall the Croxby Crawl there's a near vertical incline at the end called (imaginatively) Heartbreak Hill.  Last time we approached it we passed a group of shooters plus dogs and sundry hangers-on. 'Mornin'  Mornin'' we chirped and then merrily pranced past.  To which I hissed to my pal 'Oh no! We can't walk up it now' and then had to drag ourselves up it regardless.  Oh the agony!

'S no(w) joke

After more than a week of no running due to the snow and ice I decided to take the plunge and just get out there.  Boy was it freezing! Hi viz top, gilet, winter leggings, hat and gloves.  But of course after a while I soon warmed up and I have to say that it wasn't too bad at all.  So no more whingeing now.  Up and at 'em.

In the spirit of getting back out there I have entered another half marathon the Stanford Hall Half Marathon This is the first time it is run so it will be great to be a part of it.  I am hoping to do it for Sue Ryder so watch this space basically.

Please don't go all icy and snowy on me again, I've got some serious training to do.

This year's going to be a good year

Sung to the tune of "Tonight's going to be a good night" of course.  Yes I'm feeling positive.  I had a great Christmas holiday and I ran on Christmas Day.  Yes you heard me correctly.  I slipped away from the madness on Christmas morning and snook a half hour to myself where I ran round the fields to the woods.  Stopped and had a little prayer for my Dad and all the people I miss then cantered back home to see how the turkey was faring.

I ran the New Year's Day 10k at Cleethorpes!  Quite an experience.  I chuckled a little to myself as I lined up at the start.  That's because last year I remember someone at the running club asking me if I was going to do it and I thought "What kind of a maniac would do something like that on New Year's Day of all days?!".  One year later and how things change.  It was a great race actually, though a little too road based for my liking and I'm not overly keen on 4x4s squeezing past me.  Still I did it in 1:00:55 which is not too shabby considering the excessive Pringles intake.

Last Saturday I ran with the club for the first time in ages and it was great to be back with them again.  Plus my running pal is recovering well so we have been able to get another run or two in which is great.

STOP PRESS - I have set myself a watery challenge this year.  200 lengths of the pool for Marie Curie Cancer Care Swimathon 2013.  I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  However, if you'd told me this time last year that I would be doing a half marathon....