Winner!

I won my first race on Saturday! I came in as first lady in HPTT and a new pb of 22:03 to end the year. First lady sounds strange and I can't help thinking that this means I got married to the president without realising it... I am very pleased as I never thought I would be good enough to win anything and little madam was pleased too (she can't understand why I enter races when I have no chance of winning).

It has been a good week's training. Tuesday run club was a 5 miler along Armley Road. Pushed it a bit at the end, but my legs were still aching from the long run on Sunday. Wednesday was a gym session and I did a 25 minute hill session on the treadmill before attempting a pilates class. It is a while since I have done pilates and I had forgotten how awful my balance is!

Christmas Day there was no time to run!

On Boxing Day little madam and I went to support our clubmates in the Chevin Chase. This is a hilly muddy 7 miler. I was more than a little envious when we watched everyone setting off and we were standing there cheering. I wanted to be out there! Then we went up to Otley Chevin and I saw the hills and the mud and was glad I was just cheering and taking photos! Still, I think next year I would like to do it if I can. Little madam fell in love with Suki the dog and spent a long time running after her and stroking her ears. (I did manage a 5 mile run on Boxing Day evening, but it wasn't muddy and only a little bit hilly!) VARR members did brilliantly - Dave came in 19th(!), Tom and H were jetlagged, but still did great and Khara's cross country training is doing her loads of good judging her her time. Kay and Debra also did brilliantly and it was great to see them all doing so well.

HPTT was fun on Saturday. We had to be there early to help set up. I had lectures from Dave and Rick about setting off faster and warming up and making good use of the flats. It worked though. I raced my training partner on my Garmin and having set him up for 7 min miles, I didn't get behind until the final lap. The cheers and encouragement from the people there really helped and I was amazed when I ran past and someone shouted "first lady". I finished and forgot to stop my watch (it's having to collect the tokens - does it to me every time!), but I realised it was a pb and was amazed to have won. I know it wasn't a strong field and my time would not have been anything on a 'normal' week, but I still did it!

Sunday I went out for a long run on my own. I was planning 15 or 16 miles. I forgot to take any water and my gels and really struggled at one point when I got pins and needles in my hand and went really dizzy. I walked for a couple of minutes until I felt a bit better and then headed for home as fast as I could. I did the same route as last week with a couple more hills and extra distance added in to make a total of 16 miles in 2:15. I was really pleased with my time until I worked out that this confused me as to what long runs I should be doing as training - 20 milers or time on feet (3:35-3:45ish). It is not going to take me an hour and a half to do another 4 miles. I will try and get some advice from more experienced people. I wonder if I am doing my long runs too fast or whether I have set myself too slow a target (probably the former lol).

Something that I have noticed this week is how much easier the hills have been. Just a little bit of extra training (and some positive thinking) and I am finding that the slopes that used to tire me out just don't seem like anything and the steeper hills, although still tough, are more doable than they used to be a couple of weeks ago. Very strange...

Treadmill Allergy?

Now it's the school holidays (woo hoo!) I have to train at the gym a few days. The treadmill has been something I have not been looking forward to. Since I discovered the joys of outside running, I have found it increasingly hard to get on there and stay on for anything like the same amount of time I am able to stay outside for. I know it has its place in terms of constant speed for tempo runs or intervals or hill sessions, but....

So Thursday night I hit the gym. And tried to do a hill session. First my knee played up and I had to get off and stretch. Then I tried the cross country programme, but got bored. So I ended up faffing about and walking quickly for about an hour in total. Mental block. Not good. When I get a mental block on something I really do get a block. So I tried again on Friday morning while little madam was having her swimming lesson and it was better. Jeremy Kyle took my mind off the pain a little and I did a 24 minute hill session. Not too fast, but stretching enough to feel like I had worked.

Tuesday had been intervals at the club. Running up and down the dark arches around cones and on slippy oil patches... Then a zoom back to the gym pushing my tired legs to move quicker. This is my new technique for training my legs to get used to running tired. I am trying to do it on most of my runs now.

Saturday was lovely. HPTT. Not many people there. Little madam was given a marshalling job to do and I couldn't get the vest off her at the end! I hadn't realised how fast I was running because it didn't feel fast, but I finished in 22:18 which is only 3 seconds off my pb. When my time came through I was amazed! We stayed til the end and helped to tidy up meaning that we both got 100 volunteer points which is nice. Then we all went for drinks in a little cafe nearby. I had a lovely chat to some of the regulars there. It is so nice to feel like part of a community. The lovely morning was topped off by little madam achieving her level 7 swimming award.

Saturday night I went out for a quick 5 miler. I like training twice in one day and HPTT is so short it doesn't feel like I have run much even though I know it is doing me lots of good.

Sunday was long run day. I chose the route - up round Kippax. OMG. The hills. Oh the hills. Ow ow ow!!! It was very tough going and my legs are very tired today. Rick kept me going and we pushed it for the last couple of miles. We did 12.6 in 1:45:33 which considering the wind and the sheer number of 'inclines' was brilliant. I am trying to convince him to lower his target time now... He is convinced that my hill problem is psychological and that I can do it if I really try. Not sure how much is in the mind when my legs feel so bad, but positive mental thinking must be worth a try!

Today - no running. Running had been the intention, but with quads that complained about walking, I thought the short spin session I had booked would be more than enough for them. Hoping I am recovered enough for tomorrow night's club session.

Pre-training rituals...

Do not, I repeat, do not do a long run after spending the previous evening drinking huge amounts of alcohol! I don't drink very often at all so when I do it goes straight to my head. So a long run on Sunday after an evening out was tough going. Went with Rick again. It's really great having someone to train with. We push each other on. We did 9.6 miles in 1:18 (avg 8:08 pace). I kept getting told off for upping the pace though. I hadn't even realised I was doing it. Apparently I really speed up when I hit the top of a hill. Must be relief or something...

Rest of the week was good training too. Tuesday at run club was just a nice social run - 7.75 miles avg 8:51. It was nice to do a long run and just chat to people. Thursday I did Stonegate Road avg half marathon pace. It is such a tough hill, but I know I need to do it and do actually enjoy it now.

Saturday was Santa Dash 5k at HPTT. What a laugh! Everyone looked daft and even though the weather was absolutely awful it was great fun. Little madam had fun laughing at Rick in his fishing net tights and was jogging around with him. That was before she slipped in the mud and landed on her backside... Dave was coaching two boys I used to teach and they finished in a great time of 26 mins. We went for breakfast in the uni afterwards where St Gemma's had put porridge and drinks on for us. Saturday evening I was feeling a bit fed up so did another 5 miler and felt much better afterwards.

Today I just did a short run as tomorrow it will be intervals or fartlek depending on the weather so I didn't want to do 2 hard sessions on the trot.

Running on ice

Think I would have preferred to be dancing with skates on, but you can't have it all!

I have never run when the ground has been icy and snowy so this week was interesting.

Tuesday was club night and I went with the boys in the fast group. Arriving at the gym it was sleeting and I thought I was going to end up running in the snow, but it had just about stopped by the time we set off. It was a bit slippy underfoot, but we still managed a fairly fast one. Got back in time for a shower and dressed ready for our monthly meal out. (see previous post for prize!).

Wednesday and Thursday I couldn't get anything done. Thursday was a snow day and no school for us as we couldn't get there safely and school ended up being closed anyway. Friday I braved Stonegate Road after school. There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground which had turned to ice so it was kind of a fartlek session with me tiptoeing carefully over the ice and running faster when the pavements were clear.

Saturday was HPTT. Icy patches made me very cautious because I was very worried about falling over and hurting myself. So a bit slow this week - 22:25. I was 2nd lady again today though which was a nice surprise. The boys did better. Dave got a new pb and was 2nd (well done!) and Rick got a new pb by 20 seconds which was amazing in the ice. Santa Dash next week...

Today I went for a long run with Rick from run club. We met at Asda and ran up to Scholes and back through Cross Gates. It was freezing cold and my thermal tights didn't warm my legs up at all. For the first few miles it felt like I was running with lead rather than legs. The route he took us on had a few tough hills (always my favourite lol).We did round about 11 miles altogether which was good. I do need to go further though.

This week I will need to try to get out a couple more days. Four days a week is not good, especially when one of them is only 3 miles. I need to up my mileage if I am going to run at my best in the Brass Monkey. I know that my main aim is Edinburgh, but I want to run well in the HMs and 10ks I have in the meantime. I'm not too bothered about running quickly in the 5ks at HPTT, but it would be nice!

Run Club Prize

I am so touched. I was awarded a prize last night at run club for 'Rookie of the Year'. It was so lovely and I am glad that I am doing a good job. It's great to be a member of a club and everyone is so friendly. I think I am finally getting the hang of running with other people too and enjoying the pace.

New goals

I am still on cloud 9 after last week, but it has given me some new challenges.

My first challenge has to be sub 22 in HPTT 5k. It is driving me nuts that I just can't seem to keep the pace up over such a short distance. I did it again yesterday and although I got a new pb (22:15) I still can't crack the magical 21 mins. It was freezing cold yesterday at -1 and little madam was crying at the end because her toes were so cold. I set off too quickly I think so maybe if I can turn the pace down a little at the start it will work. The last km just wipes me out.

My other challenges are my new predicted times:
5k 21:28 (6:54)
10 mile 1:13:10 (7:19)
Half Marathon 1:38:13 (7:30)
Marathon 3:27:14 (7:54)

It is the marathon one that is scaring me most I think because that pace is the pace I managed for Leeds Half just two months ago. Still, there are 6 months of training left so by then my endurance should be much improved.

The half marathon one I am pleased with because it gives me something to aim for in January when I do the Brass Monkey.

I have not done too much this week. Monday I was very sensible and rested. Tuesday was club night and I went at it far too quickly. At one point we were hitting under 6 min miles. No wonder my knees are sore! Wednesday and Thursday I rested. Friday I decided to do Stonegate Road instead of intervals as I think that will be more important than super speed over the next few months. It was okay and I think I will try to do that route more often to build up my quads.

Today was my long run day. I decided to see how my knees were while running before deciding on a distance although it had to be 10+. Knees were sore so I did 11. It was so hard to get moving this morning. It was very cold and I just couldn't get warm. My legs did not want to do any kind of speed at all and I averaged 9 min miles for the distance.

My training paces according to Runners World are:
easy run 8:51
tempo 7:22
VO2 max 6:38
speed 6:09
long run 8:51-10:00
Yasso 800s 3:24 min/800

So I suppose my long run pace was about right, but it felt s l o w.

I wish there was someone in run club who was doing long runs at my pace. I am too slow for the men (they are all aiming at sub 3hr marathons) and too quick for the women (my long run pace is their 10k race pace mostly). Looks like I am going to be out on my own for most of this build up so I have bought myself some new music (any excuse!).

My Santa suit arrived on Monday and it is HUGE! There is no way I can run in it so I am passing it on to someone else who is doing the Santa Dash. I couldn't find one that fitted me so I have ended up with a ladies santa suit and ordered some thick red kids tights from M&S in an attempt to keep me warm. It should be a fun race with loads of run club members doing it.

Abbey DASH - and it was...

Woo hoo! I did it. I did it. I did it. Not that I am in the tiniest bit excited in any way!

44.42

I broke the 45 mins and knocked over 2 mins off my pb. I am one very happy lady tonight.

It was freezing cold this morning and had snowed overnight. At one point I thought I was going to have to run in the sleet. Dressed up in about 15 layers, but by the time I got into town it was much warmer and I was able to remove most of them.

I managed to not set off too quickly and kept to a fairly even pace all the way through the race. Coming up to the end I did the hill up near the pool and then looked at my watch. It was on 44.16 so I absolutely pelted it down the Headrow to the Town Hall. I'm not sure where I found the strength from for a sprint finish, but I did and screamed 'YES!!!!!!!' as I looked at my watch to stop it.

It was lovely as there were so many club members running today and seeing them all come through the finish with loads of pbs was just great. We went for a cuppa afterwards to celebrate.

My official photographer (lol) came and took some pics for me. I must have been going fast as some of them are a little bit blurry.

Mile splits were:

1. 7:07

2. 7:11

3. 7:17

4. 7:06

5. 7:00

6. 7:16

+ 1:41

Still on cloud 9 tonight. How am I ever going to get to sleep?!

7..6..5..4..3..2..1.. BLAST OFF!! (???)

One week today and my next attempt at getting a new 10k pb. Will I get it or will I throw it away again? Quite honestly, I don't know whether I have done enough speedwork for this, but my general running style and endurance has improved as have my race tactics. I will do my best though that's for certain and this week will be spent in preparation (apart from the slight blip that is the run club Christmas do, but no alcohol and not too late home and it will be a good fun night...). Lots of water, lots of pasta, lots of sleep and not too much lots of running so that I can start the race on fresh legs.

I seem to have started an argument on runners world about racing with a Garmin though. I only wanted advice that would stop me from doing my usual and setting off full pelt :(

Speaking of Garmins mine has developed an electrical fault - yes the replacement one. So it was back to the shop today to swap it for yet another one. I hope this one is okay as I am getting very fed up of this now.

This week's training has not been brilliant. Long meeting on Monday meant nothing. I felt rough on Tuesday so ran round here and my legs did not want to move. I thought I was just tired, but Wednesday I started with a virus - sore throat, shaking, wiped out. Typical with a week to go. Luckily by Friday I was okay and did my green mile intervals in better times than last week. My mum says I always seem to run better when I am not 100% and it looks like she is right. Little madam's birthday yesterday and the plan was to do a treadmill session after the party. It finished late though and I was exhuasted so went for a curry with a friend instead. A good long run this morning though despite being tired. I was intending to do about 8 miles, but got into the swing of it and carried on and did a country lane detour. Then with about 2 miles to go I decided to pick up the speed so that my legs would be used to running when they were tired. I was really pleased with the way they responded and the total miles ended up being 11:07 miles in 1:30 which was a pretty good time for a training run I felt.

Really not going to push it this week. Plan is - gig tomorrow night, Tuesday intervals, Wednesday rest, Thursday shortish run, Friday shorter run (unless my legs feel tired in which case I will rest), Saturday REST, Sunday ZOOOOOOOOOOOM.

It's raining...

And I have been out in it tonight. Attempting to do my long run. It didn't happen! I only did 6.25 miles before the cold got to me and I had to head for home and the warmth. Must get organised with a warm jacket and tights for the winter.

This week has been good although my legs have been very tired after Guy Fawkes to put it mildly. I tried for a short recovery run on Monday and they did not want to move so it turned into a very short one.

Tuesday was run club night. I dragged myself there, but was really glad I did. Went out in a group of 3 with guy who did the race too (faster than me!) and a girl I haven't met before who was very speedy. Turns out she lives really close to me and will come out on a Sunday to do long runs which is great. Meal out afterwards which was nice.

Wednesday and Thursday were much needed rest days so by Friday my legs felt a little better and I was chomping at the bit to do some intervals. Went up to the green mile and did 8 laps averaging about 2:18 for each lap. I was pleased that I managed to keep a steady pace more or less rather than pelting it for a bit and dying. I am going to need to keep to that for Dash in two weeks so that I can pick up the pace in the second half of the race.

Saturday I took the advice of someone from run club and did a cross training session - spin (OW!). The idea of that is that I am less likely to get injured if I am doing something else as well as running. My intention had been to do a 20 minute tempo run on the treadmill afterwards but the race and the class wiped my legs out and my calves and quads were having none of it.

Went out in the evening for a tempo run instead and did my 20 mins with a few steep bits at round about the right pace. I am hoping that the tempo runs will increase my lactate threshold and mean that I can hold my race pace for longer.

With two weeks to go until my big 10k I don't really feel prepared enough speed wise. I don't think that I have done nearly enough intervals to get my fast twitch fibres moving. I am hoping that my increased endurance and a more even pace will pull me through though and get me that magical 45.

It occurred to me this week that I have been aiming for 45, but I will not be happy with 45:xx. So really I am aiming for 44:xx even if that is only 44:59. I was really pleased with my 10 mile time especially over such a tough course and I am still hopeful of achieving my goal. I do want a pb though and I know how much I have improved over the last year and it is a flat fast course. I have worked so hard I really deserve this...

The Birstwith Brute

Good training this week. Some of it has had to be in the gym though with it being half term and I have had to taper a little bit for my race today.

Had a lovely run out near my parents'. So flat there. Managed a negative split on the 4.5 miles I did and averaged 7:10 min miles for second half which made me very confident about Abbey Dash in 3 weeks time. Still did over 30 miles this week despite tapering. Was difficult not running yesterday though.

This morning was the Guy Fawkes 10 at Ripley. What a beautiful place. It was really nice because several people from run club were also taking part in this race and we met at the gym and went together. It's the first time I've done that and it stopped me getting nervous. Even up until this morning I was saying I wasn't going to race hard today. Then I set my Garmin up and it all went out of the window. I am just an all or nothing kind of person and to do a race and not try my best is just not me! Met another teacher from school there as well. He was the one who told me I had to do the race. He has been injured and wasn't going to run fast (still 2 mins quicker than me though!). It tickled him that his race number was 69 - no doubt he will be wearing it in the staff room tomorrow!

We had major discussions about what we were going to wear to race in. It was freezing cold and the wind was biting. Everybody opted for long sleeved tops (very sensibly!) but I was the only one in shorts. We got going and I managed not to set off too quickly. Started with my headphones in, but teacher friend caught me up at about 3 miles so I took them off. The first real challenge (although the whole course was undulating) came at 4 miles with the Birstwith Brute. What a hill! It reminded me of the one in Kirkstall I had to walk up during run club. 15% and I tried my best to run up it. So many people were walking so I thought what the heck and did too. Even then it was a killer.

5 miles was looking good at 40 mins. After that I ran with teacher friend again for a bit then at about 6 miles the wind took my breath away and he zoomed off. Still some pretty tough hills, but I didn't have to walk again. Towards the end it got a bit scary as it was on a muddy woodland path which was very uneven and I had to slow down a bit as I wobbled a bit and was worried about injuring myself.

Coming up to the end it was uphill (not too bad though) into Ripley Castle. Support from Andy from run club and Suki the dog helped and the courtyard finish was spectacular - the view that is not my running! Finished in 1:20:48 which I was so pleased with for my first 10 mile (and one mile was done in 6:32 - I didn't realise I could run that fast for that distance!). The goody bag was packed with chocolate, coffee and very strangely a tin of condensed milk (?). A fantastic technical long sleeved black t-shirt was given away. I was 37th woman and 7th in my age group.

Splits:

1 8:14

2 8:26

3 7:51

4 6:32 (didn't know I could do that until today!)

5 9:08

6 7:16

7 8:24

8 7:15

9 8:25

10 8:06 + 1:00

This was a truly fantastic race with very friendly marshalls all the way round, great scenery and a superb finish. One to do next year definitely. It was made even better by the fact that other members of run club were doing it too and it was lovely to stand at the finish and cheer them on.

Now I just have to hope I haven't overdone it and jeopardised my next big race...

I have a big job to do now as I have taken over our run club website and am in the process of bringing it up to date. It's needed though if we are to try to get more people to join.

Temporary loss of sanity...

Okay, something strange happened today. I lost the plot for about an hour and when I returned to earth I discovered I had entered the Edinburgh Marathon. How did that happen?!

I have been umming and ahhing about a marathon for weeks and I finally plucked up the courage to enter. It's not until the end of May so I have plenty of time to train and as my mum said to me I can always stop. Yeah right, like I am going to do that! I am doing it really in the hope that I can get under 3:45 and get a Good For Age place in London 2010. My predicted time at the moment is 3:35. With the right training, maybe... There are lots of people at run club who have done marathons so I am sure that I will get the best and right advice from them.

My cheque has been cashed for Brass Monkey so I'm in for that which is fantastic. I have also entered Leeds 10k this week although it may be a little too soon after the marathon to really do well. However, it is for charity and I just have to do it. So I have a long list of races to do in the next few months (still waiting for Dewsbury 10k and Wakefield 10k to come online) and now I also have a marathon to train for. Having a brief look at schedules, I have to increase my long run and try to do one longer run during the week too. I think I will have to tie that in to run club as I can't see any other way to fit in looking after Little Madam.

My training is still going in the right direction despite my cold refusing to go. I have had a 35 mile week including running twice on Thursday which I haven't done for ages and really enjoyed. My long run was 13 miles today and I took a different route for some variety. I hate running where there are no footpaths, but luckily it was early and the roads were fairly quiet. This week is half term so most of my training will be gym based although I should be at run club on Tuesday and on Thursday I might be able to run near to my parents'. Then 10 mile race on Sunday. Watching Paula finish The Great South Run in 50 mins today and the fastest man finishing in faster than my 10k time was great although my predicted 1:20-1:25 looks like snail's pace compared to their times!

I am also having a disaster with my Garmin. It seems to have developed an electrical fault and won't start up unless it's in the cradle. It is also switching itself off if I knock it at all which is not good. I am taking it back tomorrow and I hope that they will just swap it as it is only 6 months old.

Right, off to read some more about this madness I seem to have developed.... :)

Update...

I am really rubbish at keeping up to this at the moment...

I was really sensible in my training following the half marathon and that makes a change for me. I have been working hard though and building my distance back up. For the last three weeks I have been doing 30+ miles through 5 days of training each week. I am trying to do one long run, one interval session, one faster/tempo run and two other runs on which I have tried to include some hills including Stonegate Road a few times now it doesn't scare me anymore!

My long runs have taken a while to build back up, but I managed 13 miles last Sunday and am going to try to do the same again tomorrow. I do have a cold at the moment though which has decided to settle on my chest so I will not be pushing myself too hard.

Today I did the Hyde Park Time Trial for the first time since April. I have been meaning to do it for weeks, but it means getting up at 7 to be on the bus by 8 to get there in time which on a Saturday morning is not always possible. Also I have usually had little madam on a Saturday for the last few weeks. Today I had her too, but she didn't want to run it so she sat under a tree near the finish line where the stewards were there if there was a problem. It was nice to see a few people from run club doing it too because I have only managed to get down there once since my race (if it's raining it's so much easier to run round here and go in and get warm and dry rather than waiting for the bus home). I also saw a boy I used to teach doing the run with his mum which was nice too. I was aiming for around 21 mins, but when I set my Garmin up it told me that would be 6:46 min mile pace, which I felt was a bit too quick, but I thought I would give it a go anyway. The pace was way too quick for me, so I had to slow it a bit. My breathing was not good and my inhaler didn't give me the boost it normally does at the start. Still I managed to keep going and didn't feel too bad until about 1km from the end when I just found it was too much and I could hardly breathe at all. One of the guys from run club ran alongside and gave me words of encouragement, which was lovely. I managed to finish and my time was 22:27 which is one minute off my last time. I was also the second woman to finish which was amazing! Unfortunately my details are still not registered to my club so I appear as unattached. I am hoping that they can update this so my run can be credited to the club and they can have the points. The last time I did this race was not long after Wakefield 10k where my pb currently resides, so I am still keeping my fingers crossed for my sub 45 at Abbey Dash.

I have got my list of races sorted out for the next few months anyway and my next one is Guy Fawkes 10 mile which I am not going to race race, but enjoy (and especially enjoy the huge quantities of chocolate that I have been told is in the goody bags...). I have also got my entry in for Brass Monkey which sells out within a couple of days, but the entry forms only went on their site today and our run club got some early forms which I filled in and sent off yesterday so fingers crossed I will get a place. There are still a couple of races in February and April that I am waiting to come online.

I have been seriously considering doing a marathon as well although I am not sure which one yet. My predicted time for a marathon is 3:35 which if I could do anything like would allow me to have a good for age (anything between 3:15 and 3:45 would get me this) place in London 2010 which I would love to do. I have never considered myself to be good enough to be able to do anything like a marathon before, but I think if I can get my long runs in by putting Little Madam into aftercare at work and making the most of my free weekend day I might be able to do it. I've said it now - does that mean I HAVE to do it????!

D-Day 7th September 2008

I first planned to do Leeds Half Marathon 5 years ago. I have entered 3 times and today was the first time I actually managed to do it. YAY!!!!

This week I have tried really hard to eat properly and taper properly and spent most of yesterday drinking several gallons of water to make sure I was properly hydrated (I think the rest of the day was spent on the loo...).

We arrived quite early and the guy I was supposed to be running with decided at the very last minute to actually do it (even getting changed in the car park). I was incredibly nervous and had been awake since 5am getting worse and worse. Once we actually got to Millenium Square I started to feel a little better and more excited than nervous. I had set my Garmin up for between 7:50 and 8:20 minute miles hoping for a time of around 1:48. I had only managed one long run of 11 miles two weeks before and had just about collapsed afterwards despite it having been an average pace of 8:30. Still race day and you have to push yourself otherwise there's no point. Eventually after what seemed like a lifetime we were herded round to the starting line. And we were off and stopped again as the crowds seemed to only allow walking pace for the first little while. I did really well not to set off too quickly although it is so tempting, but I knew I couldn't do my usual on a race of this distance. We had to slow down on Meanwood Road because we were going too fast and I tried to keep us at around 7:45 - 8:00 minute pace.

Suddenly Stonegate Road loomed in the distance so out came my inhaler to calm my breathing down and J who I was running with said to go and leave him if I was able to. The hill was great. I was barely out of breath and J was behind me. I thought he would catch me up, but I couldn't stop or slow because I knew I would never get going again. At the top I felt really really good and popped my headphones on as J was nowhere in sight. A downhill section and I could really pick the pace up doing closer to 7:15 minute miles. I was still wary of running out of steam so took a gel onboard. I actually found the hill up to Lawnswood roundabout more tiring than Stonegate Road which I was surprised at.

7 miles at the top and over halfway. I looked at my Garmin and I was well ahead of schedule and still feeling really strong. I knew it was downhill from there so I picked up the pace again. The road seemed to fly by and in no time at all I was on the homeward stretch along Kirkstall Road. I felt brilliant all the way along until the flyover by the international pool. At the top I started to go dizzy and thought I would pass out so I slowed right down to let my heart rate and blood pressure come down a bit. The Headrow was a nightmare, but I knew the finish line was in sight and somehow managed to keep going. As I went over the line I felt dizzy again and got pins and needles in my hands. I thought I might have to get some medical attention, but after walking through the chip place and getting my t-shirt and MEDAL and a well needed drink I felt better and found a place to watch out for J. I knew he hadn't been feeling well and as time ticked by I started to get worried. Finally I saw him and was relieved he was okay.

So my time? 1:44:39 and 16th in my age group. I am very proud of myself and now have something to beat next time. J was disappointed in his time of 2:03:35, but I am proud of him for doing it and finishing.

Splits:

1. 7:51


2. 7:54


3. 8:03


4. 8:19


5. 8:05


6. 7:35


7. 8:11


8. 7:24


9. 7:21


10. 7:43


11. 7:42


12. 7:57


13. 8.18 last bit : 2.34

Recovering now. Just about stopped shaking and my pins and needles have also nearly gone now thank goodness.

What's next then? Abbey Dash in November - sub 45 or else!, Brass Monkey in Jan - 1:40?

I did it!

Well I did it - I did THE HILL (or hell as it is now affectionately known as). After putting it off for months I got up early yesterday morning and by 8am I was running along Meanwood Road towards Stonegate Road in an attempt to allay my fears. It was bad... The first bit was very steep and I think because I had been worried about it for so long my heartrate was high anyway. When I got to the top I had to walk for a bit because I felt sick! The rest of the hill was very long, but I felt fine with it - it was just the first bit.

This is the elevation map from my Garmin. It starts just before 1.5 miles.

Anyway, with little madam having been away this week I have been able to run outside every day which has been nice. I have mainly done steady runs to try and build my mileage back up, but I did managed to do 10k in 50.25 the other day which I was quite pleased with (I hadn't been running all out until the last bit). My quads have been complaining like mad though and my left knee has felt a bit funny so I have forced myself to have a couple of rest days.

My physio appointment on Wednesday was interesting. My plantar fascia in my right foot is incredibly tight and I nearly passed out from the pain when she was massaging it. But, it was worth it because I could stretch my calf more easily and have even been able to put my foot flat on the stairs which is the first time I can remember ever being able to do this.

Mileage for this week: 33

Return to training is just like a massive hill

I have managed to train lots over the last couple of weeks, but it is proving really hard.

Most of my training has had to be at the gym while little madam plays in creche so it has been a bit difficult to calculate my mileage.

Summary:
Run club last week was a 10k. Went in fast group. We zoomed along Kirkstall Road to Horsforth. Then we turned left (getting Doctor Who deja vu here) and hit hills that were more like mountains to my poor legs. I managed to run up two of them all be it very slowly, but the last one I had to walk which is so not like me. Realised I need to do more hill work...

Long run the next day with the guy I went out running with before. We did about 8 miles, but my legs were really suffering.

Done a few hill sessions at the gym and some weights work on my legs to try to strengthen my quads.

Interval sessions have been good. While I seem to have lost my endurance, my speed has certainly not suffered too much.
Track session: 0.5 mile intervals: 3:24, 3:16, 3:23, 3:26, 3:19, 3:25 with 1 min recovery time between each set.
Gym session: 6 x 800m (200m recovery): started at 13 and increased by 0.5 each time. Last one I only managed 600m though.

Long run: first one for six weeks. Did my 11 mile route round Garforth. Slow pace. I could not believe how tired my legs were. It's more than a bit disheartening really. Even sore the next day.

Just been out to do easy pace to get my legs moving again after long run. 4.5 miles in 40 mins. My quads were burning towards the end.

So this week I will run every day including a long run, some hill work and some shorter intervals. No little madam this week so I should be able to run outside - YAY! The treadmill is soooooo boring.

Take it easy? What's that then?

I am back. Woo hoo! Got permission to start running again and build it up gradually. I have been doing my stretches lots even though they are extremely painful and I have been going to spin a few times to try to regain the fitness which I have lost. It is amazing how quickly fitness goes...

I have tried to build up gradually. Did a few sessions of running for ten mins with five min walk breaks in between. I have also probably done a bit more than I should have done - no surprises there for those who know me ;) I have also tried not to run every day... Hmm that one didn't last long...

Thursday was the first day I ran hard. Went running with a guy I met who runs with Dewsbury Road Runners and it was so good to go out with somebody. We went running round Temple Newsam attempting to do half mile intervals. That really pushed me and the walk breaks didn't really take and we ended up jogging them after a while. We did 5.63 miles in 48 mins which was good. He is so much taller than me I think I had to take 6 strides for every one of his!

Friday I went out and did a 40 min run with 20 mins tempo in the middle. Tempo was a bit slow averaging at 7:46 min/mile. My legs were aching though - an experience I had totally forgotten about.

Saturday was an hour spin class which left my legs feeling like lead weights. I thought it must be lactic acid build up so I hopped straight onto the treadmill and did 3km run. My legs felt less heavy afterwards, but still very tired.

Following on from the theme of not being able to take it easy I went out tonight intending to do just an easy run, but ended up doing 5.5 miles in 46 mins. Still got very tired aching legs and it was a struggle to run this normally short distance, but I did it and it WILL get easier again.

This week I have spin and running planned for every day. I will try to do easy runs in between harder sessions. I must do a hill session every week in preparation for Leeds. I will start with 800m intervals and see what speed I can do. I think it will be easier to do hill sessions on the treadmill as I can control the incline and speed easily and hopefully see an improvement. I also intend to keep up the tempo runs and may complete these on the treadmill too. For 7:55 min/mile I will need to set the speed at 12.2km/hr. This will leave any other sessions to easy runs or interval sessions and hopefully a long run outside (although probably not this week) as I need to get my distance back up as well.

Wish me luck....

Injured - and fed up

Well, it's been difficult to write this blog recently because I have been so fed up. At running club two weeks ago I pushed msyelf too hard on the intervals we were doing and my hip went totally. Absolute agony. Next day I rang NHS direct as I couldn't walk up stairs at all. They said RICE and painkillers. Chemist said get to casualty. Which I did and was told I had damaged my ligaments and no running for two weeks.

I went to see a physio last week and all my muscles on my right side are tense from my calf right into my spine. She loosened them and gave me stretching exercises to do. I go back on Thursday and hopefully I will be able to start running again. I did manage a spin class on Saturday. I had forgotten how hard those things are. Great fun as well though!

Miles for last fortnight - about zero (sob sob...)

Leeds 10k

Well, Leeds 10k was yesterday and I am recovering nicely now.

I arrived early to soak up the atmosphere that had made it such a good race last year... only to be told I wasn't allowed in Millenium Gardens where the warm up was because I had a green number. So the atmosphere wasn't nearly as good as last year. I had taken an energy drink to have just before the race started, but the distinct lack of toilets meant that I had to dump it virtually untouched. I put myself in the sub 45 starting pen in the hope that I would achieve my target time.

The start was much faster this year, but I set off too quickly - again! Not as fast as usual, but still too fast. There were no km markers too so I was glad for my Garmin. Meanwood Road was more undulating than I remembered and the little hills sapped my energy. By about 7km I was starting to struggle and the hill back up to the Headrow was baaaad. I managed to choke on some water and spill it all down myself too.

As I approached the last km I knew I didn't have the energy to achieve my time and the wind through the centre of town was awful. I finished in about 47 mins and grabbed my t-shirt. Totally forgot to hand my chip in and had to go back!

Little madam was there to watch which was nice as she hasn't seen the beginning and end of a race before.

My official time was 47:09 which is one second slower than my pb. But I was 19th woman in the open category (18-40) and 323rd overall out of 11000 runners so I am pleased about that! The course was also long (10.36km). I did overtake Tracey Morris too!!

Splits and heart rates:
1. 4:13:22 160 bpm
2. 4:25:72 172 bpm
3. 4:34:61 177 bpm
4. 4:17:64 176 bpm
5. 4:38:88 180 bpm
6. 4:33:87 180 bpm
7. 4:35:51 179 bpm
8. 4:37:18 179 bpm
9. 4:57:54 178 bpm
10. 4:42:10 181 bpm
+ 1:34:83 182 bpm

Calm down, calm down!

Just a tad excited about tomorrow :)

Tapering has been well and truly done this week. Only 23 miles. At least my legs will be fresh for tomorrow. I have been making sure I eat properly the last few days and drinking ridiculous amounts of water too! Pasta party tonight.

So what training have I been doing this week then?

Sunday - about 7 miles in bits in between watching little madam in her piano concert. It was meant to be an increasing speed, but I just couldn't get into it properly.

Tuesday - 3 x 0.75 miles intervals. Pretty pleased with my pace and heart rate too (6.40, 6.45, 6:36 avg pace). It felt very comfortable too. This was my last interval session before Sunday.

Wednesday - ran home from school. Too impatient to wait for Garmin to locate satellites and had done about 2 miles before it found them. Got back in about an hour which I was pretty pleased with. The hill up York Road was good. I found it fairly easy - my pace didn't drop much and I felt fine when I got to the top.

Saturday - Just over 4 miles easy pace. This felt very comfortable. I just needed to remind my legs how to move after two days rest.

Now I just have to get there tomorrow, eat early enough, not get too cold in the lovely June weather, drink plenty, not ned to go to the loo half way through the race, not run out of energy, not set off too quickly. Oh yeah - RUN FAST and ENJOY IT!!!

A Green Number

Got my number for the race this week. I will be in the green starting pen. 11 000 people is an awful lot of people. I wonder how difficult it will be to get going this year?

This was a fairly low mileage week due to not being able to run as much as I would have liked.

Tuesday went up to the track with a bottle of water for the heat so that I could do lots of 400m intervals. Did 5 at a reasonable pace (6:40, 6:41, 6:47, 6:48, 6:18) then needed a drink. Madam had drunk it all!!! I couldn't do any more in the heat so had to come home again.

Wednesday went out and did LSR - 13 miles - last long one before the race.

Friday did 20 min tempo, but it was too slow. Average 7:26 for the 20 mins. Still not eating or drinking enough to keep the pace up and the hills are wiping me out. I am going to have to do more hill sessions before September.

Saturday evening went out and did 5 miles at an easy pace. Average 7:55. Felt good.

Total mileage for this week only 32.98, but it could be seen as a taper for next week.

Heat

Well the weather seems to have been good this week. I do wonder if this is it for the summer though.

Sunday I did an interval session, but on the road not on the track which made it much harder. I managed 6 x 0.4 mile intervals at around 7 min pace although I did have to cut a couple short (not by much though!) as the hills wiped me out and I was very tired.

Monday I had a rest day as it was the first day of inspection.

Tuesday was a club night and we ran up to the Abbey to do a relay. I was supposed to do 3 x 0.5 mile circuits, but after the first I was so wheezy and the second was awful so I didn't do the third and ran back just in time to catch the bus back home.

Wednesday was long run day and I managed 10 miles for the first time in a while at avg 8:46 min/mile which wasn't too bad I supposed.

Thursday was my normal rest day (two rest days in a week!!!).

Friday I did a 10k time trial on the roads. The aim was to do 5 or 6 1km intervals with 3 min recovery at target race pace. I really must hydrate myself better - I just fade so fast in the heat. I managed 6 of them. The first four were way way too fast:

1. 6:56
2. 6:52
3. 6:47
4. 7:05
5. 7:21
6. 7:24

Because I went off too fast the last two were just too slow. I suppose the average would be ok for my target time, but I really have to get the hang of going slower at the start in order to maintain my pace.

Saturday I did 8.5 miles around Garforth while madam was at a party. Reasonable pace.

Sunday I tried to run in the heat when I really hadn't eaten or drank enough and been cutting the hedge. They were supposed to be 5 x 1 mile intervals with 4 min recovery and I just couldn't do it. I gave up after two and just ran at a reasonable pace and drank what felt like an entire bath full of water when I got home.

What have I learned? Drink more before running in the heat and don't go off too quickly.

Miles for 1/6 to 7/6 = 37.75

Tightness and Trainers

Well, what a disaster this week. Having been so pleased about my new trainers, within a short while of trying them out my achilles tendon started hurting and my calf tightened up. Out came the ice and the ibuprofen gel. I obviously do not get on with Mizuno trainers. They were the ones I had when I had the bursar in my achilles a few years ago that put me out of action for about eighteen months and caused no end of pain. I had wondered whether the trainers were partly to blame for my string of injuries, but I couldn't see how when they had been fitted at a running shop etc.

I was so miserable on Saturday night worrying that I wouldn't be able to run again for months. Sunday I iced it again, but it was still painful and I kept getting shooting pains when I walked. I took the trainers back to the shop and after a while got fitted with another pair. This time Asics. They were very comfy and felt lovely to run in on the treadmill. Little madam thought it was hilarious though because they had quite a bit of pink on them and I am so not a pink person. But when you are choosing trainers it's not the colour that matters. Not that she understood that!

Sunday we went up to the track and I did just a short run around the track to check that they felt okay and they did. Woohoo! My calf was still tight, but there wasn't any pain in my achilles so all well and good...

Monday I just went out and ran with no real target, just to get out and run. Did 7 miles with nice thick socks on (concentrate - that bit is important!)

Tuesday morning I went out and did a few miles (3.83) not particularly fast though. Tuesday evening was running club again. As I got to the gym I noticed that my right trainer was rubbing a bit on the top of my foot. I shoved a bit of toilet paper in to protect it thinking it was just a settling in thing. Two groups this week so I went with the fast group again. We ran up to Carnegie. On the way up Otley Road there were dressed up students off to the pub. "He went that way!" one of them shouted. Oh ha ha ha. Up at Carnegie we had to run the Green Mile which was three times round the grassy bit. Handicapped race and I went off 5th out of 8. Mispaced myself completely as I thought he meant 3 miles and paced myself for that. Oops. Still, did okay with a sprint finish. Missed the bus as we were back late and although club finished at 8, I didn't get home until nearly 10. Going to have to make sure I catch that bus from now onwards.

Wednesday when I went out it was absolutely tipping it down. I was so so so drenched. Came home and bought a jacket from ebay! My calf was still really bothering me and no matter how much stretching I did it wasn't making any difference. I kept icing and ibuprofen gelling it, but was getting more than a bit concerned. Advice on Runners World was to have a sports massage.

So Thursday I found a person who did sports massage and luckily managed to get an appointment. Turns out she knows loads of people at running club! Massage was agony.

On the way my trainers were digging in again and on closer inspection I found the seam was sticking out miles on the right foot. So took them back to the shop and the only other pair had exactly the same problem. Back to the drawing board (or treadmill) again... Tried on so many pairs. I even tried a pair of neutral trainers on and although she said I could possibly get away with them because I didn't overpronate too much, with my knee history I really should stick with mild/moderate support. Although next time I might be able to have neutrals. Eventually came away with a different pair of Asics. Was very close between them and Brooks. The Brooks had good gel in the front to push off from, but the Asics were most comfortable. They are Asics 2130GT.

Did a hard interval session in them on Thursday. Forgot water and it was very hot so I managed 8 out of 12 400m intervals. The heat showed. Average pace: 6:12, 6:13, 6:19, 6:11, 6:18, 6:20, 6:31, 6:42. Times: 1:32, 1:33, 1:34, 1:32, 1:32, 1:35, 1:37, 1:40. The trainers were comfy and my achilles was okay. My calf was still tight, but bearable - just!

Friday I went out in the evening. It seemed like ages since I had done a fast(ish) run rather than intervals or long slow runs. So I set off not to run very quickly, but reasonably. Friday night is not the best time to run - loads of stupid comments from the idiots around. I knew I was going fairly quickly but didn't want to push it, so slowed the pace a bit for a while. Up the hill through Austhorpe in 1:19. I hate that hill! When I was fairly close to home I looked at my watch and realised I was on 44 mins with 5.5 miles - so I pushed it! I did 6 miles in 47 mins and that was just a training run. My pb for 10k being 47:08 in a race I was extremely pleased with this time.

Saturday I had intended to go for 10 miles plus on 75% MHR, but I soon realised there was no way I was up to it. My legs were tired and I hadn't really eaten enough the day before so I had no energy left. I cut it short at 4 miles, but at least I got out.

Mileage for this week: approx 46 miles (forgot to set watch going at run club for a while!)

Slow down - you'll only get burn out

Not that I am looking forward to Guillemots gig or anything...

This week has not been fantastic overall unfortunately.

Monday I woke up feeling aboslutely dreadful. Really weak and very shaky. Came to the conclusion that I had over-trained over the weekend and not eaten enough to compensate. So I ate on Monday and by Tuesday morning I was feeling better - not 100%, but definitely better.

Tuesday night was club night!!! Got there and typically there weren't many people. Normally there are 5 groups, but on this particular night everyone set off together and then split into two groups. I went with the fast group. We were put into pairs to run full pelt up a steep hill. I managed to get nearly to the top before seeing stars! Was good fun though. Then we ran up another hill which was much less steep, but I didn't have the energy left and was much slower. After that we carried on running back to the start. With half a mile to go we were told to run as fast as we could back to base. I did and was first woman back behind three men. I was pleased with myself and had enjoyed it lots. Ran about 6 miles I think.

I have really had to cut down my distance this week. Two reasons - 1. I still didn't feel fantastic energy wise and didn't want to get burn out. 2. I had lots of work to do and didn't want to be too tired to do it. So Wednesday I worked in the morning and did my run early afternoon. 8.79 miles average pace 8.37 min/mi which was faster than I had previously achieved in that heart rate zone. I must be getting fitter.

Friday was an interval session of 4 x 1 mile fast, 0.5 mile slow. My chest was tight - I am trying to ward off a cold and I struggled to make the pace I wanted to. 2 were around 7:35, 1 at 7:50 and 1 at 7:15. I had been aiming at between 7 and 7:30. Not pleased really.

Saturday. New trainers! Tried the equivalent of my trainers at the moment, but when the lady checked out my running on the treadmill she said I didn't need that much support. Yay! My running style is more efficient and I don't need to wear bricks on my feet anymore. Tried Asics and Mizuno and both were very comfy, but the lady said that Mizuno ones were slightly better for me so Mizuno Wave Inspire ones I came away with. Tried them out on a tempo run when I got home and they felt fantastic. So much lighter than my other ones and my knees didn't hurt. Fab! The tempo run wasn't as fast as I would have liked. Was meant to be 20 mins between 7:20 and 7:40 and ended up and average of 7:48. Bit disappointed, but I have really struggled this week and also think I might be coming down with a cold. Bought the entire vitamins counter at Boots today in the hope of warding it off. Fingers crossed I can.

Total mileage for this week: approx 34.5

Olympics here I come...

Not really, but I am so pleased with myself tonight I had to post again.

Interval session. 2 mile slow warm up then 2 lots of 3 x 0.31 miles with 2 min recovery and 6 mins between the two sets. I knew I was going fast but when I had finished the second lot and was on recovery and looked at Garmin. It was just ticking over to 46 mins and 5.6 miles! With just over a month left of training my 45 min 10k is looking even more possible. Looking at the times from last year that would put me in 15th place and the category isn't even a vet category - 18-39! Soooooo pleased. If I can do that with intervals and slow warm up I can't see any reason why I can't achieve my target.... (just must not get injured...)

Fast and furious to lift the clouds

Managed to clock up a fair few miles this week too and the weather has been really lovely.

Monday - short (2.91) recovery run after Sunday's outing. I was going to make it a rest day, but I felt that I needed to get out and stretch my legs. It worked and they felt much better.

Tuesday - madam and I went up to the track again. She rode round for a while and then skipped happily in the sunshine while I did an interval session alongside about 5 other people. The sun brought out all the runners! The intervals were 5 x 800m and the fastest was 6:28 and the slowest 7:02. I was pleased with my efforts.

Wednesday - my long run was split with a visit to the doctor so I did 2.75 miles then another 6 or so to make it 9.23 with an average pace of 8:54. I was pleased again to be able to keep my heart rate in zone 4 for most of the run.

Friday - a 40 min fartlek session. I was feeling a little tired, but still managed some pretty fast intervals where I even hit 5:41 min/mi! Friday night I was feeling low, so rather than sit at home, I put on my trainers and hit the streets. My Garmin has been slow picking up satellites this week (although it might be down to my impatience waiting for it to find them before setting off...) so I had to stop after 5 mins to reset it. I was running very quickly and it didn't pick them up for ages so I knew the distance and time was going to be out by quite a bit. I have never run so fast - there were almost people leaping out of the way! When I got back and measured the distance on mapmyrun it came out at 4.06 miles in 28:44 meaning 7:07 min/mi. Wow that's fast! It would mean 21:45 for 5k and 45:21 for 10k. I CAN do it!

Saturday - long run again. Took it easy and did 9.17 miles averaging 9:02 min/mi. It was nice to just run with no target except heart rate and I ended up running through the woods near where I grew up. I wanted to stop and pick bluebells! My legs were very tired and I hit my usual 7 miles I can't keep going bit before recovering. I am going to have to be careful with my knees though - they are very sore today.

Total miles 11/5 - 17/5 - 51.93 miles...

Show me the way to go home

Bank Holiday Monday saw me doing 6 x 600m intervals. I had set up pace of 7 to 7:30 min/mi, but I just can't keep to that speed. Have to go faster! Average pace for each interval was around 6:55 min/mi. HR recovered quickly too. Wish I could keep these intervals up for longer though.

Tuesday madam wanted to go to the track so we did. She cycled round on her bike and I ran a rough tempo session. About 2.75 miles at around 7 min/mi. It was good fun and madam enjoyed herself apart from the drama queen session on the way back home when her bike fell over about fifty million times!

Wednesday - long run day. Did 14 miles today in 2:10. Was pleased cos managed to keep HR in zone 4 just about all the way. So pleased I can run further than half marathon distance. Legs felt bad at about 7 miles, but then seemed to get their second wind and by the end I felt that I could have run further but didn't want to push it.

Friday was a 45 min session with hills. Ran around the streets near home. I had no idea how steep some of those hills are. Managed quite a few though, but suffered for it later with very tired legs!

Saturday went to gym for a change. Did 2k row warm up in 9:30 mins, sit ups on ball and short weights session. Then went on treadmill to attempt interval session. Had hoped to follow a session which would help me be sub 40 10k by end of year, but after first interval I realised there was no way that was happening now! It was tough going and the hot weather didn't help, but I did some short intervals at 14kmph and 14.5kmph before I gave up. Not like me to give up, but I was literally dripping and just couldn't run any further. Never mind, everyone has off days. Did really stupid thing though. My left calf has been quite tight this week so I thought a session in the spa would help to relax the muscle. Nice thought, but oh my goodness that was so not the right thing to do on a hot day after a hard gym session. I felt decidely odd the rest of the day through dehydration!

Long run today as well. Set up Garmin for 15 miles and set off. Ran up to Barwick and through to Garforth. Then thought I needed to add a bit of distance so tried to find a route that would bring me out by The Crusader. Oops. Took a totally different road and ended up by East Garforth station. Couldn't see a road way out, but found a footpath that I thought would bring me out a bit further up near Saville Brothers. No no no! Actually ended up on road leading to Aberford (after a bit of a panic that I hadn't got a clue where I was and the miles were stacking up). No footpath so had to run half on road half through long grass, nettles and thistles. Eventually found roundabout and headed back towards Saville Brothers. At least I knew where I was by this point. My legs were suffering from hop running through dodgy plants and I knew that my distance was going to be over what I had planned. Nearly gave up and asked Auntie for a lift, but decided to keep going. And got home - eventually. 16.65 miles!!! After that though I know I could run a marathon even if it wasn't a fantastic time. One for the future though...

Total mileage 4/5 to 10/5: 41.08 miles on Garmin and about 5 miles at gym. Total 46 miles. I cannot believe that I ran that far last week!

How to be confused

Been doing some more reading this week. The Runners World 10k and half marathon training thread was extremely interesting re techniques for improving times. Most of the people on there seemed to be in agreement that the way to improve was to run long distances at a slow pace. It seemed silly when I first read it, but more and more people were posting saying how they had tried it and it had worked. Here comes the science bit... the mitochondria in your legs need to be able to burn oxygen more efficiently, so building up an aerobic base by running at 70% MHR means they got used to running tired and learned how to use the oxygen they had. Interval training should only be used in the 6 to 8 weeks before a race as that uses the anaerobic system and the two don't work together well. Apparently in a race the body uses mainly the aerobic system and only uses the anaerobic when the aerobic is running low. Makes sense, but how would that work in practice?

Monday was a slow run at 8:55 min/mi over 4.5 miles. Pretty easy going and nice to just get out and run.

Wednesday was my long slow run. I set Garmin up for 13 miles again, but changed target from pace to 70-80% MHR. Well, after 20 mins of me trying to run slowly, I got really really fed up with it beeping at me because my HR was too high. If I had gone any slower I swear I would have stopped, so I switched my target back to pace and carried on. Much better. I could keep a slow pace of around 9:30 min/mi and managed the whole distance pretty easily. Apart from my tummy being really sore and ending up with not very nice side effects for the rest of the day I was fine.

Thursday I went to Up and Running and spoke to them about energy supplements. I came away with some recovery sachets and a sample of an energy drink for on the go. Worth a try. I also got my samples from High5 which has various gels and sachets to try out too.

Friday was another 4.5 slow run. My legs seemed to feel like lead weights after Wednesday so my pace was only 8:51 min/mi. Still, at least I managed it and tried some of the recovery drink after to see if it would make a difference.

Saturday madam wanted to try the HPTT so off we went. I got chatting to a lovely lady at the start who also had two girls with her who were 9 and running for the first time. She turned out to be a member of VARR and that has made me want to join even more. They seem such a friendly lot. Madam set off like the clappers and I had to keep telling her to slow down. It was quite warm and as I don't usually take on fluids when I am training I hadn't thought to take anything for her. Big mistake! She was hot and bothered by the time we had made it to the lap 1 marker. Tom was there and he recognised me and shouted to me. The second lap madam was just too hot and tired and she kept slowing down and walking. She decided she didn't want to do any more so we finished after lap 2. She managed 3k and next time I will remember a drink for her and hopefully she will be able to finish. Had a lovely chat to Tom. I told him how pleased I was with my race results and he said how good I was looking. It was nice to be able to tell him how well I was doing because when I had my long string of injuries I felt sure that he was disappointed in me for 'giving up' when in reality I really couldn't break free from injury after injury after injury.

When I came home, I decided to change my profile on my Garmin as I felt sure that my MHR was just too low. I knew that after Leeds 10k last year my HR hit 208 as I crossed the finish line so I played it safe and put in 204 as my max. Then I went out for an 8 mile interval session. 2 miles warm up then 3 x 1 mile intervals at 80-85% MHR followed by 2 miles cool down. Much better and I didn't get beeped at nearly as much - only up hills which is to be expected. I had the recovery shake as well to see if it made any difference to my extremely tired legs.

I visited a running shop in Bradford in the afternoon to get some shorts and a t-shirt and a hydration belt of some kind as I know that I will need to take on fluids for my longer runs in the summer.

Amazingly, this morning my legs felt absolutely fine. I think the drink must have worked.

I made up an energy drink to take out with me. I couldn't get the belt tight enough and it bounced around lots on the run, but I did take some sips on the way round and it really seemed to help. I did 11 miles aiming for zone 4 HR and apart from hills I managed it. I thought I would have gone further as I ran along the ring road to Roundhay Park and back and was surprised that it wasn't 13 miles. Still I managed it and hopefully my legs will be okay tomorrow. They feel a little stiff again today, but I am sure they will settle.

Total miles for week 27/4 - 3/5 was 29.69 miles. Not bad...

A Productive Week

Monday was an 8 x 400m fast interval session. Fast it certainly was! Each 400m interval was about 6:30 min/mile and certainly got my heartrate up. But it recovered quickly and I was able to keep this pace for all 8 sessions which I was pleased about.

Wednesday was long run day. After last week, I really felt that I should try a longer distance so I set off to cover 13 miles which is the furthest I have run in one go (previously it was about 11 miles). I had set myself a pace of around 8 to 9 min/mile so that I wasn't going too slowly or quickly. My average on the main part of my run was 8:19 which was really good. My legs were so tired in the last quarter of the distance and my heartrate slowed showing that it was my legs rather than fitness that were the problem. I ran the 13 miles in 1:48:51 though which was my original predicted half marathon time a few weeks ago. I am so pleased to have completed the distance and it gives me something to work on now although I will shorten my long runs for a few weeks to be able to focus on speed.

Friday I went out and did what I thought would be a fairly easy pace interval session with intervals being around 7 mins/mile. This was tough going, but I managed to keep my average pace at just under 7 for all but one interval (that one being 7:03). My legs were really tired still after the long run, so this was really good.

Friday night I decided late on that I was going to try the 5k Saturday morning run for the first time. I arrived and was surprised to see so many people there. We set off and I probably started too quickly. I had set myself a target of 7:30 per mile and managed to keep to this for most of the race. I was chuffed to finish my first 5k in 23:27 and in at number 32! Checking my stats later I am 4th in my age group overall which is pretty amazing really. For me anyway!

One thing I need to focus on is nutrition. I am going to have to try these energy drinks and recovery drinks as I know as a veggie my diet isn't massively high in protein and I do seem to run out of energy on a race. Looking into Science in sport and High5 and will see if I can try these out and hopefully get some good results.

Focussing on intervals again this week and will probably throw in a steady 5 miles too.

Tempo vs Interval?

Well, this has been a busy week. I did an easy 3.5 miles on Monday as my legs were so tired from the hard training over the weekend. It's not often I do easy runs, so it felt a bit strange, but I definitely needed it.

Tuesday I took little madam up to the athletics track and we ran a bit together until she complained her legs were tired so we jogged back home again. The dog had fun!

Wednesday I did 1.5 miles to the opticians and then a 10.5 mile long run averaging 8:37 min/mile which I was pleased with as this is the longest I have been able to run for quite a while. My legs were definitely tired at the end though although my heartrate was good.

Thursday was a very much needed rest day. My knees were quite sore and I was worried that they were going to get really bad again. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will be okay.

Friday I did a tempo run and apart from the hills that slowed me down (along with my legs still being tired from Wednesday), I didn't do too badly and managed an average pace of 7:48 min/mile on the three miles tempo bit.

I did do quite a bit of research on effective training techniques this week and there is so much conflicting advice! I had read on Runner's World that tempo sessions were the most important type of session as it trained your body to run at the pace you needed to achieve in a race. So I had planned a weekly tempo session into my calendar. Then I found some more interesting research from a sport journal. The author was citing research that showed that interval training was actually better at improving your speed even though this meant less mileage during the week. They gave several different sessions to try so I have programmed them into my Garmin ready for use.

At the moment I don't feel like I am running 10k at the speed I could achieve so with two 10ks before the half marathon, I am trying to focus on that while still incorporating a weekly long run to build my endurance. One thing my Garmin is doing is making sure that every run has a focus rather than just running to cover miles which is probably what I was doing before.

I have also done some research on hill running and tried to use a different technique on the hills I encountered on my long run. What a difference! I followed the advice and kept myself upright while shortening my stride and my pace, although slowed, was not as slow as it has been when I have been running hills before. I felt more like my legs were doing the work, so I intend to keep this up and make sure they are stronger. I still dread hills at the moment. I need to love them. Hmm, bit more work needed on that yet!

I cancelled my session yesterday as I was just too tired... Today I did a 4 x 1200m interval session at 5k pace. Well, I say 5k pace, but I found it difficult to run that slowly over a shorter distance. It just didn't feel like a hard workout and my heart rate showed that. I know how important it is to keep to the right pace so you don't deplete your resources, so I will have to work on this and keep the faster paces for the shorter distances at the moment.

Well I will keep researching this week and see what else I can find to help me achieve even better times. A new pb in June? Maybe...

New Half Marathon Predicted time

Just checked out what my predicted half marathon time would be based on current 10K pb. It is 1:43:53...

That means a pace of 7:55 per mile - OW!

Following on from Wakefield...

Hi. I have decided to do this to try and keep myself motivated with my running and hopefully achieve a good half marathon time in September and a new PB at the end of November. Hopefully...!

Two weeks ago I ran the Wakefield City 10K. It was the first race I have done this year and it was a last minute decision as I had been ill for about two weeks at that point and wasn't sure whether I was fit enough to run it let alone get a good time. I arrived early (as usual!) and got registered. It was absolutely freezing and the clocks had just gone forwards so getting up at 5am old time was very hard. Having got myself warm I went to find the toilets before heading off to the starting line and bumped into somebody I hadn't seen for two years which was really nice. We had a chat and she had only just started running and this was her first 10K. We wished each other luck and I headed off to walk to the starting line.

There were no timing signs so I positioned myself relatively near to the front as I was hoping to finish in around 48 mins which would beat my previous pb by 1 min 20 secs. The sun came out just as the race was about to start and I was able to take off one of my thermal layers! We started and I set off quickly hoping to use other people as a guide to my pace. After running for about ten minutes I realised that I hadn't seen any km markers so had no idea as to how fast I was going so just carried on using my training pace plus a bit. I didn't actually see any km markers until 4km and by that time I had just thought sod it - keep going and see how I do. I did start to see more markers just as the course went uphill, but looking at my watch I realised that I was on for a good time if I could just keep going.

The last km seemed to go on FOREVER but finally I saw the finish line. My watch said 47 mins 8 secs which was another 2 mins 12 secs off my previous PB. WOW!

On the Runner's World website people were saying they were going by their garmin time. I had always thought garmins were like tomtoms, but when I looked them up there are other kinds. So after some research and serious blagging I manged to get a forerunner 305 quite cheap. What an amazing bit of equipment. Even though my legs were tired I managed a 9 mile run with my virtual training partner on Wednesday. I even managed to keep up with him for most of the way. Looking at the stats when I got back I realised that the stretch of road I always struggled on and thought it was just because it was open and always windy was in fact a long hill. Well that explains that then.

I have been making good use of my new favourite toy this week. I did a long run on Wednesday in a really good time thanks to keeping a close eye on my pace. I have done an 8 x 400m speed session where I noticed how quickly my heart rate returned to normal which was good. The 10 x hill session this morning was a bit of a killer but hopefully when I repeat it I will be able to see an improvement over time. I have to tackle these hills if I am going to manage the Stonegate Road hill killer in September.

My predicted time for half marathon was 1:48:47 after the Abbey Dash. This means running at 8 min 19 secs per mile (5 min 9 sec per km). I hope that I can beat that time and will be starting to include tempo sessions into my training once a week.

So my training sessions for this week will hopefully be: 5 miles including 3 miles tempo at about 8:15 I think. 10 mile long run. Speed session. Hill session (argh!).