October running

October has almost come and gone without a single blog post. There are various reasons for that but I thought I would squeeze a post in with an update on the running I have been doing.

The month started with the Royal Parks Half Marathon. I went into this race aiming for both a PB and a sub-2 for the first time. It was my third half and I felt in better shape overall than I had previously but also a bit under-trained in terms of the long slow runs. Much as I had enjoyed running in the lovely weather, I actually found it harder to keep to my planned runs over the summer- I was busier with other things and I let training slip. I had done a 10 mile race in September and an 11 mile training run, but I had been aiming to get up to more like 14 miles so was a bit worried. I also felt under pressure because my 5K and 10K times had come down quite a lot since my previous half so on paper a sub-2 should have been achievable but I knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Neil and I stayed over in London the night before so that we could definitely make it to Hyde Park for the 9am start. There was the usual portaloo queue but I ended up with just enough time to spare to get to my start pen before the race got underway in a very smooth start. I'd ended up in the Green wave which I think was something like 1hr 40 to 1hr 55 - although that was slightly faster than my target time it was definitely the right wave for me - I felt like I was running at the same pace as people around me for the entire race and I kept seeing the same faces which was nice. The brilliant atmosphere and usual race day adrenaline powered me to a much too quick first mile but I was able to settle into a nice rhythm of just under 9 minute miles. It was an absolutely beautiful morning and London was just looking wonderful - we ran along the embankment, past Trafalgar Square, down the Mall and past Buckingham Palace before back into the parks. I couldn't believe how stunning the parks were - it was an ideal Autumn day (if I was being fussy it was possibly a bit too sunny for running, but I had my sunglasses and the trees provided plenty of shade) and I remembered how much I loved our seasons. Looking back on it now it was just one of those races where everything seemed perfect - I have blocked out the various aches and pains along with the stress of my Garmin splits not matching the mile markers (I was terrified that my sub-9 minute Garmin pace wasn't going to lead to a sub-2 if my Garmin was measuring wrongly) and can just remember feeling happy and lucky to be running in such a beautiful race!

Neil was a fantastic supporter and managed to see me about 5 times because of the way the course looped around. He'd worked out and told me in advance that every couple of miles there would either be a drinks station or I'd see him - that really helped with the mental side of things particularly at miles 10 to 12 where I did struggle a bit. I felt like I was getting slower and slower - looking at my splits this wasn't the case at all, I was actually remarkably consistent but maintaining that pace was clearly becoming increasingly difficult to the extent where I hadn't even realized that I was maintaining it! I only let myself relax when I could see the finish and knew I was going to do it - I came in at 1.57.35 and was chuffed to bits. I think it's the first race I've ever done that I was unconditionally pleased with - I knew I had pushed myself the whole way round and still managed to really enjoy it. I'm aware that this blog post already seems quite cheesy, but when I crossed the line all I kept thinking was "I've done it!". Running can be really great and that race for me just reminded me of that.

Immediately afterwards of course I couldn't really walk - I struggled to even sit down and I was very stiff for about 3 days. My increased fitness had got me round in my goal time, but my lack of distance training showed afterwards - my legs really punished me! More strength training and more long slow runs definitely on the cards...

Volunteering

After my slightly disastrous race last weekend I was planning on taking it a bit easier at parkrun this week. We were heading to the lovely Wimpole Estate parkrun to visit our friends there and tackle The Hill (we are edge of fen-dwellers; we don't see many hills...) but by midweek they were still short of volunteers, I love the fact that parkrun is run by volunteers and although it sometimes frustrates me that some runners don't pull their weight, I also love volunteering so offered to marshal rather than run. Cheering people on is as enjoyable as running and you still get cake so it's win win really. 

Marshalling at Wimpole also means setting up the part of the course nearest to your marshal point, so at about 8.30 I set off in the drizzle to my gate at between 1 & 2 K and was glad that the cows were grazing elsewhere!

Wimpole Estate is a National Trust property and is beautiful (even early on a grey Autumnal morning). I feel privileged to be able to take place in a parkrun there.

You can just make out the runners making their way along the first part of the course: 

I really enjoyed cheering them on and trying to motivate them to keep powering up the hill. It was great to hear stories of PBs in the cafe afterwards and the rest I gave my legs worked- on Sunday I ran 11 miles and maintained my target pace throughout.

Have you volunteered at parkrun or another event? When you're running what's your favourite marshal shout?

A weekend of two halves

I realise the title of this post might sound misleading- I didn't run two half marathons last weekend, although I am in training for two (the big city Royal Parks half and the local St Neots half) but my weekend of running had two very different halves. 

On Saturday I got up for parkrun not sure how I was feeling - I contemplated trying to smash it, then I wondered about running my average time and then I thought about running with my friend Michaela who was pacing 30 minutes. In the end I ran naked (without my watch) and just went for it, trying to stay ahead of the 25 minute pacer. This resulted in a massive 21 second PB and an only very slightly frustrating time of 24 minutes dead. I spent the rest of the day feeling smug and like my training was paying off!

On Sunday I had a local 10 mile race planned- according to my plan I had to do 10 miles anyway so thought I may aswell use the race as a training run. 

(Testing out different fuels)

My legs felt a little heavy after the previous day's PB and it was warmer than I expected, but I started well - I maintained my target "race pace" of 9 minute miles (which would get me under 2 hours for a half) until about 6 miles, but suddenly the wheels fell off. I've never suffered quite so badly in a race before - the combination of a tough course, warm weather and tired legs plus messing up my fuelling strategy meant I ended up with stomach cramps wondering if I was even going to finish. Usually I love local races but this one ended up being quite lonely- it was clearly a popular club race and I was much further back than I usually am which meant that for most of the race I was on my own. I stopped at the water station at 8 miles and it was a real effort to get going again. I stopped at the bottom of a hill with the 9 mile marker at the top and leaned over with my hands on my knees wondering if I was going to be sick. Runners who had already finished started driving past me and I briefly considered flagging down the St Johns Ambulance that was driving the course. Ultimately however I dug in and kept moving. My 90 minute target was long gone but I stumbled across the line in 95 minutes. I felt awful but knew that I'd won the mental battle and that that would stand me in good stead for future races. 

(Recovery time)

Once I'd recovered I vowed to do a few things differently, including not running hard at parkrun the day before a race!

Have you ever had a really bad race? What did you learn?

Inspire a Generation?

As anyone who knows me is aware, I love the Olympics. I was unrelentingly positive about London 2012 from years in advance (I think I still have my "I backed the bid" sticker somewhere), throughout and now looking back (I still get emotional watching montages). One of the taglines of the Games was Inspire a Generation and recently I've been thinking about that more. Since the Olympics I've become more serious about running, and both my husband and a mutual friend have taken it up. The three of us now regularly exchange tweets about running and our friend wondered recently whether we had all been inspired by the Olympics.

I have to be honest- I loved the slogan and thought that if I was a child or teenager I would have been so excited and definitely inspired. However until now I hadn't really considered that maybe I had been inspired to run more because of that Olympic legacy. I had originally taken it to mean that youngsters would be inspired to be the future TeamGB stars and although I am sure that that will be one of the effects, I've come to realise that a far bigger consequence will be the little inspiration filtering through communities and friendship groups. It doesn't matter that most of us are too old (in athlete terms) to even dream of competing - we can still be inspired.

These thoughts led me to ponder a little more about what inspires me. Staying on the Olympics theme, I love watching Mo, Jess and other champions, but I don't think they inspire me in terms of my own running. Ultimately they are professional athletes and they are working full-time at trying to be the best in the world. I'm working full-time at another job, trying to fit in running as a hobby so it is difficult to draw realistic comparisons. I'm more likely to be inspired by those athletes who are at the top of their game but not able to work solely on their sport. I listened to Marathon Talk this week and they interviewed marathon runner Susan Partridge. She finished 10th at the World Championships last week but by the time the interview was conducted she was back at work. I could not believe that! Tenth in the world but with another "real" job aswell! Definitely inspiring.

Of course I've written all of this without drawing attention to the obvious - I have neither the natural talent nor the dedication to ever be anywhere close to an Olympian. For this, and other reasons, I think that I draw on inspiration closer to home. I've already blogged about parkrun and that kind of "grass roots" running really appeals to me. Through parkrun I've been inspired by so many different kind of runners including these: Mary, a regular Cambridge parkrunner in the 75-79 age category who usually runs round in about 27 minutes; countless number of junior runners who turn up every week to try and beat their time but who also learn about volunteering and supporting others; my friend Michaela who ran at least 10K every day for 17 days straight (whilst also working) to raise money for charity, and lastly Neil who in running has found a focus away from work and become healthier and happier as a result.

Running and in particular parkrunning rocks.

Who or what inspires you? 

Re-fuelling

I am a big fan of snacking. More often than I'd like this does mean chocolate but I'm trying more and more to choose healthier options. I find that running makes me want to look after my body and to fuel in a way that will help rather than hinder my performance. Regardless of the chocolate habit though, I do find that I need to eat little and often, rather than the more traditional 3 larger meals a day, to keep my blood sugar stable. I am lucky not to have any major health issues but I have fainted several times in the past as a result of blood sugar issues and healthy snacking has helped me to reduce the likelihood of that happening again.

As I'm sure many people will identify with, the time I'm at work is key and I need to make sure I go armed with healthy snacks to get me through the day. I thought I'd share some of my current favourites and see if any of you know of any others I might like.

Graze: I go through phases of ordering graze boxes but I just got one delivered and it's full of my favourites (tip- click "send soon" on your preferred snacks and it's likely that they will appear in your next box). The packaging has also been themed for summer- I love it! 

Nakd Bars: I think that these are relatively new but the range seems to be expanding all of the time and there is usually lots of choice at my local supermarket. The "gingerbread" bar got me round my first half-marathon without any gels/other fuel and a "chocolate orange" (no actual chocolate but tastes delicious) bar usually finds its way into my work bag. 

I also like fresh fruit, salted cashews, crackers and malt loaf. Are you a snacker or someone who doesn't eat between meals? Let me know if I've missed any good snacks, particularly savoury ones to try and balance out my sweet tooth! 

Running away from routine

It is August, a key holiday month for many people in the UK. It is also a key training month for any runner who is planning an Autumn distance race. I’m not going away this month so my training can be the focus and I can hopefully enjoy running on some sunny evenings. However, I did go away in May and was very conscious that although I wanted to relax and rest, I didn’t want to lose too much fitness over the fortnight. Here’s what I learned.

Fight the jetlag

According to one of my TV guilty pleasures, Biggest Loser, travelling is notorious for weight gain. Clearly this will have more of an impact for contestants of the show compared to traditional holidaymakers, but it is worth bearing in mind especially if you have had a long flight. I don’t run to lose weight but sitting on a plane for a long time in one position, getting dehydrated and eating rubbish food at strange times of the night isn’t going to help general health or fitness. You are also likely to spend the first few days of your holiday waking up at strange times and generally not feeling quite as rested as you had planned. On our holiday I dealt with the jet lag by running – by 7am on the second morning of our trip I was jogging down the Santa Monica beach path and in doing so got to experience a whole side of LA culture that I might not have otherwise done. Santa Monica was full of runners, roller-bladers, cyclists and people doing yoga in the park and as a runner I felt completely at home. I also took the opportunity to roll out my inappropriately short red shorts and pretend I was on Baywatch.

Sight-see on foot/by bike

The “hop on/hop off” bus is becoming ubiquitous in cities across the world. I have managed to shun it everywhere apart from Cape Town, where we were advised that walking wasn’t safe in all parts of the city. Generally I much prefer walking or cycling as a way to see a new place. Our holiday to California involved quite a lot of miles in the car as we drove up the coast, so we balanced this with choosing to cycle, rather than drive, the Golden Gate Bridge and cycling around the Napa Valley rather than taking the “Wine Train” or a tour. Both of these rides were easy and very tourist accessible – we weren’t by any means the only ones who had thought of them, but I can highly recommend this type of sight-seeing for anyone who is off on their holidays soon.

Choose your destination wisely

It really helped that California has a huge outdoor-living culture. Money has been spent on excellent cycle paths, dedicated running routes and fantastic trails through the many national parks. Running, cycling and generally hanging around in lycra was completely the norm and provided good motivation for avoiding lazing around. Next time I go on holiday I’ll definitely try and head somewhere with a similar culture – does anyone have any recommendations?

Plan A

With the Thunder Run out of the way, my thoughts have turned to the next goal...a sub-2 hour half-marathon. 

I have run 2 halves so far- my first was the lovely St Neots last November which I just wanted to complete and see how I found the longer distance. I stuck to a pace of just under 10 minute miles and was chuffed to finish in 2.07. Of course, being a runner, I was satisfied for approximately an hour before planning the next goal and seeing as 7 minutes over 13.1 miles didn't seem that many I decided to try to aim for sub-2 at my next race, the Cambridge Half. 

I had enjoyed the freedom of no specific goal at St Neots so I was a little worried that the pressure of having to work hard (the very idea!) would spoil Cambridge. However, the weather (snow on the ground, sleeting throughout- in March!) provided a "welcome" distraction and I prioritised regaining feeling in my feet rather than speed. The upshot was a frustrating 2 hours 20 seconds finish (Garmin time as chip failed) despite my best efforts at a sprint finish. 

Since the Cambridge Half I've been having fun with local 10K races and trying to get my parkrun time under 25 minutes (finally achieved a few weeks ago with only minor retching in the finish tunnel) but now it's time to get working on the distance again. I was lucky enough to get a place in the beautiful looking Royal Parks Half so I'll yet again be aiming for sub-2 in October. If that doesn't happen, or even if it does, I'll then be tackling the hills (hills for Cambridgeshire anyway) of St Neots again in November.

The training plan has been written and Day 1 was successfully completed today (cross-training: cycle commute+ post work swim+ cycle home) and tomorrow I have to see if the legs still work after Thunder Run with a 5 mile tempo. Neil is also training for a half- he's doing the Great Eastern the week after I do the Royal Parks. Guess whose training plan is whose (tip- I love coloured pens, Neil loves over-complicated spreadsheets...)

How do you plan for races?