Cold baths work!!!

I'm in a bit of a reflecting mood today. As I was celebrating my longest distance to date yesterday, a friend of mine from Regency Runners reminded me where I was this time last year. Although I may come across as being dead confident that just really isn't the case, in fact it's quite the opposite. Last March I was sat at home whinging that I couldn't run and refusing to go to running club to even try, in fact I took myself off to the gym and sat in the car park having a panic attack. There was no reason that I couldn't run, it wasn't like I was injured or dead, It was because I couldn't get my mind set right. My sister Helen is a leader at the running club, and I was convinced that I was an embarrassment to her and a burden to everybody, crazy I know! This is certainly not the case, because in fact my sister is very proud of me, as I am her. So this time last year I could barely run a mile, yesterday I ran 20 miles in 4:22:18, not bad for someone who is 73lbs over weight eh?!

It has taken a lot to get some self esteem and self confidence back. I'm sure that many people have their own way of doing this like; having a strong word with themselves, that has never worked for me, because I am too hard on myself, nothing I do is good enough for my own expectations, in fact, many people who I have ran with or trained with will have heard those famous words from me, "yeah it was good, but I can do better." For me to take the first steps to getting back my self confidence I decided to take a good friends advice and see a hypnotherapist, Neil Stevenson. All I can say is that Neil was great, he gave me the tools that I needed to see myself in a different way and to realise that I am able to do whatever I want to, and that it is ok to like myself. 

So, back to this week’s training. I enjoyed a rest day Monday after my hideous 18 mile run the day before, and then was back to it on Tuesday. As usual I ran the 2 miles from my house to meet with the Regency Runners, I decided to take the 5 mile route. Usually, I go off straight away and the group eventually catches me up, but tonight I decided on a nice chatty run with Jo and Sharon, I had definitely had enough of running on my own during my run on Sunday, so really fancied some company. It turned out to be a great run, I really enjoyed it and I'm pleased that I had run with Jo and Sharon, even though I struggled to keep up with Jo over that last half a mile as she was getting a beasting by Rachel!

For one reason or another I couldn't get out running on Wednesday, which meant I would have to double up Thursday, rubbish! So I got up at 6am Thursday morning and went straight out for a 6 mile run. I must admit I didn't enjoy it really; because I'm used to running in the evening. Come lunchtime though, I had forgotten about it, and was thinking about a route for what would be my 5k time trial later that evening. So, I got back from work and kitted up, and made my way out of the door for my 3 miles. I have to admit that I am not used to running at any kind of speed, just getting round has been my focus over the last few months so being able to run some faster times during these short runs has given me a huge boost in confidence. Now, when I say faster, my 5k pb was 33.28, but I smashed that on Thursday coming in at 32.17. I have an amazing friend who calls me a proper runner; I think I am proving with times like that that I am not!!

Thursday night after my 5k triumph, I took myself off down the road to my marshal position for Regency Runners 10k. The group hold two 10 week programmes, a 5k, and a10k, with the final week being their time trial. The group has given me such tremendous support over the last few months that I just wanted to help them out a bit and give some support to those that were running. The run was a great success, with the first 10k runner coming in in 53 minutes (I think) and all runners coming in under 1h 15 minutes. It was great to see people achieve their distance, big smiles all round!

Friday I spent again, resting and carb loading for my run Saturday. As usual, Regency Runners had come up trumps with runners offering to run parts of my 20 mile route with me. I was hoping that this would make the run easier, and also to make it easier to arrange drinks and nutrition along the way. I started off at 7:30am with Jo, and I ran out to Barton and back into Warwick. I have never run this route before, and I really enjoyed it! Jo had chosen to ride her bike as she wasn't feeling too great, and I think really enjoyed pretending she had a megaphone to shout me along!! As we got into Warwick, a quick drink and then the "baton" was passed to Tanya who ran with me along the slightly "inclined" Primrose and Spinney Hill, again I really enjoyed this, I haven't ran with Tanya for ages so was great to have a catch up and she also pushed my pace a little which I was grateful for. 

I left Tanya at 10.5miles and ran up the hill towards Leamington, where I had arranged to meet Lina at 12/13 miles. I decided at this point to stop, and have a bit to eat. I don't know about anybody else but I can’t run and eat at the same time! It's impossible! I was also starting to get a bit of back ache so wanted to stretch it out a bit, I managed to find the stretch I needed by getting myself into some kind of weird squatting position, much to the amusement of Lina and to the horror of an old lady walking past! I knew that I needed to concentrate on keeping up right and engaging my core working my gluts (see Cathy I do listen!!) so after a few moments and a good drink, we set off for the last 7.5 miles. The next mile and a half was all up hill to the top of Cubbington, which was broken up with the appearance from Clair and her two lovely children to cheer me on, I was told not to stop (rubbish!!) so carried on and pushed through 14, 15, and then 16 miles and I felt good. Lina was periodically running behind me to check my posture and was reporting back to me how I was looking; each time she was telling me I was looking strong. I was surprised at this point that I wasn't too tired to keep myself up right, those exercises from Cathy must be working and I just kept telling myself to keep my back straight. Mile 17 was really enjoyable, I had got into my stride and at this point I was keeping pace quite well, we then ran down The Parade to the Pump Rooms where we had arranged to meet with Tracey.

Again I had a quick stretch, a drink and a couple of jelly babies (courtesy of Clair!) and set off, I really shouldn't have sat down while I had that drink as my legs had started to stiffen up but after the 18^th  again I felt ok, probably because I knew this was the final stretch before home! This did start to feel like a bit of a slog, but remembering to keep my back straight, engage my core and keep my shoulders back it stopped me from tiring too much. During my last half a mile I couldn't stop smiling! How is it that this girl who is so overweight has managed to get this far and achieve this sort of distance?? I want to say that it is sheer gut and determination but I'm not sure that that is quite right, without the support of the group and its leaders there is no way that I would have got this far. 

So, I got back home, ran upstairs and got straight into the cold bath that I had ran before I had left home, with my kit on. Lina kindly made me a protein shake and bought it upstairs, just as I was screaming due to the cold! After 30 seconds or so I was ok, I sat in there in a grump for 10 minutes or so before getting out to get warm. It wasn't long before I was fast asleep!

I expected to wake up this morning with very sore legs, but to be honest, apart from them feeling a bit heavy, they feel good. I took myself off to Sport Relief (not to run, I'm not that stupid! No comments please) as I had agreed to marshal as had many of the Regency Runners. As I was walking around I realised that my legs didn't hurt, I certainly don't feel that I ran 20 miles yesterday! Cold baths work!!!!! EVEN IF I MOAN ABOUT THEM TO ANYONE WHO IS LISTENING!!!!

Final few weeks

I am writing this whilst looking at my training plan. It makes interesting reading, well, to me anyway!! It's pretty messy to look at as there are scribbles all over it where I have been forced to change my mileage because of injury or just simply when life gets in the way! When Rachel first gave me this plan I didn't think for one moment that I would manage it, and to be fair, for the first few weeks I didn't manage it. I was struggling with a niggling hip injury through January and for a few weeks I tried to run through it, which wasn't effective at all as a) I made it worse and b) I couldn't manage the long runs, in fact every run was a struggle. Being told by my physio Cathy I had to stop running was hard to hear and even harder to do but I really needed that rest! Slowly I have built the mileage back up and I am now on track again. Phew!

The last couple of weeks have been quite tough to be honest. Many of the runners from Regency Runners were training for Silverstone Half Marathon, and I have working my training around their runs, so when they hit taper week I was so jealous! I didn't have the option of cutting my training down, it just meant instead of running 35 odd miles this week I would be running 28 miles, rubbish! Then after Silverstone I didn't get the option of a rest, I was back out running Tuesday and covered just over 37 miles during the week. I have also realised this week that I am getting fed up with running. There is so much else that I want to do! I want to take swimming lessons so I can improve even more (and get out of the dry hair brigade once and for all!), learn to ride a bike properly, get back into the gym, spin class, weights, and training for a marathon wrecks all that and my social life!! So, I made a decision once this marathon is done I'm laying off the running for a couple of months. The plan is to go back to training at Peak Fitness after the marathon which is a personal training fitness studio in Warwick, the trainers are fantastic and really know their stuff, so I have arranged a consultation with Oli my old trainer and have given Oli the challenge of helping me get into shape once and for all! I have changed my diet over the last 6 weeks or so and have dropped 12lbs, but to be brutally honest, I still need to shift another 73lb. So you can understand now why I am so bloody slow!

So Silverstone came around and it turned out to be a hot one! The day was great, as it was like a day out for the Regency Runners with 11 of us running; it was brilliant to see all those t-shirts around the course! 

My race didn't quite go according to plan, which was really disappointing as I had run well over the distance last week and was quite confident that I was going into the run a decent race, but I wasn't going to go crazy, as I didn't want to risk injury so close to the London Marathon.

I started the race with Jo, Sharon and Clair, through to mile 1 and looking at my watch, I was way over pacing this, according to my pace band but I felt great and was really enjoying myself. At this point, Sharon eased off and dropped back; Jo went to check that she was ok and reported back that she was fine, so we carried on. I should have known better and that this was a stupid idea as I know that Clair's pace is way faster than mine, but I was having so much fun! We came though 3 miles and looking at my watch I should have slowed down, at this rate I would be close my my 10k pb! But, I didn't slow down. At 4 miles Clair started to pull away from myself and Jo so we just carried on, chatting whilst trying to fight off the heat! Going through 6 miles and as I thought, only 1 minute out from my pb, but I still felt strong and I thought I was just banking minutes, oooops!

I got through to mile 8 and I started to find it difficult. I had kept well hydrated and had been taking glucose tablets so I imagine the only reason was that I had gone off far too quickly. I told Jo to run on and I eased off and slowed down to make sure I could finish the last 5 miles! Not long after, Sharon came past me, and then I saw her passing Jo, it seems she had the right race strategy and stuck to it, I could have kicked myself!!I found those last few miles really tough, I had back ache, my feet were so painful and my gluts ached and I was going so slowly I doubt you could really call it running, those banked minutes soon disappeared!!! When I hit 12 miles I decided I'd had enough and just ran, geez it was painful, that finish line couldn't have come soon enough! 

So, as I said before following the Silverstone Half I was straight back into training, Tuesday I ran a nice 6 miles with Regency Runners, then some pump and boxercise on Wednesday (mainly as I couldn't get out and run as I was staying in for a delivery that didn't turn up, grrr) then a 7 mile on Thursday and a 5.5 mile on Saturday. Sunday was long run day and this week I needed 18 miles. I wasn't too confident going into the run as I had struggled so much with Silverstone but I did my usual preparation before I went out, and headed out at 8am. I decided to really keep an eye on my pace, remembering how hard last week was! I felt really good through the first 8 miles, even though I had left my iPod at home and I was running on my own, this was surprising as the route had quite a few hills to get my backside up! As I got to 13 miles I was really hurting, again, back and glut pain. It was really tempting at this point to just run through the park and go home but stubborn as I am I kept going up the hill and through Warwick town to repeat some of the loop that I had started off with. I hate running laps, so I found these last few miles bloody hard work! At about 14 miles I was close to tears, but, I just had to suck it up and get on with it, I just kept telling myself, less than 4 miles, less than 3, less than 2. As I got closer to home I realised that I was going to run out of road, so I had to run past my house for half a mile, then back. This was awful and running past my house was soul destroying, but if I wanted the miles I had to do it.

When I got home I stretched off, well, as much as I could and then had a protien shake. I didn't feel great I have to admit, my legs were throbbing and I didn't know what to do with myself! I had been toying with the idea of a cold bath for a few weeks, a few friends had recommended it but I was never brave enough! I had even tricked my friend Jo into having one so she could tell me if it really was THAT bad, apparently it was!! Anything would be better than this pain, even a cold bath, so I got in, and oh my god did I scream! It was hideous!! I managed to last about 5 minutes before I gave in and jumped out, close to tears, sod it, I then ran a very hot bath, thats more like it!! I think I lay in there for best part of an hour, and probably fell asleep, not the safest thing to do I have to say!!

I'm not quite sure how I would have managed training for this without the support network that I have. Running on your own for this distance it damn hard work so I'm not sure how people do it, I certainly have a new found respect for them!

Apparently it's good luck?!!

I'm excited writing this post today, because now I actually feel like this marathon is possible. This week I have hit a grand total of 35 miles, smack bang on target according to my training plan, which have given me a huge confidence boost. When I was injured a few weeks ago I never thought for one minute that I would have made this progress, I was questioning whether I was going to make the marathon at all, which had put me on a real downer. I guess this really does show that hard work pays off. I know that I haven't finished the marathon yet so I may be getting ahead of myself, but at least now I believe I can do it.

I had a well-deserved rest day on Monday after that 14 miler Sunday morning. I have found that I am recovering faster, so my legs weren't too heavy and I feel I may have even managed a short run, but I keep being told that rest days are as important in training so that’s what I did, and geez I was bored!!

My weekday runs went well, I followed my training plan so completed a 5 mile run on Tuesday. I took the usual 2 mile run into Leamington to meet with the Regency Runners; the planned 5 mile group run went straight past my house at 3 mile point, so this would make up my 5 miles perfectly. I don't know if it is my confidence that is growing or that I am getting a better runner but I felt really strong on this run. As usual I left a few minutes earlier than the rest of the group so I didn't get cold after the run in, but after a mile or so the faster runners in the group whizzed past me, all giving me a shout of good luck which I think is really nice. I finished the run in good time, which I was so happy about as the week before London I have a 10k to compete in and I thought I had lost my pace completely, but it’s still there.....hooray!
Thursday was a 6.5 mile run, which I took at a slightly slower pace. It felt a bit of a chore to be honest as I had been stuck in training all day with work and knew I had to do the same all over again tomorrow, but I got the miles in, and that’s what counts. Friday was an 8 mile run with MY Jo and Sharon which I really enjoyed. Not one of us were up for a paced run so we had a really nice chatty run, which although it was 4 miles up hill, we had nice 4 miles of gentle downhill to look forward to on the way back. We also managed to pick up the pace for the last mile so were very smug when we got back, high fives all round!
My gym session happened on Wednesday this week and again I opted for the upper body circuits. I'm not getting the pain so much afterwards now so I think I'm getting used to it, so next time I'll be upping the weights. I have also been continuing with my core work as set to me by my physio Cathy, and I think that is having a good impact on my running form, so anyone who has weak core and gluts, get them sorted!

Sunday came and again, I had a long run, this week I was tackling 16 miles, I was so nervous. I had never run this far and I always get so apprehensive about these runs. I had a restless night, waking up many times, the last time being 5am, listening to the rain, great. I was up just after 6am and had some breakfast, just a couple of Weetabix and a protein shake. I got my bits and pieces ready, glucose tablets, iPod, gels and a drink, and wrapped my phone in cling film as it was still throwing it down outside! I used to enjoy running in the rain but it had been ages since I had, but at least it was quite warm. This morning’s plan was to run 5 miles, meet group at 8.30 for 8 miles and then run 3 miles home, easier said than done!!
As soon as I left I knew that I wasn't running very fast, but I felt comfortable and as I had a long way to go I enjoyed the slower pace, my iPod was also playing some great songs for running so I really enjoyed my first 5 miles. I met with the group in Leamington and had a few minutes to grab a drink and a quick chat and catch up before heading off for the next leg of the run in the rain! Only a mile in and I had some good luck, a bird pooed all down my arm, gross! After lots of laughing by MY Jo and Sharon I knew I couldn't do anything about it and just figured that since the rain was so heavy it would just wash it away! I thought it had better bring me some luck and get me round these 16 miles.
The run was a bit hilly but over all I enjoyed it. when I got to about 10 miles I started to slow a bit, I wasn't struggling so much I just knew that I needed to get round the whole route so I guess I was saving my legs a little as they were feeling heavy and my gluts were a little tight. The last mile was lovely as it was downhill, Jo had already gone ahead and Sharon had waited back for me so we enjoyed that last mile together. We got back to the pump rooms and I was at 13 miles, so I had a quick drink and stretch off before taking on the last 3 miles. I didn't feel too bad to be honest, however I was absolutely drenched!
Sharon jumped on her bike to ride alongside me home and Lina decided to run a mile or so with me too which I was so grateful for. I took those last few miles slowly but I felt comfortable and I kind of got into my stride a little bit, a far cry from the 12 miles a few weeks ago when I simply burst out crying when I finished! I was still able to smile and laugh with Sharon as I got closer to home and I think I may have been able to get a couple more miles out of my legs, hooray! I just need to mention that it was still chucking it down when I got home! I'm so grateful to Sharon for that last three miles, as I really don't think that I could have done it alone. I guess that bird poo did give me some luck after all!!
I have been so emotional today after that run, and very proud of myself. Like I said before, I now believe that I can run this marathon, I just wish it would hurry up so I can get a Sunday morning lie in again!

Finally, over 12 miles!

I know that I haven't written a post for a couple of weeks. There are a couple of reasons for this, I've had some horrible runs, and I've been too bloody tired because of all the running! I have done a few things since my last post though, firstly I have been continuing with my bridges and planks, as instructed by Cathy my physio. I am now able to hold 3 bridges for 30 seconds consecutively, but I struggle when I try to extend my leg as my hamstrings kick in, so still lots of work to do there! My planks are getting better; I'm now at the 40 seconds mark. Considering I couldn't hold my fat self up for even a couple of seconds a few weeks ago, I'm happy with that improvement, but I would like to be hitting the 60 second mark soon.
In my last couple of posts you may have read that I had started to do a little swimming recently, I'm a bit scared of water so this is really exciting for me. I went swimming again to my local gym with a friend; the pool at the gym is nice and small so I feel quite comfortable there. I was shown how to go underwater and to relax, and also how to control my breathing when swimming. It seems I am no longer a member of the dry hair brigade!! We also went into the gym and for the first time in months I did a proper workout in there, instead of walking around and doing weights that aren't effective! I now have a session that I can get done on my own and know that it will make a difference, and I quite enjoy it too. I have made Saturdays my day to go to the gym, which seems to be working well so far, and I have some lighter weights at home, so I can also do 10 minutes every day of upper body core work specific to running that will also help my form. I also took myself off for a hills session on Beacon Hill. This can only be described as a bloody stupid idea as my shoulders and arms were still dead from the new gym workout my so called friend had given me!!
Also my diet is undergoing a change; it was taking so long to recover, especially after the long runs so I bought some whey protein to help with that. I have started to drink green tea, eat only low GI carbs and base my meals around protein and I already feel that I have more energy and am getting lighter. I have found that the only way I can do this is by getting obsessive about my diet, and have made the marathon and getting into some kind of decent shape my only focus. Yes, I have turned into a marathon bore!
This week has been quite heavy going, It was the first week where I have had to ramp up the training miles and add another run in, so my first real tough week. My last two weeks have been reasonably high mileage; 26.5 and 29.5, but this week I had to get 36 miles out of my legs! I had a rest day Monday, I was supposed to go to spin class this evening but I had the most awful run on Sunday and I really wasn't in the mood, although I knew that I should have gone, but Monday nights are a bit like a zoo in my local gym so I decided for my sanity to steer clear! Also I didn't fancy another falling over incident!
Tuesday I had a nice run. I ran in the 2 miles to the Pump Rooms in Leamington and met with Regency Runners, opting for the 3 mile route as I fancied putting my foot down a bit, now when I say this, I mean running at 10-11 minute miles, not my usual long run pace of 12 minute miles, so don't expect anything too impressive!! I quite liked the route as at 1 mile, it has a ridiculous mountain (Campion Hill) and then the next two miles are downhill so I was able to maintain a decent pace once I had got to the top of that ridiculous mountain – 6 lamp posts exactly!
Now I don't usually run on Wednesdays, but this week I needed that extra run and a friend from running, Sharon, needed a long run as she is training for Silverstone Half Marathon, so we decided to meet at the Pump Rooms and do 6 miles, before we both ran home, which gave us both a total of 10 miles. The run went quite well, although it took us along the dreaded Myton Road which we both hated! I was really glad to get home that evening, so had a nice long hot bath (yes I know it's supposed to be cold but, no way!) and an early night, I was exhausted!! I slept VERY well!
I have to admit that my legs were so heavy come Thursday, and I was really sore from Wednesdays run. But hey, no point in doing something if it's going to easy! I dragged myself out, in pain, for another 5 miles, 2 miles down into town, and then a 3 mile timed run. I opted out of being timed, I know that I need these runs to help my fitness but considering how sore I was, I just wanted to get round and tick off the miles, which I did. So that’s 20 miles in 3 days, I was glad to see a rest day on Friday!
Saturday was weigh in day, and it turned the day into grump day! I need to lose a lot of weight, and not even a single pound loss....rubbish!! So instead of moaning about it, well alright I did a little, I stuck one of Davina’s trusty DVDs on and did 20 minutes of boxercise, quickly followed by 20 minutes of pump. This was followed up with a quick change of clothes and off to the gym I went. I jumped on a bike and got through a 10k ride, in 23.01. I worked bloody hard for this so was cross with myself that I didn't get under 23 minutes, but it was a PB so can't be bad I supposed. After a 10 minutes hill walk just to settle my legs off I went upstairs and got through my new circuits in the weights room, I think some of the guys in there thought I was a bit weird, I then realised, after a filthy look from the rudest PT in history that I still had my iPod in and I was 'singing' to myself, quite loudly, ooops! Considering that as the gym gets busier it fills up with weight nickers, I managed to get round and do everything that I wanted without having to wait around for stuff. I got home and found it almost impossible to move my arms, result!
So, Sunday morning came around and that as always is long run day, and after sitting on 12.2 miles for the last two weeks I decided I was going for 14 miles. Regency Runners were doing an 11 mile run this morning as some of the group are training for Silverstone Half, so my plan was to add 3 miles onto that, ok ok simple maths I know! Meeting time is 8.30am but I was so worried that I would have a bad run again that I decided to do my 3 miles first, and then carry on with the run as the rest of the group are much faster than me and they would soon catch me up. I left home at 7.30am and ran into Leamington and round the block to make the first three miles, then carried on up the hill for the start of the 11 mile route. I remembered today to come out with my iPod so found that this really helped me get up the hill without thinking about it. I got to 7 miles and another hill into Warwick but a lovely downhill afterwards that I made sure I enjoyed!! The next few miles were quite up and down so this did slow me down a little, but like I have said before, I need the miles under my belt, not the pace. 
Once I hit 10 miles, the route was pretty flat which was lovely, but I felt really tired and my legs were so heavy, and my gluts were really hurting, well at least I know that they are now working I guess!! At a mile to go suddenly I felt great! I was in disbelief that the group hadn't yet caught me up; they surely must have been delayed as I wasn't running quickly! The very last part of the run was down The Parade, a favourite of most of the group I think! It's downhill all the way and you can really pick up some speed which I know always makes me feel better when I finish. I clocked my run at 2h53minutes which I was really pleased with as I had given myself 3 hours to get my backside round the route. 
So, after the elation of finishing the run and getting well over that 12 mile wall, reality soon hit when I remembered that I have to hit 16 miles next Sunday. This certainly isn't getting any easier, but at least I can say that I am managing these long runs on my own when I need to, which I thought would be really difficult. I have run a total of 34 miles this week, that something that I never thought I'd say! My target was 36 so I am just shy, next week, 35.......gulp!

Getting the mileage back up there!

I knew that these next few weeks were going to be quite tough, and probably the make or break of if I was going to run London Marathon or not. I needed to up my mileage, but gradually, the only thing is, I haven't got time for gradually, I need to get back up to double figures, and fast!
Monday I decided on spin class, I know I keep harping on about this but it is such a good workout and so much fun. I don't know how I think working out until I'm close to being sick and sweat is pouring out of me is so much fun, but it really is! The instructors are great and really push you to work hard, so after those intervals yesterday I better start running faster!
Tuesday as always is running with Regency Runners. The route tonight went straight past my house so I decided to run in to town with Jo to the meeting point at the Pump Rooms and then carry on with the group until we past my house again, which is 5 miles exactly. It was a good run, even though it was down the dreaded Myton Road which I seem to run all the time, as I live so close to it, at an average of 11.49 minute miles, so the pace is getting there....or so I thought!

Thursdays run came and it was an out and back. I don't mind saying that I'm not that keen on these runs, only as we run from Leamington into Warwick towards my house, so turning around and going back away from home is hard work! I decided not to run in tonight and went in to the Pump Rooms with my sister Helen as she had some paperwork stuff to do with the new runners so as she did this I took myself off round a mile loop to warm up.....it was freezing! During this run something didn't feel right, I couldn't get into it and I knew that it was going to be hard work all night! So I got back to the Pump Rooms and was given the route and instructions, 20 minutes run into Warwick, as far as you can get, hear the whistle and turn back, and beat your time back. Humph. I do this route all the time running in and out of town, so I know every bump in the road, every incline, which bits I find hard etc, so this wasn't going to be fun! I was right, it was bloody horrible. I couldn't keep up, again, and my hip started to hurt. I got back to the Pump Rooms and I felt so deflated, and close to tears. All I could think was that I wasn't going to be ready, this damn hip was going to stop me.
We had also been forecast snow over the weekend, so I was unsure about how I was going to run and what mileage to try. I thought I would ask Rachel and she made it clear that I needed to get into double figures. Ok, so could I do this on the treadmill, in case it the snow is bad and not safe to run? No, those cold February runs in the snow will put you in good stead for the marathon! So, 10 miles on sunday no matter what the weather.....ouch!

I met Helen at the gym on Friday after work, and for an unknown reason decided on intervals on the rower. Urgh! I'd not done this for months and now I know why, I was nearly sick and it was not fun! I did a minute hard, 250m, and then a minute off. Now, the last time I did this at my old gym the rower travelled across the floor! Luckily for me, and the guys on the cross trainers behind me, the rower stayed where it was supposed to be! So, I got those intervals out the way and realised that I hadn't got a drink, so went to steal some from Helen. The bottle was empty so I went to refill, great, the water machine was broken so took myself off to the squash centre to refill there. I really must learn where to place my feet, as when I stepped off the stairs something went wrong and I tripped over nothing and landed flat on my face, to a cheer from about 20 squash players, ok good. So I pretended nothing had happened and went to fill up the bottle, not before turning on the wrong tap and soaking my gym top and face, geez this evening wasn't going to plan!
So, I finished off the session with some weights. The session didn't get easier as for some reason I am now weak! One thing I always knew I could do was lift quite heavy weights, for a girl! Apparently not now, I was rubbish! I left the gym in a proper grump, then reluctantly finished the evening with some core work, bridges and planks, when I got home.

On Saturday I stayed at home and watched the snow come down, tomorrow was going to be fun, or maybe not so much! Regency Runners had no choice but to cancel their run, as it would not be safe.

Ok, so I was on my own for this, 10 miles in the snow, how was I going to get through this again??
I was really worried about two things, 1) falling over, which for me would not be unexpected and 2) my hip hurting. So, I had what I thought was a really good idea. St Nics park behind my house is exactly one mile, it is close to home just in case I manage to do something stupid, I'd just run that 10 times. Bloody stupid idea!
I realised after the first lap that this was going to be tough. I was only a mile in and my calves were burning, my pace was slow and I had come out without a drink. My house is 30 seconds walk from the park, but I knew if I had gone back home then I would have struggled to get going again, or get going at all. I don't know how I managed to keep going, if I wasn't running through deep, heavy snow its was wet slush. After the first couple of miles my feet were drenched and my feet were freezing cold. I'm glad that I had made the decision to wear capris, as my legs were getting splashed with ice but were able to dry quite quickly, rather than have material stuck to them getting colder and colder.
This was the slush :(

As I hit halfway, I didn't feel too bad. My pace was still slow, which I had resigned myself to by this point, I just wanted to get the distance in! The laps took me along the river for a short time, where the swans were hanging around. Now, I convinced myself they were bound to chase me like those two evil ones on the canal did! But they didn't, and they were actually a comforting sight as I passed them again and again. I even had the pleasure of two of them taking flight along side me which was a magnificent sight, that would have made a great photo, but as usual I thought that after they had flown off, typical. I had made some energy bites which I had with me and had one at 4,6 and 8 miles and they seemed to keep me going, the last few laps I actually felt quite stong and thought about doing another couple of laps......that though exited my head as quickly as it entered it! 10 laps and that was me done! I get back to find i was 0.12 away from the 10 miles, rubbish! But sod it, I was done! 9.88 miles in the snow was easily 13 miles in clear weather, right?!

Physcologically I think this was really good for me. All runners I know say that running laps is the hardest things to do, and I have always agreed with them. I tend to get defeated if I can't get my head right, so I was relishing this mental and physical challenge. The 10 mile long laps were so tough, but after 2 I think I just switched off and kept going. I mean, who else was stupid enough to be doing this on a Sunday morning in tonnes of snow??? Probably only the people stupid enough to enter the London Marathon??? So once I got back home smugarama set in and I felt great, and then realised, my hip was fine, after all those miles in the snow I had no pain at all!

Great news!!

Getting back into the swing of things

This week I was due back to see Cathy my physio on Wednesday, she had given me some exercises and stretches to do in the week between appointments, which I had been working on every day, twice a day. I also got itchy feet resting my hip from running so took the opportunity to get into the gym and work on my core and a bit of cross training.

On Sunday morning my sister Helen and I had arranged a swim at our gym. This is only a small pool, so suited me really well. I haven't been in a pool for years and was never a confident swimmer after a couple of near misses as a child so have been apprehensive about trying it out again. I didn't mention this to Helen, she would have told me to get on with it, so that’s what I did, I just got in and started swimming. Now, when I say swimming, I actually mean swimming like my mom, head out of the water and not getting my hair wet! So technically it wasn't really swimming, just moving slowly up and down in the water! One of my running buddies Jo called on Wednesday and asked if I fancied a swim, so off I went, crapping myself as this is a swim in the big pool!! I thought I might get a little bit of sympathy at least out of Jo, but when I freaked out after realising how deep the water was once I had swum into the deep end, I was simply told not to panic, it will be shallow when I swim back. Yeah, thanks! Another 40 minutes of Mom swimming, better than nothing though right??

Monday evening saw my second spin class in a week, I love this class, it's really easy to ease off during these classes without others noticing, but then what would be the point?? The class is only 45 minutes long, so is a good opportunity to really sweat it out and get my heart rate up. The class was brilliant fun, although there was a really grumpy women in there that barked at the instructor before the class had started.....RUDE!!
I also thought it would be a good idea to break out the Davina DVD again, it was not! Even though it was good fun and damn hard work, I couldn't walk properly the next day, and getting on and off the loo was, well let’s say interesting!!

My appointment with Cathy went well, well sort of. The pain in my hip had gone, so she didn't see the need to strap me up again, which was fine. She was also pleased at the progress that I had made this week as I had doubled the time that I could hold a bridge for without my hamstrings kicking in, although she was pleased she made it clear that I still needed to improve. I still had my target of 3x30 seconds to work on. She spent some time explaining how my glutes work and how my speed would improve by running through my glutes which was really interesting and gives me something to work on. Cathy also showed me some core training exercises and gave me some useful tips such as changing my car seat around so I don't slouch, but the most important thing I was waiting for was that I could run again. Now, she has told me to be sensible, not a word I am familiar with but I will do as I am told! Promise!

So, Thursday saw my return to Regency Runners, I had only had a week and a half out but it felt like ages, and was good to be back!! I decided to go with the 10k group as I only wanted to run 3 miles, and just see how the hip would hold out; the regular runners were doing 4.8 miles so I didn't think this would be a wise decision, so 3 miles it was. The good thing about this was that even though I was running with the group, I would be carrying on when they started their Indian file, so I could run 2 of the miles on my on, and give my legs a bit of a stretch out....for a slowie! I was so pleased with the run, no hip pain for the whole 3 miles, and an average speed of 11.20, which for me is good. It was also a little hilly for the first 2 miles, which anyone that I run with will tell you that I hate!! I got home that night very smug, then managed 20,20,24 with my bridges, so all in all a good day.

Saturday I managed to get those 3x30 seconds bridges in the bag, even with cheeky leg extentions for the last few seconds, excellent! So I thought I would then try out a plank. The last time I tried one of these I collapsed in a heap after only 3 seconds, which was only 2 weeks ago, so I was not expecting very much. I got 20 seconds, I was chuffed with that. Next week I'll be doing 30 seconds, and pushing for 40, I promise you that!

Sunday is usually long run day, but this week Regency Runners were doing the Jepherson Medley intervals. I had never done this session but thought it would do me good so I arranged to go down with Jo, we ran down and around the park which was 2 miles. The intervals were hard work, but good fun. Even though they were really hard, the hills were my favourite. This was where I could really feel the benefit of the work that I had been doing on my glutes, and was able to really push up the hills just by squeezing my bum, rather than my arms and shoulders going ten to the dozen and not getting anywhere!! Which is what usually happens!! In total I ran 4.6 miles this morning, so building it up slowly as instructed!

So even though this week has really seen my mileage drop down I can see a big improvement in my form, in fact both Rachel and Lina (Regency Runners Leaders) commented that I had got faster and my form had improved, which was a big mental boost. I am still being sensible so this week I thought I would try a 5 mile on Tuesday and then go from there, I'm keeping in the spin classes, swimming and of course the core work so I am hoping for further improvement this week.

Wake up call!

The hardest thing you can be told as a runner is to rest, right? Well this week that is what has happened to me, 9 hours ago to be precise, and I already have itchy feet. Today I visited a physiotherapist (Cathy Rogers at Platform Physio, www.platformphysio.co.uk) to get to the bottom of this hip pain that has gradually got worse and worse over the last few weeks after a fall. I have never had to deal with injury before, so this is all new to me. The good news is that it isn't serious....phew! The fall caused a bruised bursa in my left hip, so as I type I have pretty tape strapping my hip to help make me all better. It's made a difference already, so I'm guessing with the 7-10 day rest period and then SLOWLY build up to running again with support from Cathy, I will fix myself. Cathy is going to see me again to strap my hip up ready for running, and to give me massages as I build up to the marathon.

This support is going to be invaluable over the next few months. Already Cathy has been able to tell me how important core strength is going to be when running long distances, explaining to me so now I understand why my body fails me when I hit those long 12-13 mile runs, why my lower back is agony as I cant keep upright and my shoulders back when I start to get tired. It made it clear just how poor my core strength is by a simple exercise that a runner should be able to hold 3 times for 30 seconds, I could only manage 10 seconds, I have a lot of work to do! I never realised how important it was, now it all makes sense. It's no wonder I keep having these falls, I surprised I can bloody well hold myself up straight.What a wake up call!

So, now I have a week or so free from running, I have more time to get into the gym and work on that core strength. I bought an exercise ball a few months ago to use as my office chair when at home, that lasted two days cos I fell off.....wonder why, so I have got that out again and have stretches and some exercises to do twice a day from Cathy. And of course I'm hoping to get back into spin class again, my absolute favourite, gym has been so busy since the New Year that I have struggled to enjoy it so I'm hoping this next week will change that. I'm also going to teach myself to swim again, it has been years since I was last in a pool and I'm not confident in water at all so it's a bit daunting, but I think it will be good to do a bit of swimming on my rest days.

Its a shame that this has happened after a positive couple of weeks. I had started to pick up the pace and get into the miles relatively easily, and more importantly, I was enjoying the running. Sunday morning was a fab run, 9.6 miles on a lovely -5 frosty morning, along canals, through fields and up a gruelling hill. I ran 6 of those miles with Regency Runners, and felt very smug when I got home to find I had finished in well under two hours. Across the fields was so beautiful I'm cross that I didn't think to take a photograph for you all to see! Never mind, next time!! :)