Saturday, March 25, 2006

Racing...

I have a plan. I have recently become aware that it is possible for me to finish fairly high up in terms of womens placings. While I'm not expecting to win prizes, it seems to me that if I pick the right events I might just manage it one day. So with that in mind I've just found out about a very badly publicised 5k in my local park in two weeks time. It's on the same day as a bigger local race which will hopefully cream off those people who run with the running club who organise that one as well as the more serious local runners who aren't members. I'd be running round the park that day anyway, so what the hell. I'm going to race it, not just run it. If I don't win anything I've not lost anything, but you never know unless you try...

I've also got a 10k race next weekend (although that one is a charity run that doesn't have official times or placings) so it's a busy spell for me at the moment. Still, I did a longer slower run today, 10 miles at a 9 minute mile pace, so hopefully I'm managing to keep up my endurance at the same time as working on my speed.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

23rd!

Once again, the results of the race make pleasant reading. I was clocked officially at 40:59, so I was glad I managed to squeeze under 41 with my final sprint even if I couldn't make it under 40 this time. Overall I came 169th out of 397 finishers, so well within the top half of the field.

As ever, it looks even better when you take the men out. I was the 23rd woman to finish! That actually sounds pretty good. Taking into account all female age groups I was 23rd out of 139. If you take the over 35s in the veteran categories out of the equation and just look at the open age category, it works out at 14th out of 57, again pretty darn respectable. In fact, better than that. That's good, not just respectable. Taking all women into account I'm in the top 20%, and even age adjusted I'm in the top quarter.

I'm pretty shocked really. I've been running properly for less than a year and a lot of that time was spent dragging excess weight round with me rather than being able to run unencumbered and train properly. don't know whether to put it down to effort, ability or just sheer determination. Was there really a decent runner inside me, or does that potential lie inside everyone if only they put the effort in? I guess it must be a mixture of the two (or maybe it's because now I don't have to run with the excess weight I speed up dramatically!)

I'm starting to wonder how far I can go. I was taken by the idea of running because even if you can't beat other people you can still beat your own previous performances. But now I'm getting more interested in comparing my runs to other people. And I still think there's room for improvement. Quite a bit of improvement. I'm not sure I'll ever win prizes for my running (although with a small female field who knows), but maybe the idea of a "Good for Age" time isn't quite as laughable as you'd think. After all, it seems that I am fairly good for my age, so if I can go the distance, I may already have the speed to think about doing it. I don't want to make it an aim in my first marathon, but I suspect that it might be something I aim for at some point in the future.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

41(ish)

I finished the 5 mile run in 41 minutes, give or take a second or two. On the face of it, I should be really pleased with that. I'm aiming to build up to 8 minute miles over 5 mile - 10k races, and I'm almost there. Considering I was ecstatic with a 59 minute 10k back at the end of November I've made a lot of progress. But I'm still kicking myself that I got so close to breaking 40 minutes and fell just short.

It wouldn't be so bad if I'd run the whole thing but (whisper it) I walked a bit. Yes, I can run a half marathon from start to finish but today there was a hill (which had to be tackled twice) and on the second time round I ended up walking a bit. Maybe if I'd kept running I'd have broken 40, but then maybe if I'd kept running I'd have used every bit of energy I had left, and I'd have ended up even slower. I guess I'll never know, but at least my walk was very controlled, I knew exactly when I was going to start running again, and I started running when I told myself I would. I knew (because the course was 2 laps) that once I got up the hill I'd be OK, so I just got up the hill any way I could and took it from there.

On the plus side, my finish was really strong. I could feel myself getting faster and faster over the last mile to the finish, really trying to get every bit of energy back out of my legs to sprint to the finish. In the past I've been using those last dregs of energy just to get to the finish, but today I really did feel more like I was racing to get there.

So I learned a couple of lessons. I ran at a faster pace per mile run/walking today than I have done in any race I've run before, and I'm showing huge improvements. But I'm still sitting here thinking what if...

Friday, March 17, 2006

49:30

Was how long it took me this morning to run... 10k! I said that I was aiming for a sub-50 minute 10k eventually, but didn't think I'd crack it so soon. A couple of caveats are that it was on the treadmill rather than in a race, and I want to break the mark outside, in a proper race, but still, it will do me as a real indication of how much I've progressed. I've got a 5 mile race now (on Sunday) and I'll see how that goes. 40 minutes might be optimistic as there are apparently a couple of hills to deal with, but you never know, it's a target to aim for at least.

The more I push myself in training the more I realise that maybe in some of the other races I've done I've not actually pushed myself hard enough and that I just run at a slow steady pace I know I can maintain rather than really racing it. I've always been running races at the upper end of my endurance capability. Now I'm dropping down to a distance that I know I could run twice over (and still have petrol left in the tank) so I think it's time to pick up the speed rather than just concentrating on being able to get round.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Burning up!

I knew there was a reason why I shouldn't run in shorts. I've never really done it before, because of the knowledge of how painful chafed thighs can be when the shorts ride up in the middle between fat legs and reveal acres of white, pasty flab which then rub against each other. But recently I bought myself some running shorts, and I've started wearing them to the gym. They're the tight sort so I'm not sure whether I'd still have chafing problems with something looser and shorter (I'm hoping not), but it's quite a revelation to get my legs out in the gym without causing people to run screaming. I feel a lot more comfortable running in them too.

Anyway, today I was doing a hill workout and was aiming for about 45 minutes (I'm seriously considering setting my alarm half an hour earlier for the earlier bus as I just don't have time to run for an hour on the bus I catch at the moment), when after 5.5k the fire alarm went off. I don't think it was because of the amount of fat being burned or the smoke building up on the treadmill as I raced along, but you never can tell. I'm fairly sure it wasn't anything to do with the friction caused by my thighs, at least.

Believe me, standing on a street corner in Leeds at 8am in shorts and a t-shirt while dripping with sweat is not recommended. After a while I managed to huddle myself in one of those foil blankets with some other people from the gym, but it wasn't the highlight of my morning.

I'm very proud of myself though. Because of the timing of the alarm I knew that everyone would head for the showers rather than back to the gym once they got back in, so I decided to let the rush ease a bit and do 10 more minutes of 1 minute speed intervals on the treadmill before showering, bringing my overall run to only a bit shorter than my target (at 7.55k rather than 8ish) despite the disruption.

So shorts are good for the gym, but watch out for fire alarms...

Monday, March 13, 2006

24:50

Woo hoo! I was wondering how fast I could run 5k, and I got my answer. So the guy at work who "can't be beaten by a girl" is going to have to speed up from his 25 minute aim!

I actually ran 6k in under 30 minutes in total, which I was very pleased with. My immediate target for the spring is to get as close to (or under) 50 minutes for 10k as possible. That will then put me on target for a sub 4 hour marathon. In theory at least.

My 30 minute 6k was at the pace I need to run to do that. I figure that if I can run 6k at that pace, it should be possible to run 10k that fast with a bit of training. It's not like I'm just running that pace as short intervals, 30 minutes is quite a sustained spell so I just need to stretch it out for a bit longer. I'm confident I can do it. Maybe not in my next 10k which is apparently a "challenging" course, but at some point between now and June.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Speed!

I'm not quite sure what happened this morning. I made my decision to concentrate on speed over endurance during the week, but still, that's not a good enough explanation.

I wanted to do my usual Saturday morning run which is about 3.7 miles. I run through the park to the far end and then back again. I've done it a few times since I got my stopwatch, and it usually takes around 34 - 35 minutes.

This morning I just wanted to use it as an easy run, nothing too fast. But I got down to Oakwood clock which is roughly half way, looked at my watch and saw 14 minutes. How the hell did I do that?

Coming back it's a bit more uphill, and I thought I was easing off a little. But still, I made it home in 30:31 which actually works out as the fastest pace I've run (other than maybe the second quarter of the half marathon, although apparently some of the mile markers were in the wrong place, so I'm not relying on that). So, the fastest pace I've ever run, including hills and on a day when I was trying to take it easy?

What on earth happened?

I guess I had a little frustration that I wanted to get rid of, and I've run a lot less distance this week than normal, so maybe that just welled up into extra energy in those legs.

As I got back home I ran past the shops at the end of the road. I could see myself reflected in the windows, and it really did look like I was running. Not just jogging, running.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Just Say No...

I had to turn down a fantastic looking charity place in the Great North Run today. Various people I know are getting together to do it for the rugby charity I've done some stuff for before, with guaranteed places, a celebrity money, hotel, kit, meals etc. I'd really have loved to do it, but there are limits to a girl's stamina.

The week after Berlin would not, I suspect, have been a good idea. So reluctantly I'm passing on it, but I really do want to run the Great North Run some time, even if it is slow and busy and not a PB course, I'm sure it's a fantastic experience, the best you'll get for a half marathon.

Maybe next year?

The funny thing though was that the bloke who's organising it and a couple of the people considering running it were asking me for advice! I keep on forgetting that I'm a runner now and that I do actually know stuff about this. It's nice that people think I know what I'm talking about though!

I'm back on a bit more of a training plan this week after a week of tapering and a week of recovery. I'm trying to stick to my schedule of Tuesday hills and Thursday speedwork with an easy run on Saturday and a long run or race on Sunday. I will probably have to be a bit more structured once I start the marathon training, following a proper plan that mixes things up a bit more, but for now at least it means I can remember what I'm doing!

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Hotel. Check.

I've booked a Berlin hotel now, which is the last stage in my logistical preparations. With 30,000 or so runners due to run the race I wanted to make sure I got something decent early, with a pool for me to collapse into after the race to soothe those legs. So we're staying in the Berlin Hilton, and I'm looking more and more committed by the day.

I signed up for another 10k last night. I'd had a little wine, I was perusing the web and one thing led to another. Oops... It's at the end of April so nicely spaced between the Cancer Research 10k and the Blackpool half, and it will keep me ticking over with my rnning.

I'm really starting to wonder whether I should join a running club. Every proper race I enter (not some of the charity ones) charges me £2 extra for insurance because I'm not a member of a running club. Given that membership at my local club is about £12 per year that's money that I could fairly easily make up over the course of the year. Except then they have rules like having to wear a club vest when you do runs, which would mean that I'd have to buy a club vest, and I kind of like being able to wear what I want, stuff I feel comfortable in. It would be nice to have a membership card though so I could show people and say "look! I'm a runner!"

I'm having a lazy day today. It's beautiful outside, clear blue sky and crisp(ish) white show. It looks fantastic. But I know that it's also very cold, and that the pavements are still covered in ice and snow (or at least they were when I went out earlier), and not ideal for running on. On the basis that I ran more than I was intending to during the week, and I don't want to burn myself out, I think that a rest day might be well deserved.

Except I'm still considering going for a run either outside or on the treadmill later today if I start to feel a bit more like doing it, but I'm not going to force myself to.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Blackpool is on

Today I ran a sub 54 minute 10k on the treadmill. That's another fastest ever, and has persuaded me to go for the Blackpool half marathon in June. I'm officially mad!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Focus

I've had a little time (although not too much!) over the past few days to really think about my goals for the marathon. At first my only aim was to get round, and that still is the main task. However I do, it will still be my first, and it will still be a day to remember. Focussing on time or performance isn't as important when you take that into account.

But, since the half marathon I've started to really realise that maybe I should set my sights a little higher. I'm capable of more than just finishing by walking a bit, running a bit, crawling the last mile. I have started to actually believe that I'm capable of running it. All of it. I didn't think that I could run a half so easily with only eight weeks training and look what happened, so with plenty of time before September there's no reason why I can't do it.

This isn't about any innate talent for running, or discovering I actually have the running genes of Paula Radcliffe hidden under there. It's about realising that with proper, structured training, and a sensible approach, I can push the fitness I already have just a little further each time I run, and that when you're competing at my level in an endurance sport it's the effort that you put in that affects your result more than anything else.

I've started to believe that if I train right, I will achieve my goals. I'm not going to hide behind an excuse that I'm not sporty or fit enough. I am. Not to run it tomorrow, but to run it in September. I'm going to spend some time over the next month or so really working out a plan with build up races and fitting around other things I already have planned to give me the best chance I can possibly have of breaking that four hour mark. It should be possible based on my progress so far, so it's up to me to do the hard work to make it possible.

I'm so glad that I did the half marathon now as it's really given me a kick in the right direction in realising and believing that I can do this.