Tuesday 29th Jan: bike/swim/circuits

Rode to work again today.  I still haven't got lights for my road bike (awaiting new brackets so I can use the ones I already have on the mountain bike - I'm not spending £50+ on a second set of lights!) and it is still dark at this time of the year, so rode my mountain bike.  It's a smoother ride along the cycle path anyway which can be a bit uneven for a road bike.  But I'm itching to get on the road bike when I have some time during the day!

At lunchtime I headed for the pool and did about 30 minutes swimming.  It is very convenient* that I work at a university with a great gym (Herts Sports Village) and that my office is about 30 seconds walk from it.  So I have just about enough time to go there at lunchtime for a swim, or use it for somewhere to change and shower if I go for a run.

In the pool,  I tried to work on what I had learned yesterday with arm technique.   I like to have a specific new point to work on for each coached session and then practise that in my solo sessions during the week.  Like in my early months of skydiving, if I try to focus on one thing I end up forgetting to do something else, but hopefully it will soon begin to fall into place!  I can't do much more than 30 minutes, I have yet to build up this sort of endurance so I get tired quickly.  Wish that running endurance and tunnel-strength automatically resulting in swimming fitness!!  Hmm maybe it helps a bit, and if I did no other sports but swimming I'd only manage about 2 minutes before getting knackered!?  Yesterday I'd watched the end of the club session before ours, which was made up of young kids - maybe 8-12 year olds.  Got slightly jealous of them, so young and such skill!

When I get home I will need to get the brush of shame out on the trail shoes.  They are caked with mud from Saturday's long run (much of which seemed to be XC!).  Or should that be the brush of pride now?

Got home and had a bite to eat and watched Miranda (such fun!!) and EastEnders on iPlayer before heading back to the sports village for a circuits class with Tri-Force.  It was a good session - more traditional circuits this week which I prefer (every second week, depending on the instruction, it is more core focused and involves some pilates).  It was a big group today, and too many people to have one station each.  So we did each station in pairs and did worked it twice (30 sec each time).  One person would do the station and the other would do a set exercise such as star jumps, squats, jogging, press ups and so on.   I enjoy circuits - my previous class, before I joined Tri-Force, held a decent session at the local girls school which I was going to since 2009 (around the time I started running) but sadly with the increasing rent they couldn't sustain the costs and stopped back in October (we were quite gutted about this).  I lost a fair bit of my core fitness after that and so it is good to start to get it back again.

*Although sometimes it feels like I live at the Uni!

Total training

Bike ride to/from work (8 miles)
30 minutes swimming
1 hour circuits class

Loch Ness Marathon report

**My race report from October 2012**

The marathon went well, it was a stunning location along the south-east shore of Loch Ness, with the last 5 miles entering Inverness.  The final mile was run in the city centre - alongside the River Ness, over the Ness Bridge and then back towards Bught Park where the Festival of Running was taking place.  The course was challenging, with some tough hills at miles 5, 18 and 20 which I admit I powerwalked!  The first 8 miles were very strong and it felt good to finally be running my marathon after 8 months of training.  However I think I was a bit over confident and my pace was too fast, because I paid for this later on.

Around this time we got our first glimpse fo Loch Ness itself, and it was just as stunning as I'd imagined.  You couldn't have asked for a better location for a race.  We got to run along the shore until about mile 18, at this point we said goodbye to the loch as the road took us further towards the city - although we'd meet the River Ness and cross it in the last few miles.

 Miles 15-20 were the toughest, getting low on energy and feeling sore, but the atmosphere and knowing that I was well over half way was enough to make me continue running (although at a fairly gentle pace!).  I had finished all my gels and really needed more - my low point was actually picking up an un-opened pack of Clif Shot Blocks off the ground that someone else has discarded!  Even though the packet was covered in mud with was just what I needed! Classy.

After 22 miles I'd had some more gels at the feed station and had found my strength again (plus it was downhill now!) and finished the last few miles strong. Dad saw me at mile 25 and even ran along side me for a short while!  He got to take the short cut back to the park though - I had a bit further to go!  But that last mile, although so tough (and felt so much longer than a mile) was actually quite fast for that point of the race - just over a 10 min mile!  I couldn't believe it when i passed mile 26 and saw the finish line ahead.  The last 365 yards was just a blur!  There's a decent photo of me here, but i don't remember it!  I just remmeber keeping my eyes on the finish line - and before I knew it I was crossing it!  Fantastic welcome across the finish line, and a lovely medal, T shirt and goody bag was given to me!  Really glad I ran it, and would do this race again - but now for a good rest before training starts again in the new year for the London Marathon.

Huge thanks to all my friends and family who have supported and encouraged me over the last few months. Couldn't have done it without you!

Monday 28th Jan: bike/run/swim

Decided it was time to ride my bike into work today.  It's been snowing lately and until Sunday there was still a lot of ice on the ground and I didn't feel safe on the roads.  But it's much clearer now - although dark and wet! - so no need not to.  I like cycling into work, it's only about 4 miles each way but it wakes me up and I've done some exercise even if I don't do any planned training sessions.  I need to get back into cycling as I have done very little over the winter. I'd set off quite early and had plenty of time, so I stopped and chatted to Ray who I am doing to London-Brighton bike ride with, and we have a catch up. I often see him and his dog along the old railway path that is popular with walkers and cyclists. 

Went for a run with Matt at lunchtime.  This is usually our recovery run – Matt had done his long run on Sunday and I’d done 17 miles on Saturday (I tend to need a day off from running after anything over about 13 miles ) and we do about 3-4 miles around the business park.  Matt had mapped out a new route around Old Hatfield – some was along tracks and unpaved foot paths but luckily the snow and ice had melted - so it was great to have a change.  Makes it more interesting to chat while out running as well.

Swimming in the evening with Tri-Force (the triathlon club).  They have use of the pool in a local school – a very nice, newly built sports centre.  I have been learning front crawl and just spent the session working on technique.  I have been doing this for a couple of weeks and am seeing a nice improvement, but I haven’t yet started following the lesson plans.

Wasn’t too tired by the end of the day, so watched a bit of TV and had a bowl of ice cream as a reward!

Total training

Bike ride to/from work (8 miles)

3.8 mile run

45 minutes swimming

Intro Part 3: Signing up for Loch Ness

Back in early 2012, I didn’t really have any intentions of running in races or organised events.  What was the point of having to pay for, travel to, and have a set time for a run – something that I could normally do at no cost and whenever I wanted?  I was more interested in just knowing in my heart that I had run certain distances in my own time, and by mid-February I had run several solo training runs of half marathon or further.  However, I soon discovered that a race could be a lot more fun that a solo run – more people, a great environment, new routes and people cheering everyone on.  If I wanted to run a marathon, ever, I would at least want to enter some races to get some experience in running organised events, so signed up for several spring 10ks and the local half marathon.

I had still not yet make up my mind about running a marathon.  I knew I could run and improve my time for the half, without increasing my training much.  But to run a marathon would require far more commitment and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it.  Many people encouraged me – although some thought it was a mad idea or even actively discouraged it.  Often, “would you run a full marathon?” was the first question people would ask when they found out I could run a half – but I said probably no, or at least shrug and say I wasn’t sure.  I once said to a workmate who was about to run London, straight up, that I would never run a marathon.  2 days later I had signed up for Loch Ness!

Three things made me make up my mind.  Firstly, it was the new year – marathon training season – and I knew several people getting ready for London, Milton Keynes and European marathons.  Some were running their first marathons, others had run for years.  It was very inspiring to hear about their training and the build-up for their big days – they all had different reasons for running and their own, personal challenges.  I wanted my own challenge, something big to aim for. 

Secondly, I was in the best shape I had ever been in; my fitness was good enough to manage a slow but steady 13+ miles, so if I was going to run a marathon it ought to be sooner rather than later.  If I signed up for one, it would have to be within the year (a race during the autumn season) – any later (e.g. the 2013 spring season) and I might risk losing the fitness and having to work back up again.  Or, I’d need to keep the fitness up for over a year and possibly struggle with motivation with a target so far in the future.

Finally, as a Christian, I prayed about it, and felt God's encouragement to run the marathon.  I certainly knew I would need His strength to get through some of the tough times, that was certain!!

I started to look for a marathon that met several requirements: a) it had to be in the autumn so I had enough time to train properly for it, b) it had to be easy to enter and not require a ballot or be oversubscribed, c) be held somewhere not too hot or too cold d) be located in an interesting location I wanted to visit.

Loch Ness fulfilled all of these requirements, so I made up my mind and signed up for it. 

As my friends ran their marathons, it spurred me on and gave me something to think about during my training. I went with Brian and Maria to watch the London and it a great day, although I was insanely jealous!  We spotted Alli and Shell from skydiving at mile 9, and then again at mile 24 along with Darren from work, but did not see Graham (a friend of my mum’s) who was a pace maker that year. The atmosphere was electric, the crowds unbelievably supportive – watching the runners pushing through those last year miles, cheered on by shouts of encouragement bought the odd tear to my eye!  I knew I simply had to run London in 2013, whatever it took, as well as Loch Ness. 

I trained all summer, completed 11 shorter races in the lead up, then travelled up to Inverness with my dad in late September 2012.  I ran the marathon in my target time of 5 hours 5 minutes – and have never looked back!

Sadly I did not keep a blog of my training for this race, although I have written several reports or the race itself which I will upload.  Which is why I wanted to keep one for London.  I found I had a ballot place for London just 2 days before leaving to fly up to Inverness (talk about good news to get through Loch Ness!!) and started working on my training plan soon after recovering from Loch Ness.  I’ve also signed up to various sprint-distance triathlons and the Berlin Marathon in September 2013.  It’s now less than 12 weeks til London so I’m looking at working my distance back up to 18-20 miles and also focusing a little more on speed this time as I want to get a PB.  I’ve also joined a triathlon club so have plenty of people to train with and receive coaching in each discipline.

Well that’s about it for the backstory, I will now get on with the training blog entries!

Intro Part 2: A New Training Plan

Bizarrely, I probably started marathon training before I had any intention of running one – even a half marathon or any organised race.  But at the beginning of 2012 I had a seed planted in my mind by a couple of friends who had either entered marathons, joined a club or started taking their training to a new level.  I was hearing a new language which added to my understanding of the sport, and hearing about races and clubs was like seeing a new dimension.  Running to them wasn’t just about plodding the streets to get fit or to lose weight; it was about personal bests, pacing, speed-work, meeting targets, cross training, new friends, taking part in famous city races and raising money for charities in memory of lost friends and loved ones.

To see what all the fuss was about, I started reading runner’s websites such as Runner’s World, coming across the marathon forum pages and getting a feel for what it was all about and why people ran them.  I looked at racing calenders such as marathon Runner's Diary and Southern Running Guide.  I learned about hundreds of races organised across the country (and the world) from the local 5k Parkruns, to the well-known marathons such as London and Boston, extreme desert or polar marathons and long-distance Ultras.  Many people seemed to have a whole calendar of races they were entering, whatever their level – and a rack of medals to show their past achievements.  Most had race plans and training logs and mixed up their training with different types of runs focusing on different skills, for example the long, slow weekend run, or the faster speed work during the week.  This sounded far more appealing that just running the same route day in day out, so I downloaded some marathon and half-marathon training plans just to have a look and get an idea of what I could do. 

 I created a little diary to cover the next few weeks, penciling in “long runs” on Sunday afternoons, “recovery runs” on Monday evenings and “regular tempo runs” on Thursdays, with cross training (circuits class) on Wednesdays and rest days on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  The following Sunday I went for my first “long run” – a big loop from St Albans to Hatfield, with an aim of 10 miles (although with some parts I could miss out or add on depending on how it went).  I mapped out a new route, bought some chocolate with me and headed off slowly but steadily.  I was absolutely hanging when I finished and had developed a blister, but when I went Map My Run to check what I’d done, was surprised to see I had managed (staggered) almost 11 miles in total – almost 3 miles further than my normal 8.  I followed this new routine for a few weeks, and soon decided that a half marathon was easily obtainable – possibly more.

Intro Part 1: Starting to Run

Hi, thanks for visiting my blog and reading my first entry.  I’ve decided to keep a blog of my training in preparation for the London Marathon on 21^st April 2013 and other triathlon, cycle and running events I have planned for 2013. 

For anyone reading this, I hope it gives an interesting insight into the life of a “normal” (if any person who voluntarily submits to running 26.2 miles several times a year can be considered normal, that is), non-professional runner and beginner triathlete who is basically aiming to get round the events in a decent time, have some great experiences, push myself to achieve better goals, receive some shiny medals and hit a few personal bests along the way. Even if this sits here on the internet unread by anyone but me, I still want to record my training to see how I progress, talk about the challenges and difficulties that I have been facing, and most importantly the joy and sense of achievement when it all goes well.  Although I have been running for several years, and have run one marathon in 2012, I barely kept a record of my experiences other than a large, impersonal spreadsheet with my training runs logged, and a stream of brief twitter/facebook updates. I also use and share my runs on Map My Run, although there is little room for one to write much of a report with the entries.  So I thought that this year, I would go a step further and keep a regular blog, as I have read others by friends and found them fascinating and a lovely record of what they did and how they felt after each race or session.

So a bit of a background, and then I will crack on with the normal entries.

I started running in early 2009, as I had been feeling like a needed a very different challenge away from my normal hobby of skydiving (which I have been doing since 2005), with different people – preferably something I could do by myself in my free time, as cheaply as possible.  I had finally managed to call it a day with a rather unproductive on-off relationship that was clearly going nowhere, which was somewhat depressing but created the perfect environment to try something new and have something to which I could aspire. I had also just been baptized as a Christian, and felt God wanted to change me in different ways - firstly spiritually, and now physically as well.  Getting fit seemed to be an obvious change.  I had always wanted to be able to run – even a mile, without stopping – but had never been able to.  I had tried, over the years but I never quite found the motivation.  At Uni I had joined the OTC and did Tae Kwon Do - my fitness improved, but still I could not stand running.  I would go out for a jog, run as far as I could, get out of breath, then give up.  I just let it stick in my mind that running was not “for me” and I should focus on other sports, like martial arts or general working out at the gym. I didn't realise that this was not the way to learn to run. 

I downloaded a beginner’s running plan off the internet – a “Couch-to-5k” plan, with the idea is that you go from having never run a mile in your life to completing a 5k (3.1 miles).  There were 3-4 runs a week, starting off by mostly walking a mile or so, with gentle, slow jogs for about 30-60 seconds followed by a walking rest.  I mapped out a simple route around the neighbourhood and gave it a shot.  It was very different to what I had tried to do in the past – walking so much of the route even felt like cheating at first – but as the weeks went by the time spent walking became shorter and the jogging became longer.  I progressed quite quickly which was very motivating – week by week I saw progress.  It was not easy, to be honest I didn’t really enjoy the actual running itself as it was exhausting and I did feel pushed to my limits at time (memories of being forced to run the 2 mile cross country races at school and feeling sick at the end came to mind) but the feeling afterwards was great. I started to take my iPod which made the running more run and meant I did not have to listen to my breathing!  After a month or so I could run most of a mile with just a short walking break halfway through.  After three months, I could run the full 5k – slowly, but completely.  Hitting this milestone felt fantastic!  I knew I could do more – so 5 miles became my next milestone.  I also started going to a circuits class at the gym to get better all-round fitness.  Over the next 2 ½ years, until late 2011, I was running fairly regularly – usually twice a week, of distances of 6-8 miles.  But my training was stalling; having hit a reasonable distance I did not know what to do next.  I tried running faster, or further, but I did not have a real plan to know how to achieve this and so ended plodding along doing the same route week in week out on whatever day of the week I could be bothered.  I did more running when I need to get my fitness up (I did the Inca Trail in May 2011 and a charity walking marathon in September 2011) but less when I had no need.  If I was on holiday, or had the slightest blister or injury then I might not run for weeks at a time.  I lost some fitness, and would be annoyed at myself for needing to work back up again.  After a month travelling round Asia in December 2011, I got home - barely able to run a 5k – and needing something new to focus on.  It was another month or two before I decided, but would eventually be the Loch Ness Marathon.