A Mouse on a Mission...
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It's the Final Countdown!

20/6/2015

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So here we go then... T minus 19.5 hours to TrailBlaster12! Following the last two days head-pickling in which I couldn;t decide what to do with myself for the best physically, I kicked out a slow 5k this morning to blow the dust of my leggies... And feel none the worse for it. A yoga class this afternoon, maybe a swim... Yeah. I'm good to go. Packed to the hilt with various vegan snacks, including, um, maybe about 17 flapjacks, avocado sandwiches, houmous, protein bars, soya milk, coconut yoghurts, apples, grapes, dried fruit and nut packets, fruity chews, gels, and I probably won't need to eat for the next week.

Four different pairs of trainers, space blanket, whistle (!?) running kit (and spares) for every possible kind of UK weather, tent, sleeping bag, first aid kit, laptop for mid run Garmin charge... What have I forgotten? 6 pairs of spare socks, a towel, toothbrush... erm...
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ARGH WHAT HAVE I FORGOTTEN!?
Nope, that really is it. And tomorrow can bring what it brings. It's just gonna be what it is. I might walk. I might sit down. I might hop, skip and boogie. There will be bits where I laugh, bits where I feel like I wanna cry, mind games, giggles and blisters. goodness knows how many laps I'll do or at what speed but I do know I'm gonna have myself one helluva  twelve hour running party...

and it's The Final Countdown!
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It's a serious business this...
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(Not So) Fab Abs and Flapped Jacks

19/6/2015

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Cranberry, Hazelnut & Chocolate Jacks have now been Flapped!
OK, I admit it. I have spent the last couple of days in a petulant funk. My mind and body have been totally out of synch with each other in terms of what I feel like doing and what I feel like I ought to be doing. I've got myself in such a cycle of conundrums with respect to if I should be running or resting in between marathon pacing and weekend ultra that I couldn't even muster the motivation to go to the 15 minute abs class I told myself would be a good idea and do no harm. What I have achieved is an obscene amount of carb (read cake) loading. I also made 20, I mean 19, little munch-sized flapjacks, all lovingly wrapped in individual tin foil packets as part of what passes for a nutrition plan to get me round TrailBlaster12 on Sunday. Did I say 19? I mean 18, of course... Ahem.
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A Matter of Balance

8/6/2015

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Having just completed my first seven day run streak in many months since illness and injury and having topped it off with marathon equivalent distance in Eastbourne, I've decided that the best thing I can do for my running today is... not run. I've cycled to and from work though, so I think I'm still safely within the bounds of Juneathon and I certainly have something weighty and running-related upon which to blog and ponder...
letter response
Runner's World, March 2015
letter
Runners World, February 2015
It was something of a roller coaster ride of emotional responses when I read my July issue of Runner's World on Thursday evening. In February, I'd had a letter printed requesting a reprieve from the onslaught of 'Run Now Lose Weight Fast!' articles for a slightly more balanced (no pun intended) approach that might also offer advice to runners looking to; steady yourselves, gain weight. I've been having semi diagnosed health issues for a couple of years now, which have affected both my physical and mental well being, impacting variously on my running and frankly, I was thoroughly exasperated with the focus in most running related public discussions, be they in print or social media, around losing weight. Being 9 kg lower than your recommended 'ideal', is no more physically enjoyable or less inducing of poor body image than the (admittedly more common) counterpoint, but where's the help, encouragement and support for those with unhealthily low BMI? Trying to hide toast rack ribs in the gym changing room isn't any less humiliating than trying to mask your spare tyre. We tend towards the judgmental for any extreme and as my rant with regards to the thigh gap debate indicated, I don't believe too much focus on 'right' or 'wrong' on any one side of a story is beneficial to anyone. Balance please, on and off the scales!So, when Runner's World reported in March that over a third of their mailbag in February had been to echo my printed sentiment, I was delighted for two reasons, firstly that I'd been listened to and secondly that I wasn't alone in my struggles.
 Good news as it was, I didn't think much more of it beyond that until I received an email from Sam Murphy (the Runner's World Section Editor) informing me that following such a strong response, she was researching the requested article and asking more about my personal experience. I responded pretty frankly, I'm quite an honest bod really, and since a recent visit to the dietitian had gone well with 4 kg gained, I felt quite optimistic about it all. She didn't respond to my reply so as much as I gave it any thought, I guessed it hadn't really been what she was looking for. I realised, when I turned to the Off the Scales article on page 54 of the July 'Body' issue, sandwiched between (OK, that pun was intended) yet more weight loss advice, that this was likely to be the consolatory nod towards the issue. I wasn't expecting to be mentioned in it as the instigator however, and seeing my name printed, in black and white, along with details of my weight loss made my stomach lurch. Perhaps I should have realised that there was an unspoken assumption that information provided in my reply could be quoted but I didn't. Feeling quite physically sick and extremely exposed, I did what many runners do when it all gets a bit much and legged it to the sanctuary of the gym.
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When I got home and was a little calmer, I found the guts (the wordplay never stops!) to read the article properly and with a bit less egocentricity. I read with particular interest the stories of the other women who had perhaps more deliberately shared their stories and I reflected a bit on that. A whole article researched, responded to and written because of my initial expression of frustration. A platform for discussion about the importance of physically and mentally healthy attitudes as opposed to those fuelled by image alone. Experiences shared, advice given and if even one of that 31% who felt strongly enough to respond in support of my letter has found that reassuring or useful than that's more than worth a bit of vulnerability on my part. Nice one, Sam. I was drafting a complaint in my head at 7 pm on Thursday, but now I've got over that unexpected exposure, I feel very grateful that between us, and I mean all of us, we've addressed the issue with a bit more balance than has become the norm. Thanks for listening...
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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.
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Trafford 10k. Yes, I can smile and run at the same time..!
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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?
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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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Eat & Run by Scott Jurek

21/9/2014

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Eat and Run by Scott Jurek

I discovered Scott Jurek when reading Born to Run by Chris McDougall (my last review). I was delighted to find not just another runner with the belief that plant based protein could sustain an healthy, athletic lifestyle, but also one who regularly ran and won challenging mountainous ultramarathons! It didn’t take me long upon discovering that he had written a book (titled with two of my favourite activities!) promising not just a deeper insight into this character but also a scattering of recipes, to get hold of a copy and dive straight in.

The book give a very personal, autobiographical account of his life including interesting discussions on how childhood experiences and upbringing can affect ‘mental toughness’; the ability of an athlete to endure where others might not. These stories, that continue through ‘high’ school (well, he is American!) experiences, various sporting activities and the inevitable tales of loves and losses, are liberally interspersed with various recipes as well as bite sized (pun intended) hints and tips on running. Many of these are linked to aspects of the story, which I especially enjoyed as it felt almost as though I was getting an opportunity to connect with the text on a sensory or physical level too.

Jurek strikes a balance between running and fuelling as well as other parts of life that have affected his decisions and life path, and doesn’t flinch from sharing darker times as well as happier moments. I found I appreciated this, as far from expressing these in a self-pitying manner he uses them as an opportunity to discuss recovery, from not just physical injuries but also failure and personal strife.

This book is of course great for veggie runners (despite having followed a non-animal diet since the age of 10, I learned a few tricks!), but also for anyone who enjoys stories and cookery books! Though food and a plant based diet is of course important to the concept, Jurek avoids being preachy and so I am confident that proud carnivores (mostly, though not exclusively ones who run) would also find interest and enjoyment in many aspects of it.

One of the author’s favourite quotes (each chapter is sub-headed with a motivational tit-bit) is “Sometimes you just do things” (and no, he’s not, to the best of my knowledge sponsored by Nike) you could do a lot worse than following this advice when it comes to both your tougher training runs and sitting down to read this book!


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ParkRun Sandwich!

16/8/2014

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It's not been an especially remarkable week for running really; I've still been in semi recovery while continuing to experience some knee and shoulder pain as well as reduced mobility in my shoulder. It's been getting steadily and noticeably a little better every day though so I feel reasonably optimistic about the Thames Meander Half Marathon next Saturday. With this rapidly approaching, I have been following a basic training schedule this week despite the discomfort; a track session with Salford Harriers on Tuesday (16 x 200m), a little run out for fun on Thursday, a treadmill hill reps session on Friday... and lots of swimming and cross training. I've not even been able to do a lot of strength/core exercise or yoga because of my shoulder... at least I can run though!
Here's a couple of screen shots just for illustration purposes really... The track session average pace looks rubbish but now I have finally discovered the lap button on the Garmin, I know my fastest 200 meter rep pace was of 5.49 (slowest was 6.04), which is surprising as I felt a lot slower and was firmly at the back of the pack! A boring heart rate chart for the treadmill hill session (6% inclines at 8mph) but it made me laugh... Can you spot the toilet break!? Ha ha.
Tuesday Track
Tuesday Track
Hill Reps
Hill Reps Heart Rate
So, all in all a fairly standard week and not much to write home (or blog) about really, in fact well done if you stayed awake for that bit, you must be an even more obsessive runner than I am! Things, you'll be pleased to know if you are actually reading this, got a tickle more interesting today though... I wanted to do a 13.1 miler this weekend to feel prepared for next Saturday. As the weather looks horrible on the forecast for tomorrow, Saturday (also being a full week away from the event) was definitely the day of choice... BUT... as a Saturday when I am actually home and free... I also fancied ParkRun. Whattayagonnado!? Well. (5 miles from my house to Heaton Park) + (5k ParkRun [3.1 miles]) + (5 miles from Heaton Park to my house) = 13.1 miles. Bazinga. You do both. You have yourself a Saturday Morning Heaton ParkRun Sandwich!
Sandwich Stats
The (Somewhat Questionable) Stats
Now, I have no idea what Mr Garmino was playing at when we (you never run alone with a Garmin!) set off as I am sadly unable to claim that I ran my first mile in  three minutes and forty four seconds (wtf!?), however it must have sorted itself out as I didn't slow to an almost 12 minute mile half way up Cheetham Hill either. I'm certainly confident it was doing the right thing by the time I got to the race as my official ParkRun time of 24.01 matches pretty closely with the 23.98 minutes you get if you add up the lap times for that chunk of the run, allowing too for a couple of seconds for me to remember to hit the lap (and pause!) buttons. Of course, nestling in between two 5 mile runs (and still feeling it in my knee) I wasn't exactly racing today and it made me laugh when I was overtaken by a guy pushing a buggy. 'That's the epitome of embarrassing!' I quipped and was kind of sad when I went past him again. 'Oh, you're trying now are you!?' I was asked; 'Nah, you're just getting tired!'. I love that about ParkRun. It really is about the community and the fun and the shared passion. Today I also wondered about the running-in-a-pack thing. I love running alone and never feel freer, though there's something kind of primordially instinctive about running in a group. It certainly supports the hypothesis that it's something we used to do when hunting; not outrunning quarry in terms of speed but through sheer stamina and there's nothing that keeps you going quite like the energy from the crowd.
Well. That and the energy gels of course and today I tried out a High 5 gel from my first JoggBox. I don't use gels that often but I cracked this one open on my way out of the park as I figured I needed to use up some of my hoard and it might make the last chunk of the run a little more... zingy. I found it incredibly sweet but then I don't really 'do' much in the way of refined sugars (Even when indulging my cake habit I tend to rely on natural sweetness from fruit, etc.) so perhaps I am more likely to notice that. It did the job though; it was really windy for a lot of the way back and I'm sure I used up all that extra energy just battling into it pretty much all the way into city centre!
Sandwich Route
The Sandwich Route!
I was home at about 20 past 10; just enough time for a stretch before Radio 4's Kitchen Cabinet (something I also enjoy when I am actually in on a Saturday to hear it!) and a cup of Moringa Tea, my favourite discovery so far from JoggBox. Apparently it's good for recovery as it has anti inflammatory properties. I just really like the flavour, it reminds me of some teas I had in China and Japan that I think were made from roasted barley.
Moringa Tea
Moringa Tea for Recovery! (No, I'd never heard of it either and yes, it does taste better out of a Moomin mug)
So there you have it! A very satisfying start to a Saturday! At an hour and 45 mins total running time, it's not exactly my best for the distance but it's not bad for a training run, especially as I've been focusing on much shorter distances lately. A week of gentle tapering is now on the cards I think (though maybe I'll squeeze in one more track session before I start that too seriously!) and then a Meander down the Thames! We've been warned to kit out in rain wear and trail shoes and that some of the path gets muddy, so I'm not expecting a PB but I am expecting to enjoy a mosey down by my favourite river and I reckon by then I should be pretty much back to what passes for normal... watch this space!
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Pain Only Hurts

7/8/2014

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Chapter 4 of Scott Jurek's Eat and Run (which I shall soon review) is titled Pain Only Hurts. This has become something of a mantra for me since I read the book. That's not to say I am continually suffering, or make myself sound like an hypochondriac, more to say that sometimes, when things are tough, you just have to suck it up and deal with it. I felt much this way when, using a new (second hand) bike for the first time at the weekend, I failed to account for much more responsive brakes than those on the borrowed bike I had got used to and so I became more acquainted with the tow path gravel than I might have liked. Because 'Pain Only Hurts', and because I was too far away from home to be bothered with walking, I got up, got back on the bike and carried on. Until I fell off again. And got on again. I only fell off twice.
Choc Gel
A pre-race experiment with new gel and scabby mitts. Mmmm, yummy.
Following my success on the last Todmorden 5k two weeks ago, there was no way I was not running the final race in the series tonight, and so having spent the last three days moving  v e r y           s l o w l y and performing only a minimal amount of light 'recovery' exercise, I bandaged up my left knee (which, thankfully, had returned to almost the same size as the right knee), sprayed an unholy amount of Deep Heat on my shoulder, sank an ibuprofen and prepared to participate. Not race. Participate. Which is the important thing. Have you heard me say 'I'm not racing!' before? You know how that usually turns out? Yep. you got it.
I try and avoid painkillers as I like to 'listen to my body' when I'm injured and know when to stop. Ibuprofen also has a tendency to irritate my stomach. As I munched them like (prescribed) sweeties as a teenager with Rheumatoid Arthritis (you can read a little more about that here if you want) I also have quite a resistance to them which means they don't do much anyway. They were all I had in the cupboard anyway so I thought 'sod it' and took one thinking that things were already not exactly going to plan so I may as well chuck everything at it. Apart from possibly causing some mild indigestion, which could equally have been caused by experimenting with a new gel brand (I don't usually use gels until mile 16 of at least 20 but this one came in my Joggbox and was chocolate flavoured so I figured I could use all the help I could get tonight) they didn't apparently achieve anything at all. Hence, after a surprisingly fast seven and a half minute warm-up mile, I found myself on the Todmorden start line for the last time with a stiff, sore but bearable knee and an increasingly pissed off shoulder. Hey ho. When life gives you lemons... what? What's wrong with lemons anyway? Oh Hey Life. Thanks for the lemons.
Running
Running away from the sunset!
So yes. That race hurt. But, I kept telling myself, the faster I run, the faster it's allllllll over and I can sit in the bar and eat my snacks and pick up my prize for coming first last time and not have to think about it anymore. I actually tried not to think about my position in the last race, or my overall standing in the series stats (I was third overall and first lady), or seeing those achievements on two feet slipping away from me due to having been a bit daft and falling off two wheels. It was a lovely summer evening in a beautiful place with a fat, if not full, moon hanging languidly and low in the sky over a row of pine trees, I was surrounded by lovely people and was fully of chocolatey sugar. What could possibly be wrong with that? Ow. Shuttup. Ow. Shuttup. One. Foot. After. The. Other. Just another sensation, just another message to the brain. Oh. and I needed another wee. Don't drink fizzy drinks too soon before a race either, even if they do have caffeine in.
I had already seen and said hi to Autumn, an inspirational runner from Trawden AC with whom I had a very friendly tussle in the first two races of the series (see race one, two and three reports) and it was no surprise at all to see her shoot off ahead of me from the start line. That was one challenge I wasn't even entertaining. It was with some cautious shock then that I found myself on her heels after about a lap and a half (this 5k route is 5 times round a park and then a surprisingly difficult little bit). I really didn't want to overtake her. This was not altruistic, nor good sportsmanship on my part. This was self preservation. If I could sink comfortably into stealth mode just behind her, perhaps I could pull the same trick she demonstrated so impressively in the first race and save a bit of energy, just pipping her over the line by digging deep in the home stretch. If I overtook her now, so early on, she'd more than likely do the same to me. Now, I know I said I wasn't racing but in my experience 90% of success is in managing opportunity effectively and this opportunity seemed just in reach suddenly, which was more than could be said for most things in the last couple of days thanks to reduced mobility in my stupid shoulder. Well, so much for mid race strategic planning. I drew alongside her in about half a lap. Despite a bit of fun with others, I'm only ever really racing against myself anyway and I felt I could go faster. Imagine the following conversation being conducted between two asthmatic elderly ladies climbing a flight of stairs and you'll get an idea of how  hard we were both puffing.
Puff.
"Hi"
"Hey"
(Pause for more laboured breathing)
"Keep pushing on!"
"You'll soon be passing me!"
Puff. Puff.
Jen
Jen powers towards the finish!
That last statement wasn't an attempt to appear humble. I honestly fully expected to be thoroughly pummelled on the last leg, however, my determination to just get the damn thing over and done with, combined with the burning sensation of a very determined person running as hard as she possibly could right behind me, apparently provided pretty good running fuel and so I brought in my fourth ever sub 20 minute 5k (I'm not sure of the exact time, I forgot to stop my watch immediately and some technical hiccups mean we don't have official results yet) as second lady. Huzzah. And yes it still hurt. Actually, by the time I got over the line, pretty much everything hurt. It can feel a bit like that anyway when you've been running at your fastest for 20 minutes but this was the point, goal achieved, at which El Boddo decided to inform me in a stern tone that I usually reserve for shocking teenage boys into obedience, that when we got home we were Having Words. Still, that was for when we got home and with one, possibly now two (I like to wait for confirmation of my position before patting myself on the back) prizes to collect, I could allow myself a little bask in some hard-earned glory.
After thanking and chatting to Autumn and a few other runners, I headed back to the finish to cheer Jen (an equally inspirational fellow Salford Harrier) and a few others over the finish and we then all traipsed back to the pub (Ahhhh. Pub.) to have a damn good natter. Oh, and for the prize giving. I was then able to confirm that I had indeed come in as second lady, though unfortunately, thanks to aforementioned gremlins, we don't yet have the official times or the series results. They will follow soon I'm sure and it's of massive credit to John (pictured, right, also a Salford Harrier!) of Cannonball Events that he managed what could have been a tricky situation with an easy, professional confidence and successfully negotiated a characteristically  generous prize giving. I'll update this post no doubt, when the results are published but in the meantime you can check out the previous three races.

After enjoying, and giving some light applause (ow, ow, grazed palms, ow), and catching up with a few people, I managed a last chat with Autumn. She recently announced an ambitious goal of upgrading her achieved Good For Age place at the London 2015 Marathon by running a half marathon in less than 90 minutes and in so doing has unwittingly scuppered my chances of a nice, relaxing Thames Meander on the 23rd. Oh great. I never even knew I could do that. So now I have another challenge. Shave over 7 minutes off my Half Marathon PB and see if I can do the same. Thanks very much. Not. It turns out her half marathon is also on the 23rd. I wished her very well, soundly un-thanked her for raising the bar yet again and then jumped back in the car for the power ballad fuelled journey to Manchester with Jen and her partner Rob. Singing along to Starship, Europe and Whitesnake at the top of one's voice on a summer evening when you have just done quite well in a race you were expecting to totally flunk is a wonderful anaesthetic but the heated seats in Rob's very nice car were also extremely therapeutic!

So,
another second place ladies finish in the bag for Salford Harriers, but possibly the best thing about tonight? Winning a pair of cycling gloves. Take that tow path! Next time you decide to high five me, *I'll* have the last laugh!

Prize 1
A fuzzy glow as I collect my prize(s)
Prize 2
Ka-Ching!

Update!

08.08.14

Following what sounds like quite a lot of effort on the part of the team at Cannonball Events, we now have official times for last night's race (miraculously, mine is 19.44; spot on the same as what I recorded on the Garmin, this never happens!) and the overall series results. I was a bit bummed out to discover that I have been pushed from 3rd down to 12th but I guess I should be glad to have hung on to the top female spot. I always feel a bit of a cheat when I say 'I came first/second/third/whatever!' and then have to suffix that statement with 'out of the women that is'. Yes, I know, men and women are different, blah blah blah, but I don't want to have 'run like a girl' I want to have 'run like a human' and in this case, there were 12 humans who ran better than me. Now, I don't class myself as a feminist, mostly because I have never met anyone claiming to be a feminist who, when it really came down to it actually wanted equality rather than a veiled female supremacy, at least until it comes to things like losing your favourable car insurance quote or having dinner bought for you. BUT, I do like to think of myself as being as capable of most things as other people regardless of what they're packing in their pants, so having to 'admit' that I 'ran quite well... for a lady' just stings a bit, But I'll stop being an ungrateful so-and-so now as it seems like I'll probably get yet another, possibly undeserved prize and I'm nothing if not very grateful for that! So, thanks again to all involved in organising what has been my first race series and thanks also to all my running buddies, especially Jen and Mark for their support and motivation! You guys rock! \m/
series results
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A Matter of Perspective

13/7/2014

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Today was the We Love Manchester 10k, which conveniently started and finished at the Regional Athletics Track, Sportcity where the Salford Harriers meet for track sessions every Tuesday; pretty much as close to home as it's possible to be. Not quite as close as the Bupa Great Manchester Run in May but only a convenient two mile warm up from my house anyway! I had very deliberately denied myself the opportunity for any pre-race excuses in my last post (at least not without being a spectacular hypocrite!) as well as publicly declaring my intention to bring in my first sub 40 minute 10k and so I was feeling the pressure of expectation without the release valve of 'however'. I'm going to be true to my last mild rant though and tell it like it is without falling back on any buffers of 'ifs' and 'buts'.

Physically, I was in good form. Two days rest after my last race (a 20 minute 5k on Thursday) with no running (a bit of swimming and some yoga but no more than that) I felt fairly rested; loose legs, no tightness, no niggles. I've been eating very well all week (I do anyway but have been especially careful this week), ensuring the correct balance of carbs to fats to proteins. I've never been more aware of what I'm eating since I started running and I've been on a restricted (veggie/vegan) diet since I was 10! True, I'd not slept that much in the last few nights but if body wakes up after 4 hours, I assume body has had what it needs. I didn't feel tired anyway. A good breakfast, a solid warm up, every box was ticked. Physically. BUT I just wasn't 'feeling' it. I don't know if it was self-doubt, accumulated mental fatigue, the grey weather... I just didn't feel like racing.

The last issue of Runner's World had a really interesting article that I identified with totally, discussing the relationship between physical preparation (the machine) and that extra mental edge that allows you to push the machine just a touch further, the animal instinct (the beast) that pops up on race day and shaves those last few seconds off. I've had it, I'm sure most runners have, when something just clicks inside and the joy of the race takes over, a hot, hungry impulse that drives out of the chest and spurs the legs on with some kind of extra fight/flight/adrenaline cocktail. Today, my machine was well oiled, fully polished and purring like a happy kitty. Unfortunately, my beast was slumped in a corner, occasionally deigning to growl a bit but not in the mood to roar.

As you are probably gathering, the upshot of all these metaphors is that I did not achieve my sub 40 10k. I gave it a bloody good go though and honestly did run as fast and hard as I could for the duration of the course. The first mile or so of any race is always a bottleneck; it takes time for runners to settle into pace and find their 'place' in the stream so I always try and write that off as a warm up and pick the pace up later to compensate. This is not unexpected. My first mile came in just over 7 minutes. Not fast enough for sub 40 but not slow enough to write off the effort just yet. The next 6 miles I was hovering around 6 minutes 20. I had an idea I needed to be running 6 minutes 30 to break 40 but to be fair I hadn't worked it out explicitly. I was pretty hopeful anyway that ten seconds on each mile would more than account for the slow start, I felt strong and whilst it was hard work (not a comfortable marathon plod!) I was feeling increasingly optimistic that I might just do it. The beast flickered an eyelid. As we came back round to the stadium, I heard a marshal tell one runner that we were at 29 minutes on the gun time. 'Surely not!?' I thought to myself 'have I really got this in the bag!?' The Garmin beeped what I assumed was mile 6. 'Get IN!' I internally cheered until I looked at the screen. Mile 5. Ah. That makes more sense. At this little update, the beast licked it's bum a bit and curled back up in the corner, completely draining my legs of all animal instinct and reminding the machine that it had been taking a bit of a pounding for the last half hour. Of course I kept going but this little mental let down was noticeable and the last mile did not fly by as smoothly as I might have liked. I crossed the finish with a gun time of 41.05. Having not been right at the front, my chip time (how long it actually took me to run the distance with out adding on how long it took me to cross the start line in the queue of runners) was 40.30. I was basically 31 seconds off my sub 40 target. Yes, I really would have been happy with 39.59! Hey ho. You win some, you lose some. I won't pretend I wasn't disappointed but I was close enough to not feel completely gutted!
Run Stats
The Dirt! Race Statistics and Placing Info
After the race I hung about a bit and bumped into various running friends/acquaintances, not one of whom had achieved a PB and many of whom were (funnily enough) about 30/40 seconds off their target!. I then caught up with Mark and Jen (whom you may recognise from other recent races, they are rapidly becoming my go-to partners in running crime!) and moaned a bit about failing to get sub 40 before feeling like a bit of an arse since neither of them run at quite the same pace as me anyway and were likely stood there thinking that they'd not be complaining with that! 
The Gang
Mark, me and Jenny after the race!
It was at this point I think that Mark pointed out that it was still a PB for me, even if I hadn't quite met my sub 40 goal. I completed my last 10k in May (Manchester Great Run) in 41.20. I hadn't even realised it was a PB. So what's happened since a year or so ago, when I  was on cloud nine for days having run my first 10k in a little over 45 minutes? Success is clearly rather subjective.

I still have a crack at sub 40 in an officially timed event in September at the Salford City 10k so I'm now going to accept this as a good result (I was still in the top ten of female finishers in 7th place) and try and be a bit kinder to my beast for a couple of weeks. I think it's fair to say I may have sabotaged my own mojo over the last few weeks by simply running too much. I've never found it easy to recognise 'enough' and am very much an 'all or nothing' person. My approach to running  is much like my approach to say beer, or marzipan it seems. I have long stated the fact that here is no such thing as 'enough' marzipan. There's not enough marzipan and then there's 'blerguh, oh my, too much marzipan'. I can't think of an area in life where I find it easy to go 'ah. there's the sweet spot'. Today, I think I have learned that with running, I am potentially approaching the line I always seem to notice in retrospect. This is great news as it means I've spotted it coming for once. I'm off 'dahn sahf' for a week tomorrow morning as I visit family in and around London. There's some lovely trail routes out around the Thames Estuary that I have often walked but never considered running and so I am really looking forward to exploring some of these. I am planning to ditch the pacing facility of Mr Garmino and just run for fun. A little bit. Not every day. Maybe I'll even go for... a.. w a l k. Reset, reflect, review and rest. I shall then look forward to revising my training plan for the September race and actually sticking to it. That is sticking to just the training plan and not doing any more than that. Who knows, maybe I will see the summer out with that sub 40 10k in the bag and maybe I won't but if I can wake that little beastie up after a probably much needed nap and start the autumn season feeling like I want to train for the 2015 London Marathon then that will be the best possible outcome!
Balls
Mmmmm... Balls...
So, if I slap myself up-side the whinge gland and actually look at what I've achieved then I have run a good race today and shaved 50 seconds of my best 10k time! I wasn't a total grump anyway, I also enjoyed the post-race event, devouring a few squashed home-made Mocha Recovery Balls that I'd managed to cram in a pocket and chatting to friends before exploiting the free post race massage!

I'm now going to take a well-earned break before re-focusing on my next race in Septemb... Ah. I am now going to have fun and not even think about a finishing time next Sunday in the Newham Anniversary Run before I
take a well-earned break and re-focus on my next race in September! Now where are those choccy balls?
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Todmorden Revisited

10/7/2014

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This evening I set off with regular running buddies Mark and Jen to the second in the Todmorden 5k Series by Cannonball Events. Mark kindly drove again (I'd not be able to make these remote midweek races with as much ease if not for the driving skills of my mates!) while for Jen it was her first visit to the course. Another lovely evening, we had a good hour for a catch up on the way whilst I did a little test with one of the samples from my last Joggbox and treated myself (?!) to a Beet It juice shot which is supposed to be especially high in nitrates,  boosting performance by increasing the amount of oxygen your muscles can absorb during training. There's a lot of study and conflicting opinion on this as you might expect but I figured today was a good day to try it as experimenting on Sunday may not be advantageous to my sub 40 goal given that it could go either way!
It tasted OK, I like beetroot so that wasn't a surprise but aside from an almost disastrous last minute toilet need which may, or may not have been caused my my sudden beety ingestion, I can't honestly say I was aware of any difference whatsoever. reading further however, many studies do suggest that to achieve any result you need to 'pre-load', much like you with carbohydrates before an event, so it maybe that I just didn't get enough to find out. Or maybe I'd have died on my beetroot-deficient arse without it... WHO KNOWS!? I am now waiting see if it turns my urine pink as advertised.
I'll be sure to post pictures later. NOT.
Before
Before (Jen and I raring to go in our matching sock style-eee!)...
Beet Shot
A juicy pre-race treat!
As mentioned yesterday, my only real goal for this race was to enjoy it, however following the excitement and third (almost second!) place in the first of the series, I was trying hard not to pile the pressure on myself and risk jeopardising my performance on Sunday, especially given that I raced last night too. It struck me though, speaking to various people before the race and thinking back to other conversations I've had, how common it is for runners to set themselves up with excuses, mitigating circumstances and reasons for not breaking world records on every race. As a teacher, I recognise this as a fairly common mental defence mechanism against fear of failure. If I don't really try, or have a good reason why I am not at my best, then it doesn't matter if I don't perform as well as I would like, or feel I should. Best case scenario of course is that you do well and can then appear to have achieved even more highly over and above your pre-stated handicap but if things don't go so well then you're covered. I know I do it and judging from observation it seems most of us do. So. I am rebelling against this negative mindset as I suspect it can actually cause you to do less well than you might have done. Cut the excuses and (beetroot coloured!?) crap. This is the deal; I'd have liked to PB. I'd have liked to break my 5k and the course record and come in under 18 minutes. I'd have liked to win a prize and made my club proud and bask in the glory. Who wouldn't?
HOWEVER I also recognise that you can't get a personal best on every race (the logical conclusion of that is what? Teleportation? Time travel!?) and that some days you just don't run as well as others, regardless of how intricately you have followed all the pre-race advice and rituals. Lucky safety pins and beet juice shots or no, sometimes you just don't go as fast. I could tell you about why my performance was reduced as I raced last night, or how I held back as I got a hip niggle on the first lap and I wanted to leave some in the tank for Sunday. I could suggest I didn't run like a gazelle because there was a vegetable juice war going on in my digestive system or blame a delayed race-start for compromising my warm-up routine. I could blame the wind, the sun, the undulating course, question the current planetary alignment or cite other runners getting in the way but the fact is I ran my best at that time and my achievement (which it still is, regardless of the specifics) is mine and mine alone. I ran as well as I could and that's enough for me! I found it a little harder than the last race and was a few seconds slower but with a respectable chip time of 20 minutes on the nose (well, there was .06 of a second but we'll call that 'loose change') I think I did pretty well. Not the sub 20 (19.54) I managed last time but not far off! What can you do in 6 seconds anyway? Actually, I think that's pretty good and as for this race the organisers had brought in chip timing, meaning I can look at my lap times too, it's good to know I did pretty well paced 3 minutes 50 (ish) kilometres. The Garmin gave me an average speed of around 6 and a half minute miles which is still pretty speedy. and the primary target of enjoying the run was certainly achieved with no trouble!
Race Stats
The details of a sixth place (Ladies) finish!
The other thing I enjoyed about the race tonight was, as always, the social side. I'd enjoy pretty much any event that involved getting my run on I think but it was good to see Autumn (who pipped me to second place in 2 awesome seconds at the last race) achieve another sub 20 PB at 19.49 (despite her pre-race excuses!) and also to get thoroughly confused by seeing a Salford Harrier in a Trawden AC shirt (how is this possible!?) before discovering that he really does have a twin and I hadn't got sucked into a dodgy 1980's sitcom involving shirt-swapping in the toilets. Some potential for fraudulent race results there I think, we shall have to insist on a three legged entries only to ensure no suspicious behaviour! Well done to Jez anyway who also achieved a PB, having said at the start that he wasn't really feeling it!

Many thanks again and congratulations also to John at Cannonball for another awesome and improved event. With more than twice as many runners and an improved timing system I can tell the next two races of the series will not be disappointing! I was also very grateful to him for letting me claim my goodies for coming third last time, so I didn't go home empty handed despite not coming in any higher than sixth lady! Not bad for an evening's jog!

After
...and after. Not a drop of sweat doth sully our brows. Ahem.
If you would like to check out all the details, you can find the results online but I am now going to chill out and take it easy for a couple of days before attempting my first sub 40 minute 10k at the We Love MCR race. Watch this space... No pre-loaded excuses, I'll just have to run my best on the day and we'll see how it goes!
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The Final Juneathon!

30/6/2014

2 Comments

 
Well, it's hard to believe the end of Juneathon is finally here and I am now composing my last blog of the month! It's been a lot of fun; It's played havoc with my training plan but it's encouraged me to participate in things I might not otherwise have bothered with in order to have something more interesting to say (!) and it's given me an opportunity to engage with other runners online. I'm not sure it;s done much for my fitness as I've not exactly had much rest or recovery but it doesn't seem to have killed me either, which is interesting to discover as some would have you believe that your legs would implode if you didn't take at least two rest days a week! There we are anyway, that's the end of it and what a month it's been! Going out with a bang however, I have a couple of other things to note today, not least of which is the eventual arrival and contents of my first Joggbox! Joggbox is a start up company who basically operate like a vegbox scheme... for runners. Each month (assuming you choose a monthly subscription you get a box of running related 'goodies' mostly trials and samples of things you might not otherwise try. You can then order these from Joggbox as extras in the future if you want to. It's a luxury, guaranteed, there's nothing about this which is a necessary outgoing but I was tempted and there's no minimum term so I thought I'd give it a go.
JoggBox
JoggBox
JoggBox
JoggBox
First things first, if you're going to spend cash on something you don't need, you want it to be a good experience from start to finish. I contacted the company first off to enquire about the contents and see if I could get 'swaps' for non-vegan products. I got a very fast and personal response assuring me that whilst the June box was 100% vegan anyway, I could certainly request it in the future. A good start and with very approachable customer service I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, I had some issues with the delivery. I've had problems with this particular courier before; they don't have anywhere for you to collect from and if you're not in three times they return the package to the sender. Fine, if you can contact them to rearrange delivery for an appropriate time but they only deal with the sender, not the recipient. I ended up contacting Joggbox on a Friday night, having seen a second delivery attempt had been made despite my email to the company. It had all the makings of a real saga, however to their credit, Joggbox not only responded to my out of hours email but got it sorted it seems so that when delivery was attempted again on Saturday the box was actually left outside my door and so it was waiting for me when I got home after the trail run. Good timing!
Attention to detail is also pretty important for a non-essential spend product and things like packaging make all the difference (especially for a visual artist like myself!) so I enjoyed the quality of the box itself and the pleasing contrast between the the colour of that and the tissue paper wrapping my bundle! I spent about 2 minutes trying to carefully pick off and preserve the 'Run Eat Repeat' sticker before discovering that i needn't have bothered; there was a fresh one in the box! yay for stickers! Brownie point one to Joggbox! I was also pretty chuffed with the train ticket holder... pretty random but very useful, especially as mine was falling to bits and this is much nicer than the National Rail offering anyway! Cool!
I then got into the contents, following the info leaflet inside that explains all the goodies.
Sure enough, there were a couple of products that I already knew and used but that didn't mean it wasn't worth having them. I'm also gettign to try a couple of things I have seen but not ventured towards, the beetroot juice shot and Hi5 energy gels (I use SiS), so that'll be interesting, just to give a different product a go. I think runners tend to stick with what they know works, so this could be a really good scheme to encourage a bit of brand comparison! I think my favourite thing was the Footrubz ball. This is for use as a self foot massage and as I do get some soreness, mostly in my left after longer runs, much appreciated. I've been using a tennis ball up until now but this is much better, harder and smaller, easier to use and getting to the right 'bits' quicker!
Now this strange water bottle. apparently it is designed to hook on to your waistband (see my sexy modelling!) I wasn't convinced but I tried it out today. It was in my hand before I was 50 meters from the door and stayed there the whole run. Sorry but I just didn't get on with it! What is good about it is the lidless top; handy for a quick drink without cap-faffing and I think the hooking bottle idea will be useful, for things like popping on the cross trainer in the gym... just not for running with, unless you don't mind something in your hand. It is easy to hold after all.
footrubz
Yay for Footrubz!
Bum Bottle
How to take a selfie of your own arse.
Trail race
Clumber Park TrailBlazer 28.06.14
Generally, I have enjoyed the Joggbox. The careful packaging and well selected products made it a fun treat, going through all the little bits and bobs and deciding how and when to use it was a bit like getting a Christmas stocking! I'm going to stick with and see what is in my next one at least. £18 a month isn't an insubstantial outgoing on my (part time) budget but it won't break the bank if I'm careful. Assuming we manage to sort out the delivery issues and the quality of July is as good as June then I could be persuaded to be a regular customer I think!
In other news, the official results from Saturdays TrailBlazer came through today! Turns out I was 8th female (out of 331) in a time of 46.30! 1st came in at 44.02, so I didn't do too badly for a 'fun' run!
And yes, I have shamelessly 'stolen' the above image. I make no apologies for using a very low-res image of myself for non-commercial purposes that I didn't ask to have taken in the first place! I'm glad I look like I was enjoying myself as much as I actually was! I've see race photos where I look like I'm suffering when actually I was having a great time!
So, all that was well and good but possibly the most exciting update for today was that at lunchtime I received an email confirming my place in the 2015 London Marathon! I was really surprised to discover that it only cost £31 too! That makes the cost of one or two other races seem really extortionate by comparison!

To celebrate, I took myself off on a 13.2 mile run! (well... It was the long run I should have done yesterday instead of going to Leeds but I'm nothing if not flexible!)
I headed back to Heaton Park as it was a lovely evening, did a loop and and then shot across to Middleton before dropping back down to Manchester not far from the Salford Harriers club house, so it sort of turned into a dry run of that journey too, in case I don't feel like getting the bus one night!
I had to stop and check directions in Middleton and it always makes me laugh when people look a bit worried and tell you it's 'quite a long way' as if you had somehow teleported there in the first place! :)
Confirmed!
My Confirmation email!
Heaton Park
The Final Run of Juneathon!
Heaton_Middleton_Manchester
Run Route
So there you have it. Good bye Juneathon, it's been fun! Life (and training plans!) go on however and tomorrow I will be back on the speed intervals, though possibly not at the track as it sounds like everyone will be at a race in Rochdale.

I doubt the cessation of the challenge will have much impact on my mileage but I hope I will be able to focus back on my sub 40 10k goal now and keep working on my speed (I think I am on track for that if I refocus now and do what I am supposed to be doing!) I also need to get back on my core work as I've been a bit lazy with that over the last two weeks.
I will maintain the blog as I've had a surprising amount of positive feedback (Thanks everyone, hope you've enjoyed reading!) but I am very much looking forward to not having to do it every day. So much for the short updates. I just have too much to say! Well it has been a busy month... but a really exciting one. I can't wait to find out what July has in store... The Newham Anniversary Run and the We <3 MCR 10k at the very least, though I somehow expect a few other things might pop up as they seem to have a habit of doing... Watch this space!
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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.

    Mandala

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