Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Addict!

I tried to resist, to give up for a few days. But I cracked. I ran today. So much for that rest for a while after Sunday's race. To be fair I only ran 5k and I ran it relatively slowly (and since when did I think that a 30 minute 5k was slow?), but I ran.

The good thing is that it seems to have helped my legs. They were feeling tight yesterday, and through the early stages of the run but as I picked the pace up towards the end they started relaxing a bit, and have been fine all day. The way they're feeling now I reckon they'll be fine for tomorrow (although I'm not going to do any more than 30 minutes again, partly because I only have 30 minutes to spend in the gym because of a meeting I have to go to).

Which is leading me to think that a return trip to Blackpool in June for another half might be on the cards...

Monday, February 27, 2006

Sex...

Get your minds out of the gutter, I'm not that sort of girl!

Sometimes it's good to be a girly. I've got hold of a copy of the results from yesterday, and I'm pretty pleased with myself. Although the official time gives me a couple of extra seconds than my watch did (and the number I saw as I ran under the finish) I'll live with that. 1:55:44 is hardly to be sniffed at. What is more interesting is my overall placing. For the full race I came in 717th out of 1110 finishers, but I also worked out my position out of the women, which was far more impressive. Let's ignore all the men (always sound advice!). The numbers were done by me counting through the results by hand, so may be one or two out, but hopefully not too far. Out of 319 women I finished 114th. That's pretty near (although just outside) the top third! In my first half marathon!

Not bad at all for a former fat chick! I've never been good at sport. Enthusiastic from time to time, vaguely passable as I improved a little, but nearly in the top third for a half marathon? On my first attempt? That's actually more than just passable or respectable, it's quite good. I'm still in shock from that realisation. Looking at the runners world forum thread for the event, my time was more than passable and I was nowhere near the slowest of the people who posted on there.

I like being able to ignore the speedy blokes when working this stuff out.

I also had a play with the time prediction calculators last night. Based on yesterday's time one predicted a marathon time of 3:59 and another came up with 4:02! How amazing would it be to break 4 hours? I suspect that marathon time predictions are probably far less accurate because of the ability to crash and burn badly (and also because a slow start is more likely in a big city race, and would eat away precious minutes), but if I train well it's actually starting to look like a possibility. I know that I can get faster than I'm running at the moment, so if I can build my speed up at the same time as I improve my endurance I might be looking at a time to be really proud of. Just finishing is still the main aim, but that number's just sitting there now, willing me to aim for it. I'm certainly tempted to pick a more ambitious training schedule than I previously had earmarked.

(I'm trying not to get over ambitious and think about the London womens Good For Age automatic qualification time of 3:45. Not just yet anyway, but maybe once I've got the first marathon out of the way...)

I'm also looking to see if I can find another half marathon to fit in before the marathon as part of my training, or if not a 10 (or 15?) miler. I found the whole experience strangely enjoyable, and would like to get some more longer distances than 10k under my belt before September. I'm actually seriously considering the Blackpool half in June as it's pretty much the same course (and therefore a good measure of my progress), the only problem is that it's the week before I already have a 10k planned. What I might do is see how I recover this week from yesterday's run and see whether I think doubling up is remotely feasible. If I feel like I'd be able to run 10k by the weekend then I might go for it.

Not that I'm planning to run again just yet, I'll have a few days of other exercise for a change!

Sunday, February 26, 2006

What a kick!

So, today was the big day, and a fantastic one it was too!

One thing I haven't really mentioned was a goal time for the race (maybe so I couldn't be held accountable if I failed to make it?). In this post I talked about aiming for 2:10, although I was starting to notice that I was getting faster than I needed to be for that time. The two hour mark looked like a big one to aim for, and on almost all my faster runs I feed them through a race time prediction calculator on the internet to see whether it was remotely possible. The closest I got was about 2:01 based on my treadmill 10k "race" from a couple of weeks back, so I worried that I might fall agonisingly short and therefore didn't mention it as a goal.

Today went like clockwork. I woke up nice and early, and had my porridge for breakfast. I got my stuff ready earlier than I was planning, and decided to leave anyway on the basis that at least I wouldn't be late. I got to Blackpool about 2 hours before the start (way too early), but I wasn't complaining as I bagged possibly the best parking spot in the town! It was between the 13 mile mark and the finish, just on the other side of the road, and even better it was free on a Sunday (the next street up was pay parking every day). So I sat in the car and kept warm while listening to the radio and reading the paper. I wasn't particularly nervous, I just wanted to get it over with.

I ventured out for a wander round and to go to the loo once I got there, then only re-emerged from the car about half an hour before the start. I went to the loo again, then back to the car to dump my hat and gloves having decided that not having them for 15 minutes or so before the start would be less of an inconvenience than carrying them round 13.1 miles, it was just on the borderline where it was a bit cold to wait without them, but a bit warm to run with them. At some point I managed to lose the energy sweets from the pocket of my jacket, but I had my lucozade and (having only noticed this about 2 minutes before the start) decided I could make do with just that.

I actually found myself doing runner-ish warm up things. Things that you don't get taught or read in the books, but that just felt right. A bit of jogging round the start area, leg shaking. I actually looked like I knew what I was doing! I found myself a bit further back in the pack than I'd have liked, but the field wasn't too big that it took ages to get over the start (and it gave me an excuse to overtake!).

The course was a two lap course, all on the prom so no traffic (although there were occasionally bemused people with prams and buckets and spades). All along the sea front (if you know Blackpool, from the North Pier along the lower level to Bispham, back on the top level back again and round again).

Almost the first thing we saw as we set off north was the 7 mile marker. There was a lot of joking at that point that the run was going to be easier than we thought! The first 3 miles the wind was blowing in my face. Being among other runners seemed to cut down the effect for a while, but you could tell that on the second northbound leg it would be a lot worse, with 6 miles down and more space for the wind to hit you. Still, despite the early jostling which inevitably slows you down and the wind, I got to the 3 mile mark in 27:21 which was a 9:07 pace, and pretty much on target for what I'd hoped.

There was then a bit of an uphill turn as we doubled back, and the second 3 miles was far easier. The running surface seemed more forgiving, and the wind was behind us. Plus there was more space to move around in. The sun almost seemed to be coming out, so I took my jacket off and tied it round my waist. I was trying to notice all the landmarks so that I'd know how far I had to go on the second time round, and I'd know whether there were any slopes to watch out for. The course was pretty flat, but it did occasionally go up and down. Not any more than a few metres, but enough to require a bit of a push.

I got to 6 miles in 51:36 which blew me away. The second three miles with the wind behind me had taken 24:15, which is a 8:05 pace. That's faster than I've ever run before, and I started to feel like I actually had a chance of making that 2 hour goal. It also meant I was fast enough to finish the first lap before the fastest runners came back for the finish! But I knew that the next three miles would be the hardest. I would be going back north with my legs starting to tire, facing the headwind, and without the incentive to push on that would be given by the imminent finish on the way back. I told myself that I needed to take the next three slow and steady, that I had time to play with, and that if I could just make it back to the turn at Bispham the run back would be easy.

And that's pretty much what I did. At about 7 miles I started running at roughly the same pace as a woman wearing a running club vest. We talked a bit, encouraging each other to make it to the turn. She'd done about 10 half marathons before and was aiming for 2:04, and was pretty damn impressed at how I was going in my first. I never caught her name, but when she started to move away a bit I kept with her, and it took my mind off the wind a little.

There wasn't a marker at 9 miles, so I took my time at 10 instead to give a straight 5k to the finish. My overall time was 1:29:12, meaning that those 4 miles took 37:36, still not bad at all based on my previous runs, but down to a 9:24 pace. I'm sure I'd have gone slower without someone to keep me going though, and we were overtaking other people who were feeling it worse than we were.

Then the turn, and we were facing the finish. After a while the tower came into view, and the North Pier. It was such a relief to know that when we got there we could stop. We were pointing out landmarks as a real visual indication of how far we had to go.

Then something strange happened. Somewhere between 11 and 12 miles we lost each other. Not, as I'd been fearing only minutes earlier, because I ran out of steam, but because I powered ahead. On Friday night at the rugby a former runner was joking with me to save speed for the last three miles, and I joked, "what speed?". But from somewhere I found something to pull away and to overtake a few more people on the way to the line.

I passed the 12 and 13 mile markers with a smile on my face. I wouldn't say that it was easy, but I was comfortable, and I knew that stopping to walk at this stage would serve no purpose. I'd still have to get myself to the finish, and running it wasn't much more effort than walking it. I wasn't running for charity today, I was running for me, and I realised that all the training I'd done would be wasted if I just gave up and walked without having a valid reason. So I kept on running, and I kept on looking at my watch. I knew I was on for 2 hours at this stage, and I dragged myself towards the line with that thought.

I ran the last 3.1 miles in 26:28, which was back down to a 8:33 pace. I ran the second half of the race slower than the first half, but that last leg was faster than either of the northbound legs, maybe a testament to the strength of the wind, or maybe just due to my will to get it over with.

Which makes my overall time for the race....

1:55:40

I thought that breaking 2 hours would be pushing it, so I certainly never dreamed I'd get so close to going under 1:55! I was a very happy girl at this stage!

The encouraging thing for Berlin is that, while I wouldn't have fancied another two laps, I was far less tired at the end than I was at the end of the Abbey Dash 10k in November. That day I could feel myself slowing almost to a walk by the end, whereas today I kept on going strong and had enough energy in my legs to really kick on to the end. It may not have looked like I had much energy as I tried to write my name on an envelope to get a copy of the results, but believe me, I felt far less like I'd reached the limits of my endurance than I did that day. A marathon's only twice as far again...

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Prepared?

So, today has been almost total rest, save for a bit of light housework. I've eaten fairly well (it's noticeable how quickly my appetite drops when I don't exercise, and psychologically I far prefer the pattern of burning off lots of calories and eating more than not burning but not eating as much either), and I haven't run.

I've got my stuff vaguely ready, I've eaten some pasta and bread, and I'm getting ready for an early night. I've set my alarm, and I'm not stupidly scared. I haven't touched alcohol since last weekend, and I've trained as well as I could have expected.

I guess I'm ready. Once I get this half out of the way I guess it will really sink in how far the marathon is, but hopefully it will also give me a bit of belief that I can do it.

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Planning

I think I said in my last post that I'm an obsessive planner, and so it goes on. I'm already stressing trying to work out exactly what I want to eat over the weekend, and when. Not from a weight loss point of view, but from a fuelling and re-fuelling point of view, making sure that I eat the right sort of food on Saturday before the race, and the right sort of food afterwards.

At the moment I'm looking at fairly normal on Saturday, but with more carbs in the evening than usual. No alcohol. Then on Sunday morning my normal porridge early, with an energy bar about an hour before the start (it starts at 11am and I have to drive a couple of hours over to Blackpool). Then an energy bar straight after, and a lunch (to be determined) either immediately after that or when I get home. I don't want to eat too much at that stage, because I'm considering a celebratory meal out at a moroccan restaurant I've been meaning to try but can't normally justify in the evening, but then I'm sure I'll be starving and I don't want to deprive myself.

I do want to take it as it comes and react to how I feel rather than eating strictly to schedule, but equally I want to make sure I have the right food available so that I'm not craving one thing and ending up eating something else because it's the only thing I have around.

I'm sure I'll ponder more over the next couple of days, and I'm planning a shopping trip on Saturday to stock up on supplies, so hopefully the plan will take a bit more shape before then.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

On target?

First, the good news. I'm looking good to hit my overall target of 100 miles for February. I'm just under 80 now, so with the half marathon and a couple of 3 mile runs leading up to it I should make it.

So that's the good news.

As for the half marathon preparation, I'm not so sure. I was going well, on plan, and got up to 12 miles two weeks ago. Since then I've not had the time to do a long run, because I was away last weekend and my parents are here this weekend. I can get out for an hour or so (and have been doing), but I don't feel like I can go for a two hour run when they're staying with me and I see them so often. So instead of carrying on with longish runs, the longest I've done is 7.5 miles (today), and the rest have been around the 10k mark. My overall mileage is fine, but all my runs have been around 10k, with nothing longer to help build up my endurance.

I'm hoping that the 12 miles I did will help, but that will be three weeks before the actual race and I'm hoping I won't have lost endurance by the time next Sunday comes round. I'm guessing that it should be fine, but this is all uncharted territory so I don't really know. Anyway, I suppose the main aim is to finish, which I will be able to do even if I have to walk some, but I'd really love to be able to say I ran the whole way.

I guess it's too late to really worry about it now, I've not got time to fit another long run in, and I've done the best I can in the circumstances (at least I've kept my mileage up and got out there to do something, even if it's not what I really should have been doing), and whatever my time is it will be a PB and the furthest I've ever gone.

I should stop worrying and just enjoy it I think, but I'm just a born planner and wondering already whether I could have planned better. It's just the way I am I suppose.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Success!

Now, that's what I call a run. 10k in 54:44, cutting my best 10k time prior to the start of this week by about 4 minutes. I told myself I was going to run it as a "race" and that's exactly what I did. OK, it's a treadmill time so flat and not affected by wind or rain or other runners, but that's a big improvement. I remember being ecstatic the first time I got under 60 minutes, so to get under 55 is a real achievement for me.

The difference in my concentration was amazing. I can really tell the difference between a slow pace and a race pace after that. When I'm running "slow" I don't notice the running as much as I notice the things around me. I settle into a rhythm and I enjoy the ride. At today's pace I really have to focus on running rather than on my surroundings, and I block so much of the external stuff out. I'd never noticed that before, maybe because I haven't been fast enough for long enough to hit that stage, but I really did notice it today. I want to remember how that feels so that I can get into that state of mind again in the future.

This week's mileage is on the low end of what I normally do, about 22 miles compared to 26 and 28 over the past couple of weeks. There hasn't been a long run in there, and there won't be over the weekend. But overall I'm on target for the half marathon, and I'm surprised at how simple it has been. The training programme has really speeded me up generally (leading to that huge 10k improvement) as well as improving my endurance, and the distance doesn't daunt me as much as it did to start with. With two weeks to go I'm very confident that I'll be able to do it, and that I might even be able to do it faster than I was aiming for. I'm surprised at how quickly I've improved, and who relaxed I am about the prospect of running the half.

Monday, February 06, 2006

4:10:41

I ran 26.2 miles in 4:10:41!!!

Sadly, I ran it in four separate sessions over 5 days, but that's still progress. I didn't actually realise when I decided to run 10k this morning that having already notched up 20 miles this month I'd hit marathon distance, but it's nice to see that number on my training log. I set myself a target of 100 miles for the month, so I'm a quarter of the way there already (although I've done the second longest run of the month so need to be a bit ahead to make up for tapering and the like before the half marathon).

Yesterday I also realised just how far 26.2 miles is in one go. I could have worked it out for myself, but it's the sort of distance that takes nearly half an hour even if you're driving at 60mph. Eek! I was driving over to Manchester and I got a long way towards the airport by the time I hit 26.2.

I'm sure it is possible, but maybe I'd rather not think about just how far it is yet!

I had a good run this morning anyway, 10k on level 4 hills in 58:15. That's actually the fastest I've ever run 10k even though I wasn't aiming for a fast time, just a speed that I could comfortably maintain on the hills. That really does show how far I've come since the start of the year!

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Compare and contrast

On Thursday I had a fab speedwork session, I managed to cover 6.69k in 36 minutes, which works out (mixing my measurement units) at 8:40 miles. By far the fastest I've gone, and I shaved about a minute off my 5k time on the way past it (it was around 27:08 from memory, and I'd only before just got under 28). It felt great, I felt really strong in the fast spells and the recovery spells were what I used to think of as unbearably fast. It really showed me how far I've come, and next week I'm intending to do a "10k race" on the treadmill (no races organised for 7am on Friday unfortunately), and I'm confident of decreasing my PB of around 59 minutes quite significantly. I felt very very good.

Then today, it was long run day. Over the next few weeks leading up to the half marathon my parents are here and I'm away for the weekend in Catalonia (they come tomorrow and leave on Monday, I'm away next weekend, then they're here again the weekend after). So I've been moving my runs around, and instead of this weekend's long session being 10k race I've moved it to next Friday, and I moved next weeks 11 - 12 miler to today (as I can't run long tomorrow either, so it's Saturday rather than Sunday next week). That's the longest run on my training schedule, so assuming I don't just stop running between now and the race, hopefully I should be able to cope with it.

So, I managed a 12.2 mile run in 122 minutes (working out at almost exactly 10 minute miles), but I just didn't feel good during it. I got round, but I didn't get into that comfort zone that I sometimes find on my runs, and it was hard work. Now, I know that a 12 mile run IS hard work, but it seemed a lot harder than the 9 and 10 milers I've been doing recently, and it started feeling hard a long time before I got beyond the distances I've done before. Maybe I ran too fast, I don't know, but then I managed to maintain it pretty much (apart from a horrible hill between 10 and 11 which I will admit to taking a walk break on), and had it been a race I'd have carried on for the extra mile. As it was, however, I ran past my house, had done the required distance and decided to call it a day rather than running any further and having to get myself back that extra mile home.

On my previous long runs I've been feeling that it's surprisingly easy to build up distance, whereas today the doubts about the sanity of this whole thing started setting in. I've got plenty of time I suppose to build up to 26.2, but it's really starting to dawn on me just how far that actually is.

The other thing I want to sit down and think about is what time to aim for in the half marathon. I don't want to get fixated on making a certain time, but I would like to have something to judge my performance by. I've got some race time predictor tables in a library book (and amazingly my 5k time from last July predicts my 10k time from November almost to the second), and I've been looking at them. Based on my previous races I'm looking at about 2:10, and I'd guess that pretty much fits with today's run too. But if I am getting as much faster as Thursday's run suggests then maybe I could do it faster. Who knows? Maybe aim for 2:10 then I'm less likely to be disappointed? There's plenty of time to build up speed in future races...