Sunday, June 25, 2006

Perfect

The 14 mile run was fantastic!

I prepared better for it yesterday. I made a real effort to eat a few more carbs, and then I prepared some Lucozade to take with me rather than just water.

I set off at a better pace. Instead of trying to run at my normal pace and then needing walk breaks, I really tried to pull myself back and plod along at a slow pace. It averaged out being a quicker pace then running faster and walking, and psychologically it was a far better thing to do because it made me believe that I can really run the distance as opposed to merely covering it on foot.

I did mainly the same route as last weekend, and I didn't let it beat me this time. I had a planned walk at just after 8 miles where I knew there was a steep but short hill that wouldn't take too much extra time to walk up rather than running it, and other than that I was fine until about the 11 mile point, which is far further than I've run in any run other than my first half marathon.

After about 11 miles I got stomach twinges and when I stopped for a breather and tried to start again my hip felt a bit sore. So I walked for a few minutes and then ran again for the rest of the route. I had to modify the end part of my planned route as I realised that it went round the course of the 10k I decided not to do, and I didn't want to get in the way of the runners (particularly as I would be running in the opposite direction, and it was due to start just after I got down to the park). Given the hip issues I could have gone straight home, which would have made the run about 12 miles, but miraculously I was still feeling good, and the hip pain had worn off, so I just modified my route a bit to get those extra 2 miles in without getting in the way of the race, and I got back to the front door after 13.96 miles (close enough for me!) and 2 hours 20 minutes, which was almost exactly the 10 minute miles I'd been hoping for as a decent long run pace if I'm aiming for 8:30 - 9:00 in the marathon itself.

I'm feeling a lot more confident after that, it just goes to show what a good run can do for you!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Spot On

4 runs out of 5 done this week, pretty much spot on. Right distance, right pace, no major niggles and no walk breaks. The schedule must be working, I've done two 7 milers and two 4 milers. I haven't always wanted to get out there and do it, but I have done, and I've not given up or slowed down or walked because I can't be bothered. I've ticked the minutes and the miles off one by one, and none of those runs has been as bad as I feared.

The big challenge though is tomorrow, 14 miles. My Longest Run Ever. I know that I won't want to go out there and do it, but equally I know that I should. Fingers crossed that it goes well as we move into uncharted territory.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Better

My runs this week have been far better again. I ran a good 4 miler yesterday and 7.6 miles at 9 minute mile pace today. That's what I want to be doing more regularly.

As I hinted in my last post, what's getting me down isn't so much the total distance I'm covering which is fine, it's my inability to keep running when my mind tells me to stop. It's mental rather than physical most of the time, my legs are fine but I just want to give up. But today I kept going for the full distance, possibly with the help of the lucozade mix I bought yesterday and had never used on a long run before. It felt unnaturally sweet and strongly flavoured, but by having a drop or two of it every three or four minutes (basically between each song on my iPod) I didn't need too much at any one time but kept going steadily and ran the return leg quicker than the outbound one.

Tomorrow morning will probably be 4.4 miles, then it's a rest until my big weekend. 7 miles on Saturday and 14 on Sunday. Eek! I've already plotted my route for Sunday, which will be the furthest I've ever run, and it looks a hell of a long way!

Monday, June 19, 2006

Perfectionism

Sometimes I worry whether I push myself too hard. Everything I do I want to do well, to the best of my potential. I don't believe in being average.

So yesterday I went out for my long run. It was planned to be 12 miles, but my route was actually 11.6. Not too far off, and some of my other runs for the week were a bit longer than scheduled so I wasn't going to worry about the extra 0.4. That wasn't the problem. The problem was my lack of motivation for running on the day. I ran the first three miles or so then got to an area I'd never run round before, country footpaths and the like. I had a map with me, which I had to keep on stopping to read, and I also had to keep stopping to negotiate undergrowth, stiles and gates. That kind of disrupted me and I walked a fair bit of the next 6 miles or so. I ran a fair bit too, but my walk breaks were sometimes longer than they needed to be, when my legs were fine and I wasn't out of breath and my heart wasn't racing. I just didn't feel like running. I did run most of the last three miles home (and all of the last one), but I got back and felt like I should have run more of it.

The stupid thing is, I still wasn't that slow. I covered the distance in 2 hours, putting me at about 10:22 minutes per mile. That's the sort of speed I should be doing long runs for a 4 hour ish marathon (although a little slow for 3:45). It was a lot harder route than I normally run, through fields and up and down hills. But I know I could have run better, and I'm down on myself because I didn't. It seems like the last three Sundays have all been difficult runs that I've been disappointed with, the half marathon where I ran out of steam midway through, the 10k in the blazing heat and now a slower than normal long run. Each has its own series of excuses, my trainers were worn out, my trainers were new, my knee hurts, it was hot, I didn't know the route, but I don't want to be making excuses, I want to be running well.

I know that I can get round the marathon. I could probably go out tomorrow and run/walk it. I'd be tired, and undertrained, but I'd get round it eventually. I don't want to just do that though, I want to run it. I'm not necessarily saying I'll run every step (although that's the dream), but I want to have as good a go at it as I can. To do that I need to train, and I need to make myself carry on running when I really want to stop and rest and give up. Not running through injuries or anything stupid like that, but running when my mind tells me that I've done enough and I deserve a rest.

I've also learned a couple more lessons. Importantly, I'm getting to the stage where I need to take more than just water with me. I really need to get myself some energy drinks or gels or jelly babies or something like that. I did at least have a ryvita bar before I set out, but it really wasn't enough and I wonder whether I'd have had more energy if I'd had a sugar hit midway round. Something to try next Sunday. Secondly, getting out into the countryside and exploring new routes is fantastic, and I'm going to go and get some leaflets about other walking routes in Leeds to try. I actually ran on the very southernmost part of the Dales Way, and I'm wondering whether it goes through anywhere nice within my range (not the Dales themselves, but nice countryside before you get that far) as a different route to try for a change. Except it's not quite as fantastic when you start just sightseeing rather than running...

I know that my run wasn't that bad really, and that it will get better, but it's in my nature to always want to push myself that bit harder. It's all very well learning lessons and making my mistakes now, but I want to have at least a couple of good feeling long runs to perk me up a bit. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it properly.

I've definitely decided not to run a 10k on Sunday. I wasn't signed up for it (I thought I'd be on holiday anyway), but I could have entered on the day, and it's just down the road from my house. I don't think a 10k is what I need though, I'll just get frustrated about my lack of speed compared to how I was running in April, and it won't do anything to help me build up my endurance. I really don't need another t-shirt and medal, and I would benefit more from a 14 mile run than a 10k plus a mile there and a mile back. I almost certainly wouldn't get close to 47 minutes, and I want a nice solid run rather than something that's going to disrupt the schedule again. I just hope that the 14 miler is a good one, for my sanity if not for my running.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Gym Bunny Does Europe

OK, so I'm not intending to race much before Berlin... but that doesn't stop me planning what happens after! It looks very much like I'll be doing the Amsterdam Half Marathon on 15 October. A mere 3 weeks after Berlin, but only half the distance. I'm probably going to register and then if I'm not up for it I just won't run, or I won't race. I'm not going to push myself too hard if I'm still blistered and sore. But on the other hand, if I'm going to be in Amsterdam anyway I'd be kicking myself if I felt up for it and didn't run...

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Hideous

I had a great time at the weekend, but the run itself was horrible, horrible, horrible. The weather was far too hot, it was sunny and even just stepping into the sunshine made my arms feel like they were burning up. Ouch!

I took precautions, but part of me thinks this was part of the problem. I drank a lot of water before the race. I didn't want to dehydrate. But I drank too much I think. Usually I run first thing in the morning after a mouthful or two of water. I take some with me, and I'm relatively hydrated because I've been drinking water all evening, but I don't drink gallons before the race.

But with a 10.30 start on a gloriously hot day that's exactly what I did on Sunday. So cue a bloated feeling in my stomach and a desperate need to go to the loo for most of the race. Oops. So, mistake 1. No matter how early I get up in Berlin, or how hot it is, I'm going to limit my water intake according to my thirst not every drop of water I can get my hands on. There will be plenty of water on the course if I need it.

Other than that, we hid in the tent with the "celebs" (well, the Cheeky Girls...) until the warm up, at which point I realised that it was going to be hard. The warm up got me far warmer and more out of breath than normal, and I had to tip some water over my head once it finished. I started revising my goals again.

About 6 weeks ago I ran a 10k in under 48 minutes. I was aiming for between 52 and 55 this time. I was wearing brand new trainers (bad timing I know, but my old ones were causing blisters so I decided to take a chance with the new ones rather than wearing old ones I knew would hurt), I'd run a half marathon the week before, and it was hot. Once I realised how hot I moved that target downwards to an hour.

My race pace was slower than my training pace, and it was horribly hard. It was a bigger field than I've ever run in before and the start wasn't particularly well organised so there were lots of slower runners at the start. I knew I'd need to take a walking break, and my target was to simply make it past half way before doing it. I got to about 4.5k and there was a bit of a hill, I hesitated and then ran up it. I made it to 5k and decided to try for the water station. Then I made it to the water station, tipped half a litre of water over me (I was carrying water I hadn't needed to that point so I thought it would go to better use over my head!) and carried on a bit further. In the end I made it to about 6.5k and walked to just before 7.

I wanted to run from there to the end, and I'd have made it other than turning the corner at 9k to see a pretty straight run to the finish. Uphill with no shade. Ouch. I ran most of it, but walked for 30 seconds or so midway up.

In the end I squeezed under the finish at 59:51, although due to the slow start my chip time was a more creditable 58:09. In that weather I'm not overly disappointed, although I did make a decision to start doing some speedwork sessions in my training again, even though they're not in my schedule!

So, this morning I did just under 6k with 3 800m intervals, and it felt good. The scary thing though is that there are no more races in the diary until Berlin. It's training all the way now, and solid concentration on just one goal.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Perspective

I've finally got a bit of perspective back about Sunday's run. I think the main thing that was depressing me wasn't failing to crack 1:50 but the fact that if I felt so bad after the half how can I ever imagine running twice as far. With having the full marathon on at the same time it really reinforced that it is twice as far, two laps of the same circuit. Which is a long way, and I wouldn't have been able to do it on Sunday. That got me down for a while, making me wonder whether I really could do Berlin or whether it's just unrealistic.

It's taken me a couple of days to realise that I'm not meant to be running twice as far at the moment. (Duh!) According to my marathon schedule the longest run I need to have done to date is 11 miles, with only a maximum 6 mile run at marathon pace. Well, I've done that - I managed the first 7 miles or so at slightly faster than marathon pace, and I'd have coped with an 11 mile run on Sunday without too much drama (and without the pain of the last couple of miles). The plan doesn't expect me to be able to run 26 now, it expects me to be able to do it in September. If I train to run 26 I will be able to run 26, but at the moment I've only trained to run 13 so, guess what, I can't run much further than that.

Also, had I been going round twice I would undoubtedly have taken it a bit easier in the first half than I actually did, and I'd have taken on more energy gels and drinks than I needed to get round the half. I'd also have bought and worn in new trainers prior to the run rather than getting blisters from my old worn out ones (I ordered some new ones this morning though!). I'd have done a proper taper, and had a proper build up rather than trying to fit it into the training programme and going to a party the night before. I'd have sorted out my knee properly.

And anyway, you're meant to feel drained after a race, if you don't then you obviously didn't give everything and could have gone faster! Even after a 5k, if you finish with lots of energy in the tank then you've done something wrong!

So what if I didn't manage the 1:50 target I was aiming for, I know that I have days where I run well and days where I don't, and Sunday was just a not so good day. I know that I'm capable of it, just not this week. There will be other races, and I will make it. But even at 1:54:07 (my gun time - I haven't found the chip times anywhere) I came in 570th out of 1364 runners, and roughly 146th out of 479 women. Which is hardly bad, is it? (And an improvement on my last half in placing terms as well as actual time - last time I was 717th out of 1110 so in the slower rather than the faster half of the field - were there fewer fast runners this time or was everyone slowed down by the heat as I finished further up in a bigger field, despite only being a couple of minutes faster).

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Good and Bad

When my alarm went off at 5am this morning (having left a party sober and early last night) I suddenly realised the extent of my madness. Since when did a couple of weight losing run turn into getting up early on a Sunday morning to drive to Blackpool to run 13.1 miles? I have unleashed a monster.

I really wasn't sure what to expect of today. I hadn't trained for it specifically. I've done a couple of runs around the length of my longest runs before my last half marathon, but not in a structured way, with a steady build up and taper. I've been fitting runs in as and when, while trying to build a base for the marathon training. I feel fitter, but I hadn't trained as well. Add to that the fact it was the hottest weekend so far this year, and my knee's been playing up all week, and I was a bit unsure. I'd been considering skipping the race altogether, but I'd arranged to visit my grandparents later in the day (they live a couple of miles away from the race), so I had to go over whether I ran or not.

I dragged myself out of bed, and headed over there. On the way I stopped for the first of several pre-race toilet stops. If there's anything more depressing than people playing the slot machines at the most soul destroying services in northern England (Bolton West) at 6.30am I have yet to find it. But that's just an aside.

On I went. I parked in the same fab place as for my previous Blackpool half, right by the finish line and utterly free. I got there nice and early, only to discover that the race had been delayed by half an hour because the lorry carrying the water had broken down. The next hour or so turned into a regime of toilet, wander round, toilet etc. I had based my race attire on Saturday's weather and was wearing lycra shorts and a crop top. Thereby exposing my still flappy stomach to the world. And by the time I arrived I realised the weather was going to be nowhere near as nice as yesterday. Still warm, but not as warm, certainly not at that ungodly hour of the morning.

Before the race I was very aware that my knee wasn't 100%. It doesn't hurt as such, it just doesn't feel quite right, and I'm more aware of it than normal. Never mind, I decided to go through with it while I was there.

Finally we started, and my knee clicked into the groove. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd feared. The first two miles were faster than my 1:50 target pace, and I felt good, although I tried to ease off a bit to make sure I could sustain the pace. I'd gained about a minute on what I needed by about 3 miles, but over the next 4 or so my pace was pretty much on target so I kept that minute but didn't gain any more. By about 7 minutes I was looking at something between 1:48 - 1:50, and feeling not too bad.

Then it all started to go wrong. I was aware that I was developing a blister on my big toe (I really need new running shoes, the ones I have have done about 450 miles now and they're rubbing more than they ever did when they were new), and the muscles in the top of my legs were really starting to hurt. I didn't remember feeling that bad during my other half. Betwee 7 and 8 miles I was struggling, and made myself promise that I'd run to the water station at 9 miles before even considering walking. I made it, but I noticed from my pacing band that I'd lost time and slipped below my target splits, and I knew in my heart of hearts that I wasn't in a good enough state to make that time back.

This is where having the band was a bad idea. It's all very well knowing where you want to be, but for me once I realised that I was running slower than I wanted to, the only thought in my head was how much slower I could run and still get a PB. By this point I was thinking that I had three or four minutes to play with over four miles, so I could slow down by nearly a minute a mile. Of course, knowing that, I immediately did precisely that. Oops. I think that had I not had the splits round my wrist I'd have pushed a bit harder during those last 4 miles to see what I could do.

Instead I struggled. My foot and my legs really didn't want to run, and every step I ran required an effort far greater than I remember having to squeeze out of them last time. I slowed down, but I kept on going.

In the end I came through the line in just about 1:54. It took me a while to cross the line at the start, so I'm expecting my chip time to be about 1:53:30 when it comes through tomorrow. I did beat my last time and get a PB, but I wonder whether I could have done better if I hadn't got discouraged when I started falling behind my target. The one good thing was that I had it in my head that my last time was 1:54:44 when it was actually 1:55:44, so I took a minute more than I thought off that PB.

The atmosphere was very different to the last Blackpool HM. For a start it was sunny ish and warm rather than the driving February wind I had to battle with last time, also the route went down the prom through the more touristy areas rather than just twice round the Bispham loop. Although the second half of the race was the Bispham loop, and it was really quiet just when I could have done with some supporters. Plus there was a full marathon being run too, which reminded me how much harder it would have been to run two loops rather than just the one.

The other thing that really did amuse me on the way round was all the people wandering alongside us. There were the runners in the road (and I'll be just a bit boastful by saying that the people I was near were just about at the fitter end of the spectrum), and then, by the side of the road, the people I used to be. The sort of people who holiday in Blackpool don't tend to be the thin, healthy living, exercising type. Of course, that's not to say that everyone there was fat, but there was a decent percentage, believe me! Still, they were cheering us on as enthusiastically as anyone, but I realised how much I prefer being this person, rather than that one.

Anyway, I need to get off the computer to go and soak my muscles in an attempt to revive them for next weekend's 10k!