Category: London Marathon 2015 Training

4 hours, 14 minutes and 30 Seconds of Ouch

26/4/2015

When I was at primary school, I remember 'achieving' a certificate for 'Good Sportsmanship' when I came last in a race on sports day. Even then, though my mum put it on my bedroom wall alongside evidence of my more academic prowess, I regarded it with disdain, being firmly of the opinion that it was simply what they issued in an attempt to placate you in your failure. I think, today, if I put aside my ego, which is currently feeling just as battered and bruised as my poor, tortured iliotibial band, I may have finally learned the value of that accolade. So last night, I felt calm, strong and optimistic. I knew that I was not as fit as I was for my last (first) marathon but I genuinely felt it could go either way. To be honest, I was even secretly predicting Good Things. As you may have guessed, it didn't really pan out that way.

Meeting Joe from UKRunChat at the Green Start!

Although Saturday was happily ITB pain free, it started hurting this morning, even as I queued at the bag drop. From mile 0, I was in pain. "Ah well" I mentally coached myself "not unexpected and pain is only temporary!" I held that state of mind up pretty well for 20 miles. I overtook the 3:45 pacer and kept up a reasonably consistent pace despite the pain, remaining on target to achieve a second GFA time. I swung past landmarks... Where I used to live... Where I used to catch the bus... Where I used to work... I kept it up, despite the pain and despite the emotional twinging of running past all these places and more, which reminded me of the friend I was running for. "That's where we played Frisbee in Greenwich Park" "That's the bar where we got smashed on sugary cocktails and danced to Tiffany" "That's the restaurant where we had that curry the night I ate all the lime pickle for a bet and nearly had An Accident" "That's his old block of flats..." I don't know if it was the mental exhaustion of ignoring the pain combined with the emotional baggage that undid me or if it was a genuinely physical thing but by mile 20 every muscle in my right leg and most of them in my left were screaming in a way I have genuinely never experienced before.

And I know pain. I know the pain of Rheumatoid Arthritis, the kind that puts you in a wheelchair for 18 months of your adolescence. I am not afraid of a few synapses firing here and there in the old grey matter, the same grey matter simultaneously yelling at me to keep going... but I eventually popped, staggering into the first aiders who massaged me and dosed me with ibuprofen (to my eternal gratitude). To save face, I jogged away from the tent but was quickly limping again, with the tears of pain, frustration and loss freely streaming. 6 miles has never seemed so far. Wrapped in a space blanket, I bitterly hobbled on, angrily sneering at those who overtook me just a touch too close, silently channelling the anger I felt at myself towards towards those around me. Yeah. I don't feel so great about that admission.
I was feeling so washed up that when I rounded the corner on the loop and saw the mile 14 marker, I temporarily forgot I already came past that on the other side 7 miles ago and almost chucked it in. I watched the 3:45 pacer vanish off onto the horizon. Then I looked at all the runners who still had almost half a marathon to go... some walking, some running, but 90% of them still grinning. Still grinning and so much stronger than me. Proud of participating, proud to be a part of it and certainly not hung up on how long it would take them to get round the next 13 miles. All kudos to these guys. I really need to learn that.

Mile 23. Sprint finish anyone?!

Run Stats! Can you spot where it all went wrong!?

Seeing this, I kept going. At mile 22, I tried a little jog. The pain shot through my leg, I stumbled, I carried on walking. At mile 23, I heard my name called. Some friends, also out to support another runner had spotted me. Waving excitedly, full of beans and clearly delighted just to have caught a glimpse of me. Whether it was a morale boost or the shame of being caught in tears that got the better of me I don't know but I got it into my legs one way or the other and picked up to a little trot. Tired, sore legs and poor form due to my continued clinging to the space blanket took their toll however and I somehow caught my toe in an uneven bit of tarmac. The inevitable happened and I flew forward, hitting the deck to the sound of the crowd gasping as I went. I rolled over and gazed up at the grey clouds, as runners dodged past me, every bit the dying beetle until something buried even deeper than the bit that wanted to give up finally found it's voice. "This is NOT how this story ends! Get the heck up!" So I did. I got up, the gasps turned to cheers, the only ones I feel I really earned, and I ran. I threw down the space blanket and I managed the last three miles at a sub ten minute mile pace. Not great and not as fast as I can run but better than walking.

So I think, after 3 decades, I might have finally earned that Good Sportsmanship certificate. And while I can't share the epitaph Haruki Murakami plans for his grave stone, I can't say 'I never walked', I can say I damn well got up and kept going and in my opinion that's more important because, you see, it doesn't actually matter how many times you fall down, as long as you get up just one time more than that.

I shall now devour ALL the SAWSIGIS!

Appendix:
Glittermousie's 3 stage plan of recovery for bruised London Marathon ego:
1) Get over yourself.
2) Register for Manchester Marathon 2016, achieve new GFA.
3) Run London 2017 and kick it in the pavements.

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Tapering... Made Japan-Easy!

19/4/2015

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Road running looks much the same on any continent!

There were many reasons (mostly attempts to synchronise intercontinental term times) completely unrelated to running that resulted in a 10 day trip to Japan in the middle of April this year. That this coincided with my theoretical taper (I'm still not using a training plan... seems pointless to reinstate it now!) inevitably brought with it both pros and cons. On the plus side, it would pretty much force me to back off the miles, despite my inherent dislike of long tapers, and that I find the concept completely counterintuitive, at least superficially.

Though the friend I would be visiting is also a runner and I did go running in the neighbourhood several times in my last stay, cranking up a 50 mile week would be antisocial at best and there would be lots of opportunities for enjoying rest and recuperation without any sense of frustrated obligation. Conversely, changes to routine and diet, a lack of opportunities to cross train and a couple of substantial doses of jet lag chucked into the mix might not be ideal, but I decided that worrying about that stuff was really over thinking the whole thing. More to the point, this was my last chance to return to Tamana and visit my friends before the birth of their son in May and that seemed far more important than attempting to accommodate any impending maranoia.

What I couldn't have known when booking my flights back in February, was that a recurrence of issues with my right ITB (iliotibial band; the long muscle running from hip to knee on the outside of the thigh) would have significantly more impact on my tapering mileage than any travel plans. Despite my enjoyment of the trip, this has proved to be the single biggest worry I have at present in relation to my second 'official' marathon, in London just one week hence. Many of my kind hosts were very forthcoming in expressing their admiration (or at least surprise, it's hard to tell how much is lost in translation) when learning of this impending challenge, however I was unable to fully relish any sense of build up due to the niggling worries the ITB pain has brought with it. I've tried to balance resting it with not totally stopping, though reminding myself of my reasons for deleting the training plan and the assertion that I should reach the start line uninjured, has helped reign in too many pointless 'testing' runs, despite the frustration.

Run Fuel Japanese Style; Making Mochi! (Rice balls with bean paste)

And because it's not all carbs and protein... a visit to the orangery!

Thankfully, recreational running is not an unusual activity in Japan and so I didn't attract too many strange looks (beyond the usual curiosity)! Tamana has a wide and sprawling rural 'belt' and it's in part of this that my friends live, so alongside the suburban stretches of residential roads interspersed with a spattering of 'Izakayas' (bar/restaurant hybrids) and 'combinis' (local conveniences, usually 7-11 or a similar franchise), there are more aesthetically pleasing views of waving barley (important for producing my favourite Japanese drink, mugi cha, a tea made from roast barley that tastes a bit like very weak coffee), green rice fields and towering bamboo forests. The sight of roadside Shinto shrines is an equally common one and I also became accustomed to the creaking sound of frogs chattering to one another in the cool spring nights, a welcome change from the irritating rattle of cicadas, which was a more noticeable running soundtrack during my summer visit in 2013.
At the start of the week I ran 2 5k loops followed by a 10k with my friend across 3 days. After the 10k, the pain and tightness had flared up again, so I held back for 2 days, afraid of stimulating inflammation.

Attempts to self medicate with far more protein than my body can probably even utilise, delivered in tofu form, along with an entirely medicinal (ahem) trip to a local onsen (natural volcanic hot springs rich in various minerals) appeared to ease things somewhat. As such, I felt able to indulge in a final slow 5 miles the night before leaving, which resulted in some soreness but not as much as earlier in the week so that's probably fairly positive.

Last 5 miles...

At least 24 hours enforced rest (kind of!) on the flight home and then plenty of swimming seems on the cards for the coming week. At this point in time I think I really have to heed the advice I'd give any other runner in my position. Not much is going to change in fitness with just 7 days to race day anyway so it would be better to not run at all between now and then, arriving on the start fresh and as healed as possible, than to engage in pointless angst ridden miles 'to see how it is' and wind up swollen and sore with 26.2 emotionally loaded miles staring you in the face. Even putting London aside, risking a longer term injury that throws a spanner in the rest of the races I've enthusiastically booked for the 2015 season would be equally daft.

Tamana Public Foot Onsen. Not exactly Piccadilly Gardens fountain...

What will be will be and the ego is just going to have to take a back seat again while body calls the shots. I will get round London, on my hands and knees if I have to, so the best I can hope for is, as always, to stay healthy and run happy. My fingers are crossed...but not my toes. They will have to stay resolutely firm and straight, though they're already missing Tamana public foot onsen, a treat I'd recommend for any runner's tired tootsies!

Incidentally, one interesting observation made thanks to the in flight information system, is that since January, I have run in total further than the distance from Manchester to Amsterdam.

Now there's a challenge...

Miles go by pretty fast on this scale...

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Salford 10k and the Last Long One

6/4/2015

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Clearly having far too much fun!

Last year, when I went to cheer on a friend who was running the Salford 10k, organised by Salford Harriers at the Sports Village in Salford, I might reasonably have guessed I’d be running it myself this year but I’d have been mildly surprised to learn that I would also have joined the club! This being so, it was with a sense of slight guilt that I enjoyed participating in the event as a runner while so many familiar faces around me got stuck in to doing a fine job of organising, marshalling, dispensing race numbers and the like. There were a few other Harriers running too of course and it seems many of them did very well with a podium position for the gents and at least one new PB for the ladies. I managed a reasonably acceptable sub 45, which I didn’t think was too shoddy as a chunk of training as I approach my London Marathon taper. I treated it as a kind of tempo session, with a slightly slower 3 miles home (which turned in to 4 when I got a bit lost by the River Irwell!) tacked on the end to help make up the miles! It was a bit gloomy but nice and warm; I even took my gloves off, as you can see from the photo, gratefully, if presumptuously stolen from the Harriers' website!

A rest day on Saturday then preceded a final Long Slow Run, the Sunday staple for many marathoners! Since the weather was so glorious, I experienced no temptation to hop on the treadmill and decided to head out on a route I last ran on Summer Solstice as part of the Longest Day Run virtual challenge. You can see details of the run that day along with a few piccies of the route if you check out the 21st of June 2014 blog post, but I’ll go so far as to share yesterday’s stats too, though I didn’t take any photos. I recalled that it was around 23 miles but I guessed it would be more like 22 as I’d got a bit lost trying to get on to the Mersey. Apparently not. 23.5 miles in the heels!

I’m not going to pretend the last few miles weren’t hard but that was due to two very identifiable factors;

A) I’d underestimated the temperature and ran out of fluids so was probably a bit dehydrated and

B) that pesky old ITB started up a good effort at niggling from about mile 18, possibly exacerbated by aforementioned dehydration.

There was a point, round about mile 20, where I was wondering if I should stop and walk, such was my ‘I’m getting injured!’ maranoia, however, upon deciding that probably wouldn’t really be any less painful and would just take a lot longer, I kept it up, just at a slightly slower pace. It wasn’t that sore… I was probably just being a wuss. I got through it anyway, my leg didn’t fall off and I still did the run on average 17 seconds faster per mile than I did in the summer, which was quite gratifying really as I thought my pace had got slower and my fitness had dropped since my training went out of the window due to illness over winter.

Regardless of the run stats, I’ve always maintained that you’re only as good as your recovery and so I was a little concerned how I’d be feeling, especially in the knee area, the next day. Thankfully, my recovery package of delicious (!?) soya protein shakes, foam rolling, saunas, steam rooms and compression socks seems to have been at least mostly successful and whilst I’ll not pretend I haven’t got slightly heavy and achy legs today, and yes, I can feel it in the iliotibial band, I certainly don’t appear to have injured myself. Woo hoo! Let the taper commence!

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Trimpell 20

24/3/2015

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The main feature of this weekend was Lancaster Race Series’ Trimpell 20 on Sunday. I had actually tried to participate in this last year, however a diary error resulting in a swift U turn on the M…something… and a subsequent clash with another 2014 commitment meant I never did. As such, when I was offered a place as a consolation prize for coming almost-sort-of-but-not third lady on the Lancaster Half Marathon in November (you can read more here on the trials and tribulations of gun versus chip times and the subsequent pitfalls!), I jumped (or ran for) the chance.

As is not uncommon however, both days of my weekend featured running and I enjoyed a slightly more sedentary stroll around the Manchester Run Expo on Saturday. Highlights included catching up with the UK Run Chat guys as well as a (far too brief) ‘hello!’ to Ira Rainey, saying thanks to Joel Enoch at Clif Bar for his nutritional advice in November, which does indeed seem to have made a difference, and waving quickly at fellow Salford Harrier John of Cannonball Events, who introduced a talk from Ultra Runner David Moretta. As David will also be competing in this summer’s TrailBlaster12, I was keen to grab him for a quick question at the end… What do I need to do differently in my marathon training to prepare for my first ultra? Of course I say ‘also competing’ as if I myself will be competing… No, I shall be content to plod round as many 5k loops as I can in the 12 hour race whilst experimenting with exactly what happens to my body and mind as I do so. I’m sure Dave will lap me several times as he bashes miles out of my sorry arse. Self deprecating predictions aside, I was absolutely delighted with his reply to my query…
“Are you following a training plan at the moment?” he probed.
“Er. Not really. I sort of deleted it. But I do sort of have a sort of plan in my head and I kind of know sorta what I’m doing, and, um, er…” I shamefully trailed off.
“Good!” he replied enthusiastically, “I never have done!” before advising that the best thing to do was eat healthily and ‘run happy’. Now that’s advice I can get with and coming from a world record holder in distance running, it’s pretty presumptuous to argue with it! Nothing like someone telling you that what you’re already doing is the best course of action to give you a boost. Selfie High Five for Me!

Of course, the other good thing about running trade shows is that you don’t need to pack lunch for the day as you know you can fill up on free samples of energy bars, protein snacks and iso gels. Yummy. Unfortunately, it would appear that one of my fellow freebie vultures had mucky claws in one of the lavish, oaty platters and come 11pm I was experiencing the effects of some kind of mild but nonetheless pressing food poisoning. Great. Only 12 hours ‘til race day! Not the best start to a 20 miler, Imodium notwithstanding.

Apparently this is what happens when you try and do 'Rock Hands' at mile 19 of 20 with mild food poisoning... Honest!

As such, it was with grim amusement that I collected my number 13 race bib a few hours later! Steeling myself with the assertion that ‘what will be will be’ and the personal conviction that a DNF (Did not Finish) is infinitely more honourable than a DNES (Did Not Even Start) I self medicated as much as I felt sensible, paid particular attention to my hydration levels, managed a surprisingly strong feeling warm up and set off humbly a few runners back from the start line. I’d already said Hi to the Awesome Autumn, who had her own story of success from the Lancaster Half with a stunning sub 90 minute Half Marathon PB that saw her win the ladies race and earn a championship place at London and it was a real pleasure to bob along for the first mile or so with her, finally getting to have a bit of a conversation beyond what can be reasonably fitted into 140 characters (We tweet, yo). That was mile 1 in the bag and barely noticed. I knew I’d not be running the whole race with her as her plan for the first six miles at ‘easy’ 8.5 to 9 minute milers followed by 14 at closer to 7 didn’t float my boat. Any other day I’d have been totally game for that, in fact as far as I had a plan, I had already thought I might plod out 8 minute milers to 13 miles, hit the gel and smash out the last 7, but really given my (in)digestive state, just getting to the end without major embarrassment was a target high enough for me. Seems I finally have learned to adjust my race goals based on how I feel on the day!
Because of that, I sailed on ahead with a new plan for consistent 8 to 8.5 minute miles the whole way. I find changing pace can upset a tummy (Well, my tummy) at the best of times and I really didn't want to risk it. So I hope my gel enjoyed its jaunt round Lancaster as it returned home untouched. Yes, it might have sped up my run but that could have been true in more ways than one.

I’ll stop alluding to poo in a minute, I promise, but just to say aside from a bit of gut cramp and the three necessary bush-stops at about mile 5, 7 and 10, I had a really nice run. The weather was absolutely glorious (too hot for some, I know, but perfect for me) and the scenery was delightful. Of course, as usual, I also enjoyed many mid-run chats, too many of which to list but each and every one of them as important as the others in maintaining that ‘runner’s love’ and community spirit that we all know and cherish. I clearly wasn't the only one enjoying the day either as I discovered when I turned to acknowledge what I thought was someone calling to me; “Sorry!” was the response, “I was just singing!” Fantastic. That really made me grin! I also had a chat with a gentleman who apparently recognised the back of my head (!?) from Stockport 10. I really must get better at remembering the people I've run-nattered to, it’s getting embarrassing. And that’s about that really (she says as she notices she’s already spewed out over 1000 words). Ah, but of course, not forgetting the obligatory ‘and this is what happened on the finish line’ story… During the earlier miles, I’d noticed two ladies in almost matching kit, one with neon pink and one with neon blue shorts, who seemed to be enjoying a comfortable chatty run… Approaching mile 19 or so, you know that point in a run where you realise you really have got it in you to get to the end without any disasters, I noticed pink-shorts-lady running alone. “How’s your friend?” I asked, “I hope she’s OK!?” fearing tales of injury or drop out but happily to be told she’d merrily sailed ahead, which is by far the better story! We chatted a bit more and discovered we were both London entrants, though it wouldn't be her first. “You go on ahead if you need to” I offered, happy in my pace. “I was thinking of saying the same to you!” she responded! Well, by the time I got on to the track for the final 600m, I did sprint off a bit, it’s kinda fun when you just ran 20 slow miles and realise you could still crack one out in 6 minutes… if you wanted to. Maybe I should have realised that at mile 19 but… meh. A medal, T shirt and a banana later (OK, 2 bananas but only because the doughnuts weren't vegan) and there she was again, but this time thanking me for helping spur her on at the end. Cue another sweaty-finish-hug. Ah yeah. That’s why we do it. It means so much more to me when I find I've helped someone achieve a goal than when I've simply plodded over a finish line for myself. (You can see Laura, in her fetching pink shorts, coming to the line in the photo below!)
I guess that’s why I was also rather pleased to be able to join a friend who is now trying to get back into running after a winter hiatus on a sunny canal side 5k when I got back to Manchester, though I hope my sub 9 minute mile pace could be forgiven! And that really is that. My first 50 mile week of 2015 in the bag (53 thanks to the impromptu 5k!) and I’m still standing. Incidentally, despite having refused to reinstate my training plan, I checked the Runner’s World suggested sub 3.30 target schedule for the week and I’m apparently pretty much spot on just by instinct. Running Happy, by Dave’s advice and life’s so much better when you allow it to be simple!

With thanks to Sprint Finish photography...

...and Simon for finding the pictures online!

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Getting my March On!

17/3/2015

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I think it was pretty clear from my last post (about 3 weeks ago) just how relieved I was to be feeling a lot better and able to participate in my first two (cross country) races of 2015. I imagine it also came across that I was being in no way complacent about my recovery and was resolved to keep things gentle in the hope that they would then remain steady. Well that worked then. I am very pleased to report, to those who follow such things, that I finally feel I am approaching the level of fitness, both physical and mental, that I had been lucky enough to enjoy prior to my ‘mini melt down’. I call it that, though of course that’s with the perspective of distance as it rapidly diminishes onto the horizon behind me. It didn’t feel ‘mini’ at the time. Thankfully though, through a bit of digging deep into the reserves of grit and determination, along with the support, understanding and encouragement of some very fine friends (and even a colleague or two) the ‘faith’ (for want of a better word) that kept me going through the darker moments feels as though it is now paying off and there may even be one or two fruits ripening, having been thoroughly fertilised by all that compost (aka ‘life shit’). Anyway. Feeling fit again is blooming awesome and here are a couple of things that seem worth sharing from the depths of my little running universe!

The weekend before last, I enjoyed my first road race of 2015; Altrincham Athletic’s Trafford 10k. It was a bit gloomy, slightly drizzly, but no biggy in terms of weather. I’ve heard tell it’s a very flat course and ideal for Pea Bees. There were certainly a few very grimly determined looking faces that supported that assertion! I wasn’t interested in a Pea Bee myself as my main concern was that I wanted to ‘top up’ my mileage to match the equivalent 18 mile Long Slow Run that would be an appropriate thing to do round about that point in the marathon training non-plan (no I still haven’t reinstated The Plan. More here on why I deleted it in case you missed that nugget of joy). In fact, I had even considered running to the race; about 12 miles from my place, 6.2 mile course, bam, 18 in the bag and a bus home. I saw sense when I was offered a lift however, which is possibly just as well. None the less, the closest I got to a Pea Bee was the surprisingly large invertebrate that decided to seek its maker at the back of my throat about ¾ of a mile in. I’m vegan dammit, get out of my gob! Cough. Cough, cough. Cough cough COUGH. OK. I’ll just swallow you. Oh. You’re stuck to the back of my throat. cough. Great. Couldn’t you have decided to kill yourself in my eye instead? There’s really nothing like picking fly legs out of your peepers whilst attempting 7.5 minute miles. Eventually, the irritation became so intense and my breathing so disrupted that Mr Diaphragm decided to wade into the tragic struggle of life and death. Cue pit stop whilst I semi chuck my guts up at two miles, freak out the marshals who are hastily recalling their rusty First Aid at Work skills and convince the runners gleefully overtaking me that I’m the twunt who went off too fast. Well, following the unceremonious dispatch of the dearly departed, I managed to pick the pace up considerably and really rather enjoyed the rest of the race (if you discount the bit where I had to stop and fertilise an oak tree. It looked hungry.).

According to some in my running club, you’re not supposed to enjoy racing and if you’re able to wave and smile at people who cheer you on round the course then you’re clearly not trying hard enough to bring home the silverware. Sorry Salford Harriers. Stuff THAT. This is my weekend and I’m here to have fun. It think that’s fairly well illustrated in this pic; no race face ‘oh god I’m dying!’ gurning for me! I was so disinterested in the event as a race I didn’t even check my official results until a couple of days later, content enough to simply make it into town in time to participate in the first ten miles of the Up & Running Manchester community marathon training run. I knew I was sub 50 something but was pretty surprised to find my official time was 4 minutes quicker than that.

Trafford 10k. Yes, I can smile and run at the same time..!

Ah, what glory could have been mine if I’d not collided with nature (in more ways than one)!? Anyway… I did 17 miles in the end that day, not 18 (I did one as warm up). I’m such a slacker. Incidentally, I’m not one to plug kit and products unless I genuinely find them noteworthy but I’ve been a fairly staunch proponent of SiS energy gels since encountering the delights of mid-run fuelling. However, on this run I discovered Torq, courtesy of Up & Running. The Raspberry Ripple gel is actually like eating melted ice cream. Mmmmm. Ice cream. And it’s vegan, unless you supplement it with flies. Try it out if you get the chance. Nom nom nom.

Ah, and while I’m on kit… it may be worth mentioning (if you’ve bothered to read this far, chances are you’re already a seasoned run geek and don’t need telling but hey…) that if you’re training for a spring marathon, you probably need to be thinking about your shoes now. Any that you’ve already been building the miles in are likely to be knackered by the time your race rolls round and you need to allow time to break your new ones in. As such, I am now the proud owner of some Mizuno Wave Rider 17s. Yes, the 18s just came out but time was when the 17s were the new shiny bestest ones and I’m a cheap skate. Hmm. Skates. Now there’s an idea!

Right, I’m going to wrap it up in a sec before I bore even myself but a couple of little digestifs before I sign off. Firstly, I’m super-excited to be officially registered now as a 4:45 pacer for the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on June 14th. I’m hoping to complete London a tickle quicker than that, but it’ll bring its own challenges and I’m really looking forward to helping support others in achieving their targets in what is a significant goal, no matter your pace!

And finally finally, I was also rather touched last week, to be awarded a virtual honour by none other than the impressively wonderful Tiny Runner in her own version of the Running Awards. There’s really nothing more I can say beyond the comment I left her and her response was equally cockle-warming. Ahhh. Feeling the run-love anyone?

So to summarise (OK, now it’s really finally finally) I’m back in the game, I’ve found my mojo, I’m pushing on up and I’m running on out the door (as this morning’s 6.30am happy 8 miler proves) down the road to London, Liverpool and my first (two) Ultra(s)! Oh, did I tell you about that yet? Well, it’ll have to wait!

Fin.

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Back in the Race...

28/2/2015

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Though my blog posts have been a little less frequent of late, I’ve shared enough with anyone who actually reads them to know that I’ve not been too well since the end of last year… but that things were on the up. That trend has (thankfully) continued (more or less!) over the last month and I’ve now managed two races, as well as being broadly on track with my pleasantly vague marathon training ‘plan’ for London 2015.

With the Salford Harriers Senior Women in Wythenshawe

Post race with mum and friends on Parliament Hill

Speaking of London, and with the event drawing ever closer (less than two months away now!) I should probably start getting a little more on the case about fund raising. For speed, you can sponsor me using the text details to the right, or visit my fund-raising page to find out more about why I am running for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

After Trafford next week, the rest of March will see me looking forward to the Trimpell 20 and then a training weekend in Anglesey where I shall be leading my first running groups for UK Run Chat since qualifying for a Leadership in Running Fitness license.

It doesn’t seem to matter though what my own pace will be in any of these events; it looks like the summer will be speeding past in no time!

Given that both races so far have been Cross Country, the term ‘on the up’ is applicable in more ways than one, especially so last week at the Nationals on Parliament Hill in London. Yep. It’s called Parliament Hill for obvious reasons. Mud, wind and a steep hill is pretty much synonymous with cross country and I was fairly pleased to finish upright and with both my shoes still firmly laced to the appropriate appendages, which is more than can be said for many unfortunate runners who I saw hitting the deck (read sludge) or stopping to fish spikes out of swamp-like conditions. That I finished about 7 minutes slower than a cross country race of the same 8k distance the week before in Wythenshawe might once have perturbed me but given the differences in courses and conditions, I was pretty relaxed about that.

The race in Wythenshawe marked the end of the 2014/15 season of the Manchester Area X-C League and went pretty well, especially considering I’d not raced since Stockport 10 back at the beginning of December. I came 18th in the Senior Women’s race, 17th over the series (11th and 9th in the 20 to 34 age group) but our team came third in the race as well as winning the division 2 medal for the league. I’ve been told I get a medal for that, which I can collect next weekend at the Trafford 10k so it’s just as well I’ve already registered to run it!

I’ll keep it short for once but in other exciting news, I confirmed this week that I shall be a pacer at the 2015 Liverpool Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon! I’d considered running the inaugural event last year but as I’d not yet completed a race at that distance I opted to stick a bit closer to home with the Asics Manchester Marathon instead. In 2015, I’ll be pacing Liverpool with the 4.45 target group. As it’s not until June it’ll have no bearing whatsoever on my efforts in London… But I’m hoping it’ll serve as no more than a gentle warm up for my first ultra; Trail Blaster, which is the weekend after!

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London Marathon 2015 Training Week 1

28/11/2014

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A Weekend of Endurance and More Adventures in Chessington

I had already booked to visit London this weekend to attend the Running and Endurance Show, which was conveniently located at Sandown Park (OK, that’s Surrey, I know) and just a couple of bus rides from my Mum, closer still to my Dad in Walton. Unfortunately, some less than good family news resulted in my having to rebook coaches and jump down south a day earlier than originally planned, however always on the bright side, I managed to at least turn this in to an opportunity to visit my fabulous octogenarian (you’d never guess) uncle in Leigh-on-Sea.

The return to Leigh-on-Sea

As such, I kicked Friday off by revisiting a run route I’d discovered in the summer to plod out an ‘easy’ 6 miler through Belfair’s Wood, to Hadleigh and then back along the cliff top. It struck me just how different a landscape can look in different seasons, something you don’t always notice so much as the months glide past gradually on a ‘home’ path, or appreciate fully when your ‘holiday’ routes tend to happen at the same times of year. In this instance I decided it would be wisest to avoid a visit to the ruins of Hadleigh Castle as recent heavy rain made it likely that the clay earth in that area would be soaked, sticky and claggy. I didn’t fancy slipping and sliding down the hill on the other side back towards the Thames Estuary! It wouldn’t be much of an ‘easy’ run in that case! It certainly wasn’t a fast one, but it didn’t need to be as I had managed to re-jig the plan for the first seven days of the new twenty three week schedule to squeeze my first tempo run in before leaving Manchester. What with Circumstances Unexpected and it being ‘only’ week one, it would have been easy to sack a few sessions off but I was determined to start off on the right foot (‘scuse the pun!). This was also the first early morning run I’d ever undertaken without so much as even a cup of coffee (I’m normally totally averse to leaving the house without breakfast) but I was very pleasantly surprised that I didn’t feel particularly low energy as a result; an interesting experiment.

The Running and Endurance show took place on Saturday and Sunday, though I had decided that one day would be more than enough to look round all the stands and see the seminars I was interested in. I was particularly looking forward to a talk by Ira Rainey about the story behind his book Fat Man to Green Man, a tale of discovering fitness later in life from a firm foundation as a dedicated beer drinker! I’ve been interacting with Ira through the UKRunChat Twitter discussions for a while now and so I was keen to put a face to a name! As it turned out, I could have happily whiled away another full day at the show, especially if it had been practical to join in with the Sunday races, however I did manage to get a lot out of even the one day. I started with a visit to the wonderfully generous Clif Bar stand. I’ve recently tried (and enjoyed!) their energy gels having won a Manchester Marathon associated completion online but I’d not trialled their other products. Upon discovering that their energy bars and sweets are all vegan, I shamelessly descended on the spread of samples like a one-woman locust plague. Hmm. Do I prefer the Peanut Butter or the Chocolate Chip bar? I’ll just have to try one more of each to be sure! But wait! What about the Blueberry Crisp!? If I’m honest, I must have consumed the equivalent of at least three bars before lunch but it’s not often a vegan can take full advantage of such samples so I consider it a simple case of karmic rebalancing! Aside from the tasters, they were offering free one to one nutrition advice sessions with a member of their team, Joel Enoch. He spent a good fifteen minutes with me discussing my current diet and suggesting some things to consider with regards to improving my protein absorption. It turns out the amount your body can actually process per 100g of the stuff varies per hour and from one source to the next. Simply stuffing X amount of it in your gob per day may not be quite enough. I’m hoping I can make some tweaks to my gobbling habits and who knows, I may even gain some weight finally!

Never photographed the back of your own leg!?

The other major discovery I made was thanks to the KT Taping team who kindly used me as one of several eager guinea pigs during their taping demo seminar. I’d encountered the theory of taping before but never tried it, mostly as I’d (thankfully) not found the need but also as I wouldn’t have known what to do with it! Although the initial volunteer request specified those with sports injuries, I dived in anyway as my calves were genuinely tight thanks to the accumulative effect of a few too many hours stuffed on coaches and trains along with the slow, muddy 6 mile trail on Friday so it was at least semi-genuine! I have found the supportive tape feels much like wearing compression socks and it’s very comfortable. One thing I didn’t know was that it can stay on for days and it’s still going strong, 26 run and 45 cycled miles later along with 3 dips in the pool! Now that’s sticking power! It’s still really comfy too so I shall have to invest in some tape I think, especially as the miles pick up!

Whilst these were the highlights, other things I enjoyed at the show included Mark Kleanthous’ talk on running ultra distance. I’ve certainly picked up some hints and tips that I’ll use during my first marathon plus distance at the Trailblaster 12 in 2015. Incidentally, this will be another race by Cannonball Events, who also had a stand; it was a pleasant if unexpected surprise to bump into John (also a Salford Harrier!) almost as soon as I walked through the door! Picking up some new Brooks, I’m trying the Defyance (sp.) this time, at about half price was also a bit of a bonus!

A Chessington Adventure with Ira!

The wettest section; not as dry as it looks on the satellite!

I had a rough idea of a vaguely 5k route (Ira’s minimum to ‘qualify’ for his current runstreak) but I hadn’t taken the darkness into account and recalled as we set off that my plan involved running up a road with no pavement. Hmm; maybe not the best idea. As we got to the turning at Malden Rushett however, we discovered the road was closed to traffic, so despite the lack of streetlights and head torches we braved it and plunged into the darkness of the country lane ahead of us, chatting about everything and nothing all at the same time. I was, of course keeping my eyes peeled and it wasn’t long before it was time to cut right along the back of Chessington World of Adventures and up towards Winey Hill. I’d hoped to take Ira through Sixty Acre Wood but decided that using the drive up to the back of the theme park might be a more sensible compromise as it would be less hazardous underfoot in the dark. This all went to plan and we found (the remains of!) the stile I was looking for to get us out round the back of the hill. We also found that the path had become so flooded that it was almost a running stream. Well whatchagonnado?

A couple of days before the show, Ira had asked the UKRunChat community if anyone knew any running routes round Chessington, where he was staying overnight for the show. As I was staying with my mum in Chessington, we’d briefly discussed the possibility of meeting for a run before deciding that with Ira’s commitment to the show and my early Sunday morning travel plans it would be impractical. “Maybe Next Time”. Now I know as well as the next runner that ‘Maybe Next Time’ means ‘Probably Never Going To Happen’ and felt so inspired by the show that I was keen to get up and make the most of being in the area to enjoy a rare, if not totally new route, even if it was likely to be dark and soggy. After leaving the show on Saturday evening, I worked out that I’d have time for about an hours’ worth of running if I started early enough and had all my stuff packed the night before so I could dash through the door, into the bath and bounce back out on to the rail replacement bus at twenty to eight. As long as he was back in time for the hotel cooked breakfast (gotta sort those priorities!) Ira was up for it and so I headed out into the rainy darkness at quarter past six on Sunday morning to take a slow 1 mile warm up down the Leatherhead Road and meet Ira outside the Monkey Puzzle. (There did actually used to be a monkey puzzle tree there but I think it’s long gone)

Obligatory showing off run-selfie with Ira!

Clearly, neither of us were expecting a nice sterile road run so in we jumped and ‘ran’ (read waded!) a slow, muddy few hundred meters in the shin-high mud. Well, it came up to my shins, Ira’s a bit taller and seemed to find a drier patch sooner so perhaps he got off more lightly. With that little adventure behind us, we hopped up to the crest of Winey Hill and took in the view out across London in the distance to the North before carefully slip-slide-running down the other side and popping out back on the Leatherhead road a bit further down. This was the point at which I had placed a disclaimer that I might head back depending on time but it turned out that despite our slow progress though the swap we had the minutes spare for another couple of miles so I suggested carrying on away from the hotel. We took a route round past Chessington North rail station and then cut across Church Fields Recreation Ground (behind my old primary school!) and out onto Garrison Lane (passing Chessington South station) before I directed Ira back onto the Leatherhead road again as I turned round and headed back to quickly scrub the mud out of my toenails! (And yes, I do currently have all my own!)

I didn’t have a cooked breakfast to run home for, having instead prepared a packed version to enjoy on the bus, but the run, however slow and muddy, gave me a real lift to the start of the day. It was with a spring in my step that I battled my way across town in a far better mood than I’m sure I would have if I’d not found a way to squeeze it in. It really never fails to amaze me just how good you feel for the rest of the day when it starts with a run! I even discovered that you’re never too old to draw in the condensation on bus windows, especially whilst munching on bran flakes, much to the confusion of the other passengers navigating the disruptions of the London Transport system! I later discovered that in my late night/early morning run preparations I’d overlooked putting the insoles back in my trail shoes having left them to dry out after Belfair’s Wood. Strangely, I’d not noticed at all during the run but I think that might have had something to do (in combination with the aquatic expectations placed upon them) with the lovely pink blister I became aware of on my left foot whilst jogging between rail replacement buses! At least the shoes dried quicker for it!

Aside from the mood boost, the other benefit of having clocked a few miles in the morning with Ira was that I didn’t have to subject myself to the scheduled 11 miler when I got home that evening. With 7 miles in the bank already, I felt it was acceptable to do a gentle 6 mile ‘top up’. Not quite the same as 11 miles in one go but from what some speakers were saying during their seminars, running twice a day can have other benefits in terms of endurance training anyway. After two buses, two tubes and 5 hours immobile on a coach, 6 miles certainly seemed a lot more palatable (especially with new shoes to test!) than 11 and I managed them with no troubles (even from the blister!), so ending my first week of training roughly on plan, give or take a tweak. What with quite a lot of unexpected stuff to deal with, I’m pretty pleased with that. Maybe it serves more purpose as a mental boost than a physical conditioning achievement but they can be equally, if not more important! Fingers crossed I can manage the same for week 2, which promises to be just as hectic. Watch this space!

Week One; the Theory and the Practice!

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Glittermouse is a visual artist, educator and practising Buddhist who also likes a bit of a run from time to time. In 2014, she realised others could benefit quite a lot from her reflections on running trials, tribulations, triumphs and trip-ups… so she added another volume to her package of blogging adventures.

You can find out more and source links to other projects on the 'home' page of this site.

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