Well.....

....so much for my pledge to update on a more regular basis.

I'm not training as such at the moment, and haven't been for quite a while now. 4 months out with a calf tear, and an ongoing achilles (both related) problem which has lasted for a year so far, has put paid to any thoughts I had of running long this year. What I have done, is a lot of cycling. I commute to work so the miles rack up, but I've also been getting out at weekends too.
I bought a new MTB at Christmas (a Cube) and have been using this for the majority of my rides, complete with 26x2.25 knobblies, and kitted up with not so aerodynamic mudguards, and various other commuting things like lights and bags. They all add to the weight to make the rides that extra bit challenging.
I'm dying to get out on my speedy road bike again, and we've had some good weather recently, but sadly our local roads leave a lot to be desired, and I fear a visit or 2 from the puncture fairy, if I venture out too soon on it.

Bobby left the RAF at the end of January, although he's on garden leave until May. After weeks of pondering, and wondering about his future, he has finally settled on a job that was offered in Saudi. It'll mean months of living apart, with me being a single parent, but all things considered, it made financial sense for him to take it.

Anyway, I digress....

I've added another page to the blog for my photography challenge....I'll be posting more about that soon...

I'm not sure if it's my age (I'm officially middle aged), but I've been finding myself ranting at a lot of stuff recently, more than usual. Things that wouldn't have necessarily bothered me a few years ago, are really getting on my wick now, and my rants are filtering into areas of my life, I don't want them to. So, in light of this, I've decided to dump my rants here......

The thing that is really getting my goat at the moment is that someone, a lot of people, keep insisting on stealing *my* bike slot at work. Any innocent bystander that walks past at the moment I arrive at work to find yet another bike parked in my slot, will no doubt be highly amused at the stamping of feet and toddler tantrum like strops that follow. I work at a Primary School so I fit right in.

Another pet hate at the moment, is bad driving. I've been knocked off my bike umpteen times recently and it's wearing a bit thin. Luckily there has been no major damage to either me or my bike, but it does concern me that one of these days I may not be so lucky. I hate drivers when I'm cycling, in the same way I hate cyclists when I'm driving...hypocrite!

And my biggest bug bear of all is fat arsed chav mothers, that push double buggies, whilst texting, as their brood of unruly snivelling brats runs wild on the pavement.

Anyway, enough for now...i will dump rants here as I think of them!

A Year on.....

It's been just short of a year since I last updated. This means it's been a year since we lost our little pal Bailly. Not a day has gone by when I don't think of him, or shed a tear. I still think it was so unfair that he had to lose his life at such a young age, in the manner with which he did, and not a day goes by when I don't  have a moment of regret and guilt, wondering if I could've done something different to avoid the situation. However, I'm thankful that in the short few years we had him, he was loved, and we made some fantastic memories together.

A year is a long time to recap, so here goes....

After the disaster that was the Kielder Marathon, I swore I'd never do another marathon, ever. I've kept to my word, albeit by circumstance rather than, well, keeping to my word. I did enter three marathons this year, but injury, illness, and Bobby's work commitments got in the way and I ended up doing none. I hate DNS'ing, and I hate DNF'ing. Fortunately, the only DNF's I've had this year are a couple of parkruns where injury forced me to retire shortly into each. Luckily, with the nature of parkrun, only the people that finish are put down in the results, otherwise I think I may have hobbled around just to avoid those 3 horrible letters against my name.

I've managed a couple of races, iirc, a 10K which I jogged around in just under 55 mins, and a half marathon which I managed to run conservatively in just under 2 hours. I really enjoyed them both especially the half which was undoubtedly the hilliest half I've ever done (and I've ran a few of those).
I really should know by now that when Scottish race organisers describe their race routes as "slightly undulating with stunning scenery", it actually means, "mountainous, and if you get to the top in one piece without your eyes bleeding, you'll experience the stunning scenery." I never learn!
The race in question was the Stonehaven Half. It climbed straight away, quite steeply through the town, and then climbed some more through some country lanes for the next 5 miles. There was about a 3 mile section of  'slightly undulating' before it climbed again. Thankfully, the last mile was downhill/flat, so it was a nice finish. Good medal too, although as with all my medals, it's been shoved somewhere, probably the bin, and hasn't been seen since. I'd have preferred a t-shirt, or a buff.

I got injured shortly after Kielder, tore my calf, and therefore had a full 4 months off running. Tentative jogging started again in March and although the calf was far from healed, I could just about run on it. With a lot of stretching and yoga, it got better and I quickly got into a good groove of daily 10K running, working up to the aforementioned half. My times were coming down too and for the first time in about 9 months, I started to put in 2 or 3 decent (for me) parkruns. Then disaster stuck again and I got achilles tendonitis - same leg as the calf, and probably brought on by months of tightness. I initially took 3 months off but it didn't/hasn't improved. I'm currently jogging (very painfully) on it. I've had to go back to padded trainers, rather than my flats, to try and give it a bit of support.

In other news, we've adopted a kitten, Wee Dave aka Omelette. His owners moved and didn't take him with them. He started life as a she and is now a he. Never having cats before we didn't realise little boy cats don't have the same obvious dangly bits as little boy dogs. My girls and I have fallen in love with him, Bobby on the other hand, is harder to persuade, although lets him inside now. We used to have to smuggle him into the girls bedrooms, but now he's allowed in the living room. He's no bother and sleeps mostly.

Bobby decided a few months ago to leave the RAF after 22 years of service. He officially has another 8 years to go, but with the closure of Leuchars and imminent move to Lossie, and with our girls at a crucial point of their education, we decided now was as good a time as any. It's going to be a major life change for all of us, but one which we're excited about...ask us in a years time when we're living in a shop doorway if we feel the same, and you may get a different answer ;-)

Mentioning our girls has just reminded me that Chloe took her Standard Grades back in May. She seemed to breeze through them at the time and was totally confident and convinced she'd done enough to get a good set of grades. I knew she'd worked incredibly hard for them, albeit with a very laid back attitude, but I wasn't as convinced as she was, probably because of the blase approach. I'm ashamed to admit that I should have more faith in her because she got all credit grades and most of them were "ones". Extremely proud Mum moment! She's currently taking 5 highers, and is thriving on the increased workload. Abbey on the other hand, just sees School as an inconvenience and somewhere to catch up with her friends. They say you never get 2 kids the same, and how right they are!

Off on holiday this week - Florida again. Not being a fan of theme parks, I'll be chief bag carrier, and people watcher as usual. You definitely see the sights. We're going to try and do Clermont parkrun while we're out there....I'm more excited about that than anything else.

I'll endeavour to update more frequently in future!

Day 100 #runstreak

Just after Christmas each year, when the turkey dinner and the Boxing Day excesses have settled (burp), my thoughts turn to the New Year and what resolutions I might make. The usual 'I need to lose weight' one was in there again, along with a few of the other usual suspects which I think everyone decides upon only to get a week into whatever it is and give up.
This year, I wanted to see if I could do something a bit different. After taking 15 months out from 'training' starting in October 2010 and finishing in December 2011 to get myself healthy after my spectacular burnout resulting in adrenal exhaustion, I was getting itchy feet again. I love running, always have, and have ran since the age of 11 in some capacity or other. Admittedly, I went through a few years when the only running I did was for 70mins on a hockey pitch, twice a week. Then for a few years when I retired from hockey in my early thirties sometimes I ran only once a week, sometimes only once a month. However, running has always been a constant in my life. I've always known it would be there. Whether I'm running flat out for 5K or plodding myself through a painful 26.2miles, I'm happiest with a pair of trainers on my feet.
So I wondered if I could run every day for a year, ending with a big finale of 12 marathons in 12 days in the twelfth month of the twelfth year. I'm still wondering to be honest.

I've reached 100 days of running today. I've done something like 97 hours and just over 600 miles. It sounds a lot but if you break down the stats, it's not really that impressive. It works out at less than an hour, and around 10K or running per day. However, in reality some days have been a lot more, some a lot less. I set out originally to do a minimum of 30mins per day but this didn't really happen. Sometimes I was doing a 5K TT or my weekly tempo of 3.4miles which ended up being less than 30mins.. I decided pretty early on that I'd just run every day regardless of time or distance.

I wish I'd blogged more often over the last 100 days to give a bit of an insight as to what it's like to run every day. After the first 3 weeks it became a bit of a habit and instead of my immediate thought on waking in the mornings being 'oh god, do I *really* have to run?' I'd just get my kit on and go on automatic pilot.
Of course starting on the 1st of Jan coincided with some of the coldest and iciest conditions we've seen here for a while. We've had a few bad Winters over the last few years with dreadful snowfalls, but I've never experienced cold like the Winter just gone. Typically I'd be wearing a buff over my head which I then covered with a woolly hat, another buff on my neck pulled up over my mouth to warm the intake of cold air, 2 long base layer tops, 2 technical t-shirts, one windproof hi-viz jacket, gloves, long tights and woolly socks. A lot of the time I'd get home and have a frozen face and quite often would lose the feeling in my legs and fingers. Most of the first few weeks were pretty grim indeed. Thanks to my purchase of a pair of Yaktrax, I didn't have to resort to going to the gym and running on the dreadmill. Oddly enough, I managed to avoid the gym for 94 days but had to succumb 6 days ago due to the wildest day ever with horizontal rain and gale force winds and my need to get some quality tempos/interval sessions in.

I've got my first marathon of the year in 4 weeks time. I have no time targets in mind and my ultimate goal is to just enjoy the day.

Here's to the next 100 days!

When I Grow Up.....

.....I soooo want to be an ultra runner. Sadly, I don't think this will ever happen, not in this lifetime, but I just love speaking to, and mixing with these people. Nearly every single one of them I've come across has been so mellow, down to earth, and humble. But when you think about what they do, and what they put their bodies through, they must have such an inner raging tenacity which burns brightly even when they hit their darkest moments.

You may ask what has prompted my gush about these legends? Hmm...well....

During my run today, I entered a field after a mile or so. In the not too far distance, I saw a man on a bike. It looked as though he'd borrowed it from his 3 year old but thankfully it was minus the stabilisers. He was riding alongside his wife (I presume) who was running. Their dog was running alongside, on his lead.

I'm not at all that competitive and didn't even contemplate trying to pick up speed to catch them. In fact I was hoping they'd pull away from me as I just knew that if I caught them, my minute walk would coincide with that exact moment and they'd think I either a) had just sped up to catch them and then couldn't sustain it, b) was totally mad, or c) both.

I was happy when the distance between us was kept at a constant, that was until their dog stopped for a wee. No worries I thought, since they started running again before I got to them. OK, the distance between us had decreased but it wasn't getting smaller.....until the dog stopped for another wee....how many wees does one dog need in the space of 100m?? This time I did catch them, and yes, it did coincide with my minute walk break...arse! Remind me, did I say I wasn't competitive? I'm not - really! So why did I decide not to take my walk break, and instead carry on? The man on the bike opened the gate for me while he waited for his wife and dog to resume running, and I shot through it like Usain Bolt and decided then and there not to take any more walk breaks.

I knew she was running virtually the same pace as me and now we were running into the wind. If my pace dropped and hers didn't, she'd pass me again. I could never let that happen (I'm really not competitive - honest) so I kept my head down and pumped the arms.

For the next mile I wheezed myself onwards not daring to look back in case they thought I was running scared. Which I was. Every sound I heard convinced me they were gaining ground on me.

I eventually made it to the road where I had to wait for a car to pass. It gave me an opportunity to sneak a look behind. Expecting to see man, bike, woman, and dog right there, I was surprised to see them way in the distance....YAY!! With only a little over a mile to go, I was sure I'd won that personal battle....

Smiling with a self satisfied smugness only a slow 42yr old (nearly 43) woman can pull off, I was alarmed when about 30 secs later I heard a runner on my shoulder. NOOOOO! They were at least 2mins behind me, surely they couldn't have ran that fast to catch me?? My smugness at passing them and not being passed again was short lived. Dressed in just shorts and vest (we Scottish inhabitants rarely run in vest and shorts in Summer, never mind January)and carrying a massive backpack, a woman runner who was also sporting a skinhead, exchanged a few words with me. I found out she had already run 15 miles and was planning on another 10...yikes! After bidding farewell, she then pulled away from me and bounded up the hill as if it wasn't there, and left me wheezing in her wake to finish the last mile of my 3.35mile run - oh, how pathetic did I feel....I was humbled, silenced, and de-smugged....I was also inspired - that woman rocks!

New Year

A belated Happy New Year. I feel as though I should do a 'round up' of the last year.

So what did I do last year? I've asked myself this umpteen times during the last week since we entered 2012 and have struggled to find an answer. Usually, I'd be able to plot my year via the various races I've done - I tend to do the same ones every year - and have a set of results in which to measure my progress. However,  I only did 3 races and 2 of those were charity events and weren't really races as such, so you see my quandary.

In the past, like most runners I expect, I've been driven by statistics. Numbers on a page indicating how far, or how fast I've ran are all that I've needed, but since October 2010, I ditched the training diary, deliberately, in a bid to get myself back on track. For the last 15 months, I've kept no record of training, or races. This has been liberating, that is when I eventually got over my meltdown at having nothing concrete to compare my progress with. It's amazing how many of us runners are dictated to, and live by our version of the 'little black book'.

So, after establishing that I can't read back over my stats for the last year, I'll just have to do my 'round up' from the heart.

To be honest, there isn't much to say about the last year. My aim was to get myself healthy again and I'm pleased to say, I think I managed it. I ran 3-4 times a week with my Hubby for around 30-40mins and supplemented this with other stuff, mainly skipping (or jump rope for my US friends). I didn't set any records alight but could feel myself getting stronger. My motivation returned and I started looking forward to getting out there again and trying new things. I introduced some run/walk sessions and mixed up the ratio's a bit - sometimes I did 4:1, sometimes 9:1. I've tried this in the past and haven't got on with it but with time on my side, I persevered and it seems to be paying off.

Looking back, it seems as though I haven't made great progress but then I read a blog post from last January. I remember the featured run very well and I was really hanging on for dear life. I've just done the same run today, and although it wasn't easy, it was far easier than last years run and almost a minute quicker per mile.

I've started logging my training again and have entered a marathon in May but I'm determined not to get obsessed with training and miles, and times. That led to my downfall the last time and I don't want that to happen again. If I don't hit the required sessions for the marathon, then I'll have no hesitation in backing off.

I think the aim of this year will be more of the same....enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Winter is on it's way...

We went on holiday at the end of September for 2 weeks. However, the 2 weeks straight after were half term so I decided a while ago to take a complete month off from 'training'. This gave my brain space to enjoy the holiday and mentally relieved the pressure to train which I sometimes put upon myself during holidays. It also gave my body a nice rest....the neglected and often forgotten discipline in sport.

Florida was wonderful. We were treated to brilliant weather, amazing food, courteous people, no road rage, cheap shopping, empty supermarkets, and excellent customer service, everything which is lacking in the UK. Don't get me wrong, I'm patriotic and very proud to be British, but I hate what is happening to the country which I love so much. Sadly, everything which is great about Florida, is bad in Britain.

Although I wanted a full 4 weeks rest, half way through the third week I caved and had to go for a run. The weather was lovely and it would've been rude not to. An easy run to the beach turned out to be a bit harder than I'd hoped, but not exactly unexpected after such a lay off.

Fast forward a week and a half - I think Scotland has cancelled Autumn this year and skipped straight to Winter. It's cold, it's wet, and it's windy. Very windy. I'm no stranger to running in adverse conditions but sometimes you just get that gut feeling where you know it would be unsafe to venture out.

Into the gym it was then.

My first interval session in eons hurt. The session was 5 x 3mins with 2mins rec jog. That'll do for this week. I might try and add a rep next week.

Reflections....

This is what I posted a few days after my first marathon....


Not a lot to report on the training front, in fact absolutely nothing to report as my legs are in no fit state to do anything and I'm enjoying a few days of complete rest. 

I've been reflecting on the whole experience leading up to the marathon and trying to analyse certain things about Sundays run.

The last 22 weeks (I've just counted them) have been such an eye opener and such a steep learning curve for me. To start off with I entered the marathon on a whim just to see if I'd get accepted - I do these daft things from time to time and more often than not they backfire. Well it did backfire as I did get accepted and immediately thought 'oh bugger'.

  Once it had penetrated my stupid brain that I was going to have to run 26.2 miles, I thought that I'd better get fit, and PDQ if I wasn't going to look like a complete idiot on the day. Hubs was away for most of last year in the Falklands so I didn't train much and I classed 6miles as a long run and only occasionally did I ever venture beyond around 4M.

And so my journey began. To say that I didn't follow a proper schedule is an understatement. If I'm being brutally honest, most of my training was done on a 'I'll see how I feel today' basis with hardly any structure. The only thing going for me was that it was consistent. I originally got hold of a 20 week schedule which didn't suit me so I started an 18 week one and then a 12 week one....I took bits which appealed to me and the other bits which I didn't like the look of, I ignored The old head in the sand trick

  The bulk of my training has been through the horrible winter where we had gales and rain for most of it. The dark nights proved to be a challenge as I had to abandon my favourite trail runs in favour of laps around the village where it was well lit. Doing 7x2M laps is certainly mentally challenging especially when I was passing the end of my street every 20mins or so and sometimes so cold and wet that I couldn't feel my fingers or toes, and my cheeks were stinging with the hail - the temptation to just end those runs and go home was unbearable at times but I'm glad that I persevered.

  Then only 7 weeks before the marathon I injured my knee. I thought all my hard work and hopes were going to be shattered on that particular run as I could barely walk home and thought from the amount of pain I was in that I'd done something quite drastic. A visit to the GP diagnosed arthritis and the physio confirmed that my knee was wonky...he actually used the word wonky.  The arthritis has been a bit of a pain (pardon the pun)  because the cold plays havoc with my joints and as we haven't seen any sun or warmth for months, I have had days where I've had trouble just walking, but so far have decided against taking the prescribed painkillers - it's something I rarely do anyway even for headaches. However, once I get myself going on the runs the pain eases so I've got no excuses. The knee healed with a bit of tlc and a great knee support which I used right up to, and during the marathon.

   Onto race day - I was quite pleased that I actually got myself onto the starting line having avoided any illnesses during the training apart from a couple of sniffles and the obligatory tiredness which I'm sure I'll have forever. I was also in the best possible shape that I could've been in on that day. I could use the knee, or the lack of sleep as excuses but what's the point as you're only fooling yourself. I knew that I'd done the best I could in training and now had to convert that into the race and if I turned in a poor performance then I was only letting myself down.

I've decided that running a marathon is like having a baby - hours of pain, grunting, pushing your body to the limit, sweating buckets, and feeling like shouting abuse at people who repeatedly try to encourage you by saying 'you can do it', or 'you're nearly there'. Then it's all over and you say 'never again' and spend the next week walking like John Wayne....10 mins after the finish and you're asking 'when's the next one?'.

So, I've learned what training it takes to complete a marathon; that I'm physically and mentally stronger than I ever imagined I was or ever could be; that marathons strip you bare and reveal all, and I mean all of your weaknesses whether they be physical or mental; that you can actually hit the depths of despair and have to search very deep within yourself to keep going when your legs, lungs, brain are telling you otherwise; that wearing the correct trainers is the difference between success and disaster; that lucozade sport makes a mark like bird poo when it dries if you spill it on your shorts; that no amount of mind over matter can make your 6th gel taste like a tuna sarnie; that it's bloody fantastic when you cross that finish line and if you could bottle that feeling and sell it you'd be a millionaire

  2 days on and the high is starting to disappear - you realise that something which has dominated your life every day for the last 5-6 months is no longer there, like losing a mate  You realise that life still goes on regardless and 'normal' people aren't really interested in what mile 17 felt like, or how you ran even splits...they basically don't care and it's only then you realise that you're just a very little part of a very big world.... 

But you know what 'there were days when I didn't think I could run a marathon, but there's a lifetime of confidence knowing that I have'